ngc ? 4945/4976

[GrahamL]

Hey there all

I was wondering how bright these pair are to view through a 10" newt ?
I spent a good hour trying to track them down last night without luck
c80 and c 84 were very bright and easy to see and I'm pretty sure I kept comeing back to the right field but there just wasn't anything there to see ?

I do have a rather nasty older style burn a hole in the road type street light out front which is pretty close to were i was looking .

[janoskiss]

4945 should be doable in a 10" from semi-dark skies. It's edge on, so surface brightness is relatively high.

[Starkler]

4945 is dead easy from dark skies, but a bit harder to see from suburban skies due to the fact that its fairly large, and doesnt have a bright core.

[sheeny]

G'Day this is from my observations on Sunday night with 20 x80 T binoculars. I too have a burn a hole in the raod streetlight to content with (I hid around the corner from the other two!)

C83, NGC4945: Galaxy, just visible with direct vision. Clear with averted vision.

NGC4945A: Not visible. star visible with averted vision?

NGC4976: Not visible. star visible with averted vision?

You should be able to pick up NGC4945 easily in your dob, but it is edge on so it will appear as a fuzzy line not a disc.

Al.

[mickoking]

NGC 4945 can sometimes be a bit tricky. It is bright but is also quite large and you can completely miss it if you are expecting something smaller. It is not too difficult in a 200mm Dob, even from an outer suburban location. NGC 4975 is much smaller but has a higher surface brightness than 4945 and thru my 300 Dob looks a bit like a very distant Globular cluster.

[GrahamL]

Showed up easily at glens last night even in binocs

I sure was optimistic from home with the light from town directly below :lol:

[sheeny]

Interesting comment. Might explain why I had no problems with binocs but its not so easy in a bigger scope!

Al.

[sheeny]

So are you going to have another go from home? It would be interesting to see how you go this time!

Al.

[GrahamL]

Yes I will sheeny, but not to early in the night as well as "ole blazer" out front most of the towns sporting fields lie directly below this area of sky
I don't think it I'll see it to be honest the , background light is very close to the galaxys methinks so the two blend in perfectly.. which is prolly why despite looking .. and ..looking last week in the right spot I could never pick up any subtle changes that would give it away... but you never know;)

[sheeny]

Yeah well, night lit sporting fields aren't astro friendly!!!

I thought the light pollution where I live was pretty bad - but maybe it isn't so bad afterall.:shrug: I hate it though, just the same!

Al.