Observing NGC 253 20/10/09

[orestis]

Hi everybody,

Not too long ago i had observed ngc 253 in my 10x50 binos and was amazed by its brightness and size.
So i just had to look at it through my 5'' reflector.Starhopping was a breeze with some help from the binos as my finder has a narrow field F.O.V.
WOWit was massive just in my 25mm EP.Popped in the 15mm and it was even better in terms of detail but I prefered the low powered view as it was brighter.

Details:The galaxy seemed to be brighter in the western side compared to the eastern side and as i looked sometimes i saw bright hot spots in the galaxy and did not know if they were grouping of stars in the galaxy or some kind of illusion.I also did a sketch (attached)

Thanks for reading

clear skies,Orestis

[ausastronomer (John Bambury)]

Hi,

Those are excellent observations with a small scope. The dark patches are in fact dust lanes. This is an edge on spiral galaxy with a large number of dark dust lanes visible. In a large scope some other features are also visible. Another nice galaxy for small scopes is NGC 55 which is also in Sculptor. In a 5" scope you will see the bright nucleus and the bright western edge. You should also see the fainter Eastern edge but may not see any detail in that region in your 5" scope. You will see the bright HII regions near the nucleus and the dark rifts in the nucleus. This is a wonderful galaxy in small and large scopes.

Cheers,
John B

[orestis]

Originally Posted by ausastronomer

Hi,

Those are excellent observations with a small scope. The dark patches are in fact dust lanes. This is an edge on spiral galaxy with a large number of dark dust lanes visible. In a large scope some other features are also visible. Another nice galaxy for small scopes is NGC 55 which is also in Sculptor. In a 5" scope you will see the bright nucleus and the bright western edge. You should also see the fainter Eastern edge but may not see any detail in that region in your 5" scope. You will see the bright HII regions near the nucleus and the dark rifts in the nucleus. This is a wonderful galaxy in small and large scopes.

Cheers,
John B

Thanks John
Will try NGC 55 and let you know what i can see, When these clouds clear up(i Hope).

orestis