The beautiful bared spiral galaxy, NGC 613 in Sculptor.This image taken at the European Southern Observatory Chile was obtained with the FORS1 and FORS2 multi-mode instruments (at VLT MELIPAL and YEPUN), North is up and west is to the right. It is about 67 million light-years distant and is a Milky Way sized galaxy in the order of 100,000ly diameter. Its photographic appearance has always reminded me a little of an octopus swimming at you.
I observed it tonight with Brontes for the first time and it's a very impressive, bright galaxy in this aperture range. Here are the notes I made while observing at x260:
"This is a large, bright and impressive galaxy that is overall in about PA 120. There is a magnitude 9 star about 2.5' NNE of the nucleus. Overall the oval or lens-shaped bar that dominates the object, is about 4.25' x 2.25' growing broadly and slightly to centre where there is a very small, 15" diameter round core that is hardly larger than the bright spot-type nucleus it contains.
A clear spiral arm springs from the south eastern end of the bar to immediately curl up and over the bar and head NW, reaching a point a little over half-way between its origin and the magnitude 9 star. Its total length is about 1.5' until it peters-out into the LSB background halo. That arm has a symmetrical counterpart at the NW end, that springs from the NW end of the bar to immediately curl south then south-southeast -- though it is somewhat fainter, of lower surface brightness and is less than half the other arm's length. The bend away from the end of the bar is the most easily seen portion.
The SW flank of the bar seems a little flattened and not quite as wide as the opposite NE flank suggestive of a dark lane underlining the SW flank. Lovely!"
Nice report Les. You (and others in the visual section) have inspired me to begin documenting my observing sessions with a little more care in 2019. A once-a-month dark site trip compels me to cram as much into the evening as possible, but you've made me realise that quality is more important than quantity.