Thank you Glen and Paddy for your words.
NGC 1566 - a gem sharing the sky with a colossus
I was given the rarest of all gifts a married man with an astro fetish can get on Monday - a free pass to make a dash to a dark sky!!!
I didn't read the fine print that came with the pass, so I'll probably pay for it sooner or later...
Of the 'fresh' items I spied out that night, one was a complete revelation, the little Seyfert galaxy NGC 1566 in Dorado. I was inspired to chase it down by the recent SN that's been found in it. What I didn't expect was the absolute treasure that this galaxy is!!! OMG! Not only is it a pocket dynamo bright with easy arms to make out (I'm using a 17.5" dobbie), but one of the arms has its entire length lit up by beaded trail of massive stellar formation! What a cracker-jack galaxy!
I couldn't make out the supernova even though it was still visible this night. I just couldn't distinguish it from between 1566's bright core and the bright foreground star very close to the core.
You'll find a more complete write up on my blog site so I don't double up posts and threads:
Galaxy NGC 1566 - a hidden treasure deep in the Southern Sky
Object: Galaxy NGC 1566
Telescope: 17.5" Karee push-pull dob
Gear: 10mm Pentax XW, 200X
Date: 23rd September, 2014
Location: Katoomba Airfield, NSW Australia
Media: Soft pastel & charcoal on A4 size black paper.