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Old 01-03-2020, 03:39 PM
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GUS.K (Ivan)
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Galaxy cluster Abell 1060,

Thursday night was clear so spent a bit of time on the Hydra 1 (Abell 1060) galaxy cluster (165 million years light travel time). Using my 18 inch scope and a 17.5mm Morpheus (114x) to get a general overview, I then switched to a 9mm Morpheus (222x) for a close up look. The cluster is roughly 2.5 degrees in diameter and I was able to spot about 15 members and a few more were hinted at with averted vision, but not a definite, and their magnitudes ranged from 11.4 to 14.7. Transparency was good but seeing limited me to no more than 250x, and I think the 9mm was pushing it at 222x. The brighter members were NGC's 3307, 3308 and 3309 and 3311 and 3312 with a few more NGC's and PGC's flung further afield. I'll visit this cluster again in better seeing to see if I can spot some more of it's members. I Also located Abell 3526 and 3574 in Centaurus, Abell 1631 in Corvus and Abell 1367 in Leo, I spent about 15 minutes on each, but didn't have detailed charts for these so will tackle them next session.
Thanks for reading.
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Old 03-03-2020, 09:00 AM
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Hi Gus,

Thanks for the report. Abell 1060 is a great place to visit for large 'scopes. The other clusters you mention are likewise, a bundle of fun as is AGC 1656 -- that kept me occupied at the eyepiece making notes for over 90 minutes one night -- using my old 31cm.

Best,

L.
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Old 04-03-2020, 07:45 AM
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GUS.K (Ivan)
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Thanks Les, I'll give A1656 a go. Another one I'm interested in is A3627, any thoughts on this one.
Ivan
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Old 04-03-2020, 02:50 PM
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AGC 3627 Pt 1

Hi Ivan,

Have been there, done that. It is a rather testy cluster not because of the objects themselves but rather that it is viewed through an absolute blizzard of stars making patterns difficult to recognise and establish and directions noted.

You may find the following observing notes useful. I apologise that each note in itself replicates so much material from the adjacent galaxies and seems unnecessarily long; there is a reason why, but I won't into it here:

PGC 57532 (ESO 137-1) Gx Triangulum Australis
46cm x247: ESO 137-8 is the brightest of a large number of galaxies in AGC 3627 that includes ESO 137-1 (PGC 57532) 20’ NW, ESO 137-2 (PGC 57537) 16’ WNW, ESO 137-3 (PGC 57546) 16’ SW, ESO 137-6 (PGC 57612) 5’ WNW, ESO 137-7 (PGC 57637) 15’ N, ESO 137-10 (PGC 57652) 7’ NNE, ESO 137-11 (PGC 57656) 4’ NE and ESO 137-16 (PGC 57815) 26’ ESE. This is a challenging and frustrating galaxy cluster to observe because to the richness of the star-fields and the bright background due to the Milky Way. Makes identification difficult because star-patterns are very easy to confuse because there simply are so many stars. All these galaxies have low to very low surface brightnesses and it is nearly impossible to properly estimate sizes in the eyepiece because of the brightness of the background sky. From the trio of ESO 137-6, ESO 137-8 and ESO 137- 10 5, one field W is the 15' long line of ESO 137-1, ESO 137-2, ESO 137-4 & ESO 137-3 running N-S. ESO 137-4 is almost between ESO 137-2 & ESO 137-3 as a tiny 20" diameter round spot of gossamer hardly brighter than the background as is ESO 137-1 at the N end of this line.

PGC 57537 (ESO 137-2) Gx Triangulum Australis
46cm x247: ESO 137-8 is the brightest of a large number of galaxies in AGC 3627 that includes ESO 137-1 (PGC 57532) 20’ NW, ESO 137-2 (PGC 57537) 16’ WNW, ESO 137-3 (PGC 57546) 16’ SW, ESO 137-6 (PGC 57612) 5’ WNW, ESO 137-7 (PGC 57637) 15’ N, ESO 137-10 (PGC 57652) 7’ NNE, ESO 137-11 (PGC 57656) 4’ NE and ESO 137-16 (PGC 57815) 26’ ESE. This is a challenging and frustrating galaxy cluster to observe because to the richness of the star-fields and the bright background due to the Milky Way. Makes identification difficult because star-patterns are very easy to confuse because there simply are so many stars. All these galaxies have low to very low surface brightnesses and it is nearly impossible to properly estimate sizes in the eyepiece because of the brightness of the background sky. From the trio of ESO 137-6, ESO 137-8 and ESO 137- 10 5, one field W is the 15' long line of ESO 137-1, ESO 137-2, ESO 137-4 & ESO 137-3 running N-S. Of this four, ESO 137-2 & ESO 137-3 are the brightest though ESO 137-3 has lower SB and is a little bigger. ESO 137-3 is about 1' x 40" and brightens weakly to centre and has very LSB. ESO 137-2 is smaller, about 40" diameter, round but has better SB brightening slightly to centre.

PGC 57546 (ESO 137-3) Gx Triangulum Australis
46cm x247: ESO 137-8 is the brightest of a large number of galaxies in AGC 3627 that includes ESO 137-1 (PGC 57532) 20’ NW, ESO 137-2 (PGC 57537) 16’ WNW, ESO 137-3 (PGC 57546) 16’ SW, ESO 137-6 (PGC 57612) 5’ WNW, ESO 137-7 (PGC 57637) 15’ N, ESO 137-10 (PGC 57652) 7’ NNE, ESO 137-11 (PGC 57656) 4’ NE and ESO 137-16 (PGC 57815) 26’ ESE. This is a challenging and frustrating galaxy cluster to observe because to the richness of the star-fields and the bright background due to the Milky Way. Makes identification difficult because star-patterns are very easy to confuse because there simply are so many stars. All these galaxies have low to very low surface brightnesses and it is nearly impossible to properly estimate sizes in the eyepiece because of the brightness of the background sky. From the trio of ESO 137-6, ESO 137-8 and ESO 137- 10 5, one field W is the 15' long line of ESO 137-1, ESO 137-2, ESO 137-4 & ESO 137-3 running N-S. Of this four, ESO 137-2 & ESO 137-3 are the brightest though ESO 137-3 has lower SB and is a little bigger. ESO 137-3 is about 1' x 40" and brightens weakly to centre and has very LSB. ESO 137-2 is smaller, about 40" diameter, round but has better SB brightening slightly to centre.

PGC 557554 (ESO 137-4) Gx Triangulum Australis
46cm x247: ESO 137-8 is the brightest of a large number of galaxies in AGC 3627 that includes ESO 137-1 (PGC 57532) 20’ NW, ESO 137-2 (PGC 57537) 16’ WNW, ESO 137-3 (PGC 57546) 16’ SW, ESO 137-6 (PGC 57612) 5’ WNW, ESO 137-7 (PGC 57637) 15’ N, ESO 137-10 (PGC 57652) 7’ NNE, ESO 137-11 (PGC 57656) 4’ NE and ESO 137-16 (PGC 57815) 26’ ESE. This is a challenging and frustrating galaxy cluster to observe because to the richness of the star-fields and the bright background due to the Milky Way. Makes identification difficult because star-patterns are very easy to confuse because there simply are so many stars. All these galaxies have low to very low surface brightnesses and it is nearly impossible to properly estimate sizes in the eyepiece because of the brightness of the background sky. From the trio of ESO 137-6, ESO 137-8 and ESO 137- 10 5, one field W is the 15' long line of ESO 137-1, ESO 137-2, ESO 137-4 & ESO 137-3 running N-S. ESO 137-4 is almost between ESO 137-2 & ESO 137-3 as a tiny 20" diameter round spot of gossamer hardly brighter than the background as is ESO 137-1 at the N end of this line.

PGC 57612 (ESO 137-6) Triangulum Australis
46cm x247: ESO 137-8 is the brightest of a large number of galaxies in AGC 3627 that includes ESO 137-1 (PGC 57532) 20’ NW, ESO 137-2 (PGC 57537) 16’ WNW, ESO 137-3 (PGC 57546) 16’ SW, ESO 137-6 (PGC 57612) 5’ WNW, ESO 137-7 (PGC 57637) 15’ N, ESO 137-10 (PGC 57652) 7’ NNE, ESO 137-11 (PGC 57656) 4’ NE and ESO 137-16 (PGC 57815) 26’ ESE. This is a challenging and frustrating galaxy cluster to observe because to the richness of the star-fields and the bright background due to the Milky Way. Makes identification difficult because star-patterns are very easy to confuse because there simply are so many stars. All these galaxies have low to very low surface brightnesses and it is nearly impossible to properly estimate sizes in the eyepiece because of the brightness of the background sky. ESO 137-6, ESO 137-8 & ESO 137-10 in a triangle with ESO 137-10 at the northern tip. This triangle is about 6 arc-mins a side. ESO 137-10 is seen to be slightly elongated in PA 0 and is the brightest of all. It has a short line of three magnitude 12-13 stars not far to the W. 1.5' x 40" in PA 0 and has a small slightly brighter core. ESO 137-06 & ESO 137-08 are E-W of each other and are simple, approximately 1' diameter spots of LSB haze brightening slightly to centre. Between ESO 137-10 & ESO 137-8 is ESO 137-11 which is somewhat to much fainter -- a spot of mist perhaps 30" diameter with a weak central brightening.

PGC 57637 (ESO 137-7) Gx Triangulum Australis
46cm x247: ESO 137-8 is the brightest of a large number of galaxies in AGC 3627 that includes ESO 137-1 (PGC 57532) 20’ NW, ESO 137-2 (PGC 57537) 16’ WNW, ESO 137-3 (PGC 57546) 16’ SW, ESO 137-6 (PGC 57612) 5’ WNW, ESO 137-7 (PGC 57637) 15’ N, ESO 137-10 (PGC 57652) 7’ NNE, ESO 137-11 (PGC 57656) 4’ NE and ESO 137-16 (PGC 57815) 26’ ESE. This is a challenging and frustrating galaxy cluster to observe because to the richness of the star-fields and the bright background due to the Milky Way. Makes identification difficult because star-patterns are very easy to confuse because there simply are so many stars. All these galaxies have low to very low surface brightnesses and it is nearly impossible to properly estimate sizes in the eyepiece because of the brightness of the background sky. A line extended from ESO 137-8 through ESO 137-10 and extended N about 10’ sees ESO 137-7 that is similar to ESO 137-11 though it has slightly higher SB.

PGC 57649 (ESO 137-8) Gx Triangulum Australis
46cm x247: ESO 137-8 is the brightest of a large number of galaxies in AGC 3627 that includes ESO 137-1 (PGC 57532) 20’ NW, ESO 137-2 (PGC 57537) 16’ WNW, ESO 137-3 (PGC 57546) 16’ SW, ESO 137-6 (PGC 57612) 5’ WNW, ESO 137-7 (PGC 57637) 15’ N, ESO 137-10 (PGC 57652) 7’ NNE, ESO 137-11 (PGC 57656) 4’ NE and ESO 137-16 (PGC 57815) 26’ ESE. This is a challenging and frustrating galaxy cluster to observe because to the richness of the star-fields and the bright background due to the Milky Way. Makes identification difficult because star-patterns are very easy to confuse because there simply are so many stars. All these galaxies have low to very low surface brightnesses and it is nearly impossible to properly estimate sizes in the eyepiece because of the brightness of the background sky. The major three galaxies here are ESO 137-6, ESO 137-8 & ESO 137-10 in a triangle with ESO 137-10 at the northern tip. This triangle is about 6 arc-mins a side. ESO 137-10 is seen to be slightly elongated in PA 0 and is the brightest of all. It has a short line of three magnitude 12-13 stars not far to the W. 1.5' x 40" in PA 0 and has a small slightly brighter core. ESO 137-06 & ESO 137-08 are E-W of each other and are simple, approximately 1' diameter spots of LSB haze brightening slightly to centre.


End Pt 1 see Pt 2 ...
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Old 04-03-2020, 02:50 PM
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AGC 3627 Pt 2

Hi Ivan,

Pt 2 ...

PGC 57652 (ESO 137-10) Gx Triangulum Australis
46cm x247: ESO 137-8 is the brightest of a large number of galaxies in AGC 3627 that includes ESO 137-1 (PGC 57532) 20’ NW, ESO 137-2 (PGC 57537) 16’ WNW, ESO 137-3 (PGC 57546) 16’ SW, ESO 137-6 (PGC 57612) 5’ WNW, ESO 137-7 (PGC 57637) 15’ N, ESO 137-10 (PGC 57652) 7’ NNE, ESO 137-11 (PGC 57656) 4’ NE and ESO 137-16 (PGC 57815) 26’ ESE. This is a challenging and frustrating galaxy cluster to observe because to the richness of the star-fields and the bright background due to the Milky Way. Makes identification difficult because star-patterns are very easy to confuse because there simply are so many stars. All these galaxies have low to very low surface brightnesses and it is nearly impossible to properly estimate sizes in the eyepiece because of the brightness of the background sky. ESO 137-6, ESO 137-8 & ESO 137-10 in a triangle with ESO 137-10 at the northern tip. This triangle is about 6 arc-mins a side. ESO 137-10 is seen to be slightly elongated in PA 0 and is the brightest of all. It has a short line of three magnitude 12-13 stars not far to the W. 1.5' x 40" in PA 0 and has a small slightly brighter core. ESO 137-06 & ESO 137-08 are E-W of each other and are simple, approximately 1' diameter spots of LSB haze brightening slightly to centre. Between ESO 137-10 & ESO 137-8 is ESO 137-11 which is somewhat to much fainter -- a spot of mist perhaps 30" diameter with a weak central brightening.

PGC 57656 (ESO 137-11) Gx Triangulum Australis
46cm x247: ESO 137-8 is the brightest of a large number of galaxies in AGC 3627 that includes ESO 137-1 (PGC 57532) 20’ NW, ESO 137-2 (PGC 57537) 16’ WNW, ESO 137-3 (PGC 57546) 16’ SW, ESO 137-6 (PGC 57612) 5’ WNW, ESO 137-7 (PGC 57637) 15’ N, ESO 137-10 (PGC 57652) 7’ NNE, ESO 137-11 (PGC 57656) 4’ NE and ESO 137-16 (PGC 57815) 26’ ESE. This is a challenging and frustrating galaxy cluster to observe because to the richness of the star-fields and the bright background due to the Milky Way. Makes identification difficult because star-patterns are very easy to confuse because there simply are so many stars. All these galaxies have low to very low surface brightnesses and it is nearly impossible to properly estimate sizes in the eyepiece because of the brightness of the background sky. Between ESO 137-10 & ESO 137-8 is ESO 137-11 which is somewhat to much fainter -- a spot of mist perhaps 30" diameter with a weak central brightening.

PGC 57815 (ESO 137-16) Gx Triangulum Australis
46cm x247: ESO 137-8 is the brightest of a large number of galaxies in AGC 3627 that includes ESO 137-1 (PGC 57532) 20’ NW, ESO 137-2 (PGC 57537) 16’ WNW, ESO 137-3 (PGC 57546) 16’ SW, ESO 137-6 (PGC 57612) 5’ WNW, ESO 137-7 (PGC 57637) 15’ N, ESO 137-10 (PGC 57652) 7’ NNE, ESO 137-11 (PGC 57656) 4’ NE and ESO 137-16 (PGC 57815) 26’ ESE. This is a challenging and frustrating galaxy cluster to observe because to the richness of the star-fields and the bright background due to the Milky Way. Makes identification difficult because star-patterns are very easy to confuse because there simply are so many stars. All these galaxies have low to very low surface brightnesses and it is nearly impossible to properly estimate sizes in the eyepiece because of the brightness of the background sky. Far off the E side of the cluster ESO 137-16 sits all by itself -- a small 30" diameter spot of very LSB mist with no detectable brightening to centre.

Hope they help,

Best,

L.
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Old 05-03-2020, 06:38 AM
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Thanks for the in-depth description of this cluster of galaxies Les, one look at an image of this area shows me how difficult it might be to spot some of the members. Now to get a good finder chart for A3627.
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Old 19-04-2020, 06:27 AM
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So tried for A3627 last night and after stuffing around for a while trying to star hop to it finally spotted the cluster. Spent about an hour identifying the member galaxies. Definitely a difficult field to negotiate but worth the effort. This cluster is associated with the Great attractor.
Thanks to Les for the detailed information regarding the difficulty and the member galaxy details.
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Old 19-04-2020, 06:17 PM
ausastronomer (John Bambury)
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Nice Reports.

I haven't observed these in some time, but did spend some time on them several years ago. My eyes and motivation are deteriorating as the years advance.

A3627 of course is designated the "Norma Cluster" but actually sits in TrA and borders Norma. I spent a couple of hours on this about 5 years ago with Steve Gottlieb at an Ozsky event using the 30" SDM. Lots of members and lots more bright background stars.

At one time in a former life, about 12 or 13 years ago (when my eyes worked nearly as good as Andrews), Andrew Murrell and I took the 25" Obsession out to Shane Supple's place at Bucketty and spent every available weekend night, over several months, observing Abell Clusters, Arp Galaxies and Palomar Globs. That covered many dusk to dawn sessions. If the target was brighter than Mag 10, the telescope wasn't allowed to be aimed near it. A1656 is one of my Fav Abell Clusters being nestled in such a rich field in Coma, with so many background galaxies. A 3526 in Centaurus is probably my overall favourite Abell Cluster as it contains several bright members visible in small telescopes. I can get a good number of those in my 10" SDM from my back lawn. Of course a large telescope and dark skies brings a whole lot more into view.

Cheers
John B
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Old 19-04-2020, 06:35 PM
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Thanks for the feedback John, I've viewed about a dozen of these Abell galaxy clusters now and slowly working my way through those that are visible with an 18 inch scope.
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