Hi All,
I had a long weekend (4 nights) up at Mudgee a fortnight ago with a few of my mates from the Sutherland Astronomical Society and here is an extracted account of what we did at what is one of my favourite places on Earth.
I left at 11am on Thursday the 20th and ˝ hr later realised I’d left the transistor radio at home on the kitchen table. Doh !! How am I going to listen to the cricket now! Thankfully that was the only thing I forgot. Enjoyed a sunny drive all the way up. Had a brief pause at Lithgow and then at Pearson’s Lookout for a few pictures and then went shopping in Mudgee for a few essentials arriving at Observatory Downs just on 4.15pm. That left about 90mins to get “Gerald’s Rest” (the van) into shape, make a bit of dinner, install Gerald in his rightful place guarding the front door and set up the ‘scope. I was ready to go the moment it got really properly dark about 7.30pm.
As it turned out, this was one and only night to write home about
: clear from dusk ‘till at least 3am. All the observations below were made that night. It was great that I was able to achieve a small milestone in my observing career on this trip by passing 4,000 logged/observed individual objects (I went past the 2,000 and 3,000 marks at Mudgee too). To put that in context, Hartung’s venerable work for Southern Observers has just over 1,000 objects listed.
By coincidence, entry No 4,000 also happened to be my exact 1,000th object from Herschel’s old General Catalogue – the predecessor to the NGC and it was also my exact 1,100th recorded observation from Observatory Downs at Mudgee. A few zeros lining-up there nicely. The “winning entry” on this occasion was NGC 7310 in Aquarius. Coincidentally, No 2,000 in 1999 (?) was a galaxy in Leo, 3,000 in 2005 was a galaxy in Virgo. Bit of a trend there too — all ecliptic constellations.
I also (think I’ve) completely finished clearing out Libra and Microscopium down to 15th magnitude. You wouldn’t have believed there are a total of 105 things worth looking at in Libra and even more surprisingly, 42 in Microscopium (depending of course on how you define “worth looking at”).
After a few checks to make sure everything was okay off I went to a few favourites and a quick look a Jupiter (still low then). During the early evening Mel turned up (we weren’t expecting her yet and Grahame ad we all enjoyed some photons and Grahame (& Mel??) took some images. The SQM readings at the start of the night were 21.35 and by 1.30am 21.78. Off into Libra:
x185 27' TF
NGC 5663 Galaxy *
RA: 14h 33m 56.2s Dec: -16° 34' 52"
Mag: 15.3 S.B.: --- B-V: ---Size: 1.3'x1.1' Class: SA0-:
P.A.: 57 Inclination: --- R.V.: ---
This eg is just a little N of a small distinctive group of *s consisting of a small tri <1' and two others. All are about 14th & 15 mag. Small eg, about 30" diameter mod faint, diffuse edges growing broadly and slightly to centre without zones with a suggestion of a very faint, threshold mag stellaring in the centre.
x185 27' TF
NGC 5744 Galaxy *
RA: 14h 46m 38.8s Dec: -18° 30' 47"
Mag: 14.2 S.B.: --- B-V: --- Size: 1.0'x0.7' Class: (R')SB(rs)d:
P.A.: 108 Inclination: --- R.V.: --- Source: PGC *
This one took a little while to pick up because it has such low SB. Very diffuse. Approaching 1' diameter, and round. Very, very LSB grows hardly at all to centre without evidence of zones or nucleus. Grows weakly to centre.
x185 27' TF
NGC 5661 Galaxy *
RA: 14h 31m 57.5s Dec: +06° 15' 04"
Mag: 14.1 (P) S.B.: --- B-V: --- Size: 1.8'x0.5' Class: SBb:
P.A.: 29 Inclination: --- R.V.: +2389 Source: RC3 *
In a fairly well sprinkled field. In the centre of an I Tri 10' x 7' of mag 10 & 11 *s that points W. Mod faint, nearly 1' diameter and has a quite diffuse LSB outer halo with a 10-15" diameter core zone brightening further to centre where there occasionally seems to be a stellaring.
x185 27' TF
IC 4468 Galaxy *
RA: 14h 38m 26.8s Dec: -22° 22' 02"
Mag: 13.8 (P) S.B.: --- B-V: --- Size: 2.6'x0.6' Class: SB(s)c?
P.A.: 155 Inclination: --- R.V.: +2447 Source: RC3 *
ESO 580-5 Galaxy *
RA: 14h 38m 15.9s Dec: -22° 19' 26"
Mag: 15.5 S.B.: --- B-V: --- Size: 1.2'x0.2' Class: S
P.A.: 100 Inclination: --- R.V.: --- Source: PGC *
This is quite a nice, small, quite elong eg in PA 150. Probably 1.25' x 15" lens shaped mod faint growing broadly and slightly to the axis nr centre but no apparent core or nucleus. It is found S of W from an 8th mag 8* by 8'. 3' NW is an intermittently visible slip of haze -- ESO 580-5.
ESO 580-5 is a tiny 10" long sliver of intermittently visible gossamer that is only occasionally visible. Extremely faint and difficult. Ephemeral at best.
Here’s a portrait of the two:
http://stdatu.stsci.edu/cgi-bin/dss_...e&fov=NONE&v3=
I told you ESO 580-5 was small and faint didn’t I!
x185 27' TF
IC 1060 Galaxy *
RA: 14h 51m 47.3s Dec: -07° 13' 57"
Mag: 14.5 S.B.: ---B-V: --- Size: 1.5'x0.8' Class: (R')SB(r)a:
P.A.: 101 Inclination: --- R.V.: --- Source: RC3 *
In a fairly well populated field this is a very small and faint eg about 40" x 20" in about PA 90, fat lens shape or oval mod to quite faint growing broadly and slightly to centre where there is a very small slightly brighter zone.
x185 27' TF
IC 1080 Galaxy *
RA: 14h 57m 59.9s Dec: -06° 43' 26"
Mag: 14.5 S.B.: --- B-V: --- Size: 1.4'x0.9' Class: S0- pec:
P.A.: 51 Inclination: --- R.V.: --- Source: RC3 *
MCG -1-38-12 PGC 53503 Galaxy *
RA: 14h 58m 29.6s Dec: -06° 49' 11"
Mag: 14.6 (B) S.B.: 13.7 B-V: +0.81 Size: 1.5'x1.0'
Class: SAB(s)c P.A.: 74 Inclination: --- R.V.: +7606 Source: RC3 *
This eg is found 4' E from a 9th mag *. Small but pretty easy to see, round looking like a very distant elliptical eg 30" diameter with diffuse edges growing evenly and slightly to the centre and nr centre somewhat more strongly to a small faint stellaring type nucleus. 10' SE is MCG -1-38-12.
This is no more than a tiny spot of ephemeral gossamer about 15" diameter.
x185 27' TF
NGC 5781 Galaxy *
RA: 14h 56m 41.4s Dec: -17° 14' 35"
Mag: 14.5 S.B.: --- B-V: --- Size: 1.3'x0.7' Class: (R')SBb pec sp
P.A.: 40 Inclination: --- R.V.: --- Source: RC3 *
MCG -3-38-25 PGC 53303 Galaxy *
RA: 14h 54m 40.5s Dec: -17° 24' 21"
Mag: 14.2 S.B.: --- B-V: --- Size: 1.9'x0.8' Class: SAB(rs)bc:
P.A.: 19 Inclination: --- R.V.: --- Source: RC3 *
-81 is a small fairly faint elong "bar-shaped" eg about 1' x 20" in PA 30 with a broad slight brightening to centre but no zones or nucleus. There is a mag 15.5 * on axis to the SW not far off the halo.
MCG -3-38-25 is one field to the W about 30' away. It is a very LSB wisp about 1.25' x 20" with a weak central brightening and a mag 15 * to the NW by 1'. No zones, core or nucleus visible.
x185 27' TF
NGC 5815 Galaxy *
RA: 15h 00m 29.1s Dec: -16° 50' 02"
Mag: 14.5 S.B.: --- B-V: --- Size: 0.8'x0.4' Class: Sb
P.A.: 22 Inclination: --- R.V.: --- Source: PGC *
This is a very small a slightly elong eg in a fairly well populated field. Seems to be slightly oval in PA 30, only 40x30" faint but of consistent lowish SB and no apparent concentration to centre, core or nucleus.
Pt 2 to follow ...