Ngc 253?

[orestis]

Hi everybody,

i was scanning the milky way with my 10x50 bino's looking at some favourites,when i thought i'll try to find ngc 253 as i've never seen it before and when i tried with the 5 inch telescope i couldn't find it.

anyway, when i went to the right of Diphda in cetus a tringle of stars pointed to a a brightish oval and it was quite large.AMAZING.

was i looking at Ngc 253 ?.

orestis

ps: i live in a pretty dark site where i can see the whole milky way.

[mac (Matt)]

I haven't seen it myself (my apartment balcony faces the wrong direction!), but according to Stellarium it should appear as a fuzzy oval. So yep, it sounds like you found it. It has a magnitude of 7.10.

[Blackant (Ant)]

Hi Orestis,

I'm a bit of a newb as far as galaxies go my self, but through my 8" Dob to me it appears somewhere between an elongated oval and a long cigar shape, with a brightening bulge in the middle.

Through my 10X50s there is also a globlular cluster that I can see in the same field of view as a fuzzy ball, NGC 288.

It's an awesome feeling looking at galaxies isn't it

Kind regards

Ant

[orestis]

Originally Posted by mac

I haven't seen it myself (my apartment balcony faces the wrong direction!), but according to Stellarium it should appear as a fuzzy oval. So yep, it sounds like you found it. It has a magnitude of 7.10.

Hi matt,

Yes i think i did see it.My version of stellarium doesn't have ngc 253 so downloading new vesion 0.10.2.

thanks
orestis.

[orestis]

Originally Posted by Blackant

Hi Orestis,

I'm a bit of a newb as far as galaxies go my self, but through my 8" Dob to me it appears somewhere between an elongated oval and a long cigar shape, with a brightening bulge in the middle.

Through my 10X50s there is also a globlular cluster that I can see in the same field of view as a fuzzy ball, NGC 288.

It's an awesome feeling looking at galaxies isn't it

Kind regards

Ant

Hi Ant ,

No worries i'm definately a newb as i'm only 13 yrs old.
Regarding ngc 288 its amazing in my 5''.
Yes it is an amazing feeling indeed Just to know the great distances involved.

Absolutely Amazing.

orestis

[mac (Matt)]

When I was 13 years old I was obsessed by astronomy, but noone else I knew had any interest in it and I was merely 'tolerated'. But that was before the Internet and forums like these!

Now you just need to nag your parents for a 10" dob

[orestis]

Originally Posted by mac

Now you just need to nag your parents for a 10" dob

totally!
Can't wait to get a beast like a 10'' dob!
Just need to start saving up.

clear skies

orestis

[mozzie (Peter)]

spent a bit of time on ngc253 tonight clear crisp and bright a nice sight with some detail near the centre some averted vision there was dust lanes that were pleasent to see i was at 180x witha 17mm nagler
mozzie

[orestis]

Originally Posted by mozzie

spent a bit of time on ngc253 tonight clear crisp and bright a nice sight with some detail near the centre some averted vision there was dust lanes that were pleasent to see i was at 180x witha 17mm nagler
mozzie

Was that with the 12'' or 8''.
I saw M31 yesterday through my bino's, it was quite bright and big ,same shape as ngc 253 but a lot brighter with a definate bright core. Awesome.

Sounds like you hade a good night.

orestis.

[mozzie (Peter)]

Originally Posted by orestis

Was that with the 12'' or 8''.
I saw M31 yesterday through my bino's, it was quite bright and big ,same shape as ngc 253 but a lot brighter with a definate bright core. Awesome.

Sounds like you hade a good night.

orestis.

it was with the 12" the night was a beauty but it clouded in around 2am i think ill have a quick look again tonight
mozzie
i also see m31 with my binos not the scope its just below the tree tops bugger

[ngcles]

Hi Orestis & All,

Well done on picking up NGC 253 in the Binos mate.

While you are in that part of the sky, there is another good binocular object in the form of the nearby and not well known open cluster Blanco 1.

Blanco 1 is a fraction to the south of the mid-point between NGC 253 and the bright 1st magnitude star Fomalhaut in Piscis Austrinus.

Somewhat over-sized for all but the shortest focal length 'scopes, it is perfect for binoculars. Not quite dazzling but is interesting in that you would normally expect to find O.C's along the galactic plane, not huddled over the South Galactic Pole (as this one is).

Check it out and see what you think of it.


Best,

Les D

[orestis]

Originally Posted by ngcles

Hi Orestis & All,

Well done on picking up NGC 253 in the Binos mate.

While you are in that part of the sky, there is another good binocular object in the form of the nearby and not well known open cluster Blanco 1.

Blanco 1 is a fraction to the south of the mid-point between NGC 253 and the bright 1st magnitude star Fomalhaut in Piscis Austrinus.

Somewhat over-sized for all but the shortest focal length 'scopes, it is perfect for binoculars. Not quite dazzling but is interesting in that you would normally expect to find O.C's along the galactic plane, not huddled over the South Galactic Pole (as this one is).

Check it out and see what you think of it.


Best,

Les D

Thanks Les. Will try it out when these clouds clear.
I hope.

orestis

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

NGC253 is definaitely seeable in 10x50 binos, I can even pick it up just in my 8x50 finder, but it is very small. I get considerable light pollution to the south so if you have a reasonably dark site you should have no worries.