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"P.S. I have always been impressed by Steve Gottlieb's observing notes about galaxies; he does a very good job of describing what he sees."
Thanks for the compliment, Robert. I'll throw in my observing notes on NGC 2442 with a larger scope (24"), which mentions appearance of the central region ---
24" (4/4/08): I was amazed how prominent the sweeping spiral arms appeared at 260x giving a stunning "S" appearance. The main bar of the galaxy is fairly bright and extended ~2:1 in a SW to NE orientation with a length of ~3'. The bar has just a weak, broad concentration with no real core but it rises sharply at the center to a very small, brighter nucleus. The main arm is attached at the NE end of the bar and extends a short distance in that direction before dramatically bending sharply to the west (turning nearly 150°) and extending ~3.5' in length towards a mag 12.9 star. At the NW end this well-defined arm fades and broadens a little, terminating just SE of the 13th magnitude star. At the SW end of the bar, a thick arm emerges extending to the SW where it more gently curves around towards the east while fanning out. This arm is not as sharply defined as the inside (east) portion of the curve blends with a diffuse glow extending from the bar. The total distance between the tips of the arms spans nearly 5'. In the same field 10' ENE lies ESO 59-11 and NGC 2534 is 16' NNW. The field also includes a number of mag 9 to 11 stars that frame the galaxy.
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