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Cavorting in Corvus
Following the never-changing satellite shuffle of Jupiter and the fleeting sweep of the GRS, the simple Crow follows its course high in the northern sky in early evening, viewed from my back garden. I have often used its well-known quadrilateral shape to guide me to the Sombrero galaxy. Last month on a rare clear March night I revisited some deep sky challenges and some delicate multiple stars. Here are myb pick of 7.
Instrument: 10” F5 Dob, eyepieces: Denkmeier 21 and Baader Hype 13. Seeing: 6/10, Transparency 8/10. Position: Terara, New South Wales, Australia, Long.150º.38 ; Dec. S 34º.52. Time: 9.30 –10.30p.m local; UT +9. Friday, March 13 th No Moon.
1) NGC 4038/39. This is the well-known Antennae or Ring-Tail Galaxy located between Gamma Corvus and Crater. A pair of fairly dim (mag 11) interacting galaxies, which under these skies appeared as faint connected insect-like wings with little detail and in a rich field of stars at X60. In the same field glows the fainter NGC 4027 which emerges @ X150.
2) Delta Corvus. This is a wide delightful pair (mag.3/9.2; Sep.24.2:” and PA 214), easy to find, easy to see and an interesting coloured companion to scrutinize in small scopes. Smyth and Kepple and Sanner mention purple! Ah for such vision!
Comments. Tonight I see A as Whitish and B as Wine Red. A beautiful pair.
3) B28. North of the pair Delta and Eta lies a closer pair of Sep. 2.2” and mag. 6.5/8.6 Described as Yellow and White and easy in 7.5 objectives.
Comments: I found this star hard to separate and suspect poor collimation. I just managed a split at X150 and found the stars Yellowish and White with another fainter companion north of field.
4) h4481. This is an almost-equal pair of mag. 8.0 and 8.1 stars, Sep 3.6” and PA 194. Located near Epsilon Corvus.
Comments: Easily split with low power, I see them as light blue twins.
Before leaving core Corvus country, hunt down the elusive pn NGC 4361. Its small size 45” and mag 10.9 makes it faint in the 10” but there it is, a delicate fog of gas with its dying central star just visible. Hubble generates great Catherine Wheel images but to list it in my Interstellarum as ‘The Lawn Sprinkler,’ is just unforgivable….
5) Struve 1659. For years I passed over this treasure on the base of the Y-shaped group that points to the location of the Sombrero Galaxy without realising I had a treasure within reach. This is a beautiful trio of 6.0/6.1(Sep5.4”) with a mag. 10.5 at Sep 59” nearby. It lies within a larger triangle of faint stars, all forming the Stargate Cluster.
Comments: This is a striking almost-equal Yellow pair with the faint, ghost-like blue third star forming the top of a slim isosceles triangle.
6) The bottom of the Y-shaped group points to Struve 1664, which lies in a thin arrow like cluster called ‘The Wedge,’ which points to M104 in a low power eyepiece. This wide double forms the arrow’s feather. The pair are mag 7.6 and 9.1 and sep 35”.
7) M104. The Sombrero Galaxy. Clearly visible in my 25X100 binos, this is an easy and rewarding galaxy, much photographed. In the 10” the saucer-like shape and thin dark lane are obvious, with a faint star within and several in the field. Classic galaxy shape. While in the area – as they say in wineries brochures- check out the delicate gc M68; round, condensed @60 with many scattered stars @150 and set near a crown of mag. 9 stars SE.
Good hunting.
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