6 April 2021, 21:30 – 00:30 (BST)
Seeing: Good
Transparency: Average / good
Another very cold, gusty night, with another brief snow flurry during the day. Patchy clouds blowing south again (more so than the previous night). No condensation.
I started the session by revisiting Ursa Major’s two “Alula” doubles, but at a higher magnification.
Nu Ursae Majoris (Alula Borealis)
171x. As per last night: Pale yellow-orange primary and a faint secondary south. Oddly, despite there being a more comfortable gap between the two stars at this magnification, the secondary seemed fainter tonight.
Xi Ursae Majoris (Alula Australis)
171x. A paper-thin but clear split at this magnification. Two almost identical yellow-white stars; primary north, secondary south.
NGC 3430, galaxy, Leo Minor
133x. Very faint, amorphous patch of light; gradually brighter towards the centre with averted vision. This is the most prominent of a group of galaxies in the same small patch of sky, but only this one and NGC 3395 are plotted in the PSA.
NGC 3395 and 3396, interacting galaxies, Leo Minor
133x. Faint pair of galaxies angled towards each other, like a smaller, fainter version of NGC 4567/4568 in Virgo. The western one (NGC 3395) seemed slightly bigger and brighter. Averted vision suggested star-like cores in both galaxies.
NGC 3413, galaxy, Leo Minor
133x. (Plotted in SA 2000). Super faint smear of light, aligned north-south. Only visible with averted vision.
At this point the clouds were becoming larger and more frequent (blowing to the southeast), so I had to keep hopping from one clear patch of the sky to the next to stay ahead of them.
NGC 3242 “Ghost of Jupiter” (Caldwell 59), planetary nebula, Hydra
133x. Bright blue-green oval of light (seemed especially vivid after those faint galaxies). Appeared brighter on the northwest side. Similar impression at 171x, but less intense and softer-edged. Suggestion of darker core with averted vision.
65 Ursae Majoris
171x. Lovely triple star system; good split at this magnification. Two close stars with a more distant one trailing to the east.
NGC 4111, galaxy, Canes Venatici
171x. Bright streak of light with a bright core (as per last night).
NGC 4138, galaxy, Canes Venatici
171x. Faint round haze south of a field star. Brighter towards centre with averted vision.
I couldn’t locate the other galaxy (NGC 4143) plotted near here, so I spent the next few minutes revisiting some old favourites: M3 (showing a lot more stars at 171x), NGC 4565 (171x and 133x) and M51 at 133x. M51’s structure was visible with a little effort, but it looked more like a ring than a spiral tonight.
NGC 2300, galaxy, Cepheus
133x. One of the most northerly DSOs visible in my scope. Appeared as a small, condensed galaxy; bright core with averted vision. While using averted vision I had the impression of a larger, fainter galaxy above it (confirmed as NGC 2276), near a bright field star.
NGC 2268, galaxy, Camelopardalis
133x. Very faint oval haze. Increased in size with averted vision, which also revealed a small bright core.
NGC 5448, galaxy, Ursa Major
133x. Very faint streak of light, a little brighter towards the centre with averted vision. Almost disappeared in direct vision. Located in the southeastern corner of Ursa Major, east of Alkaid.
NGC 5676, galaxy, Boötes
133x. Large faint oval galaxy, gradually brighter towards the centre with averted vision. The most prominent member of a small gathering of galaxies in northern Boötes.
NGC 5689, galaxy, Boötes
133x. Faint streak of light – lens-shaped or edge-on; smaller than NGC 5676. Stellar core with averted vision.
IC 1029, galaxy, Boötes
133x. Very faint streak of light west of a field star. Like a ghost of NGC 5689, but rotated 90 degrees. Brighter star-like core with averted vision. Located about half a degree from NGC 5676.
NGC 5631, galaxy, Ursa Major
133x. Conspicuous round oval haze in a sparse star-field. Condensed stellar core with averted vision.
I couldn’t find nearby NGC 5585 (I think galaxy fatigue was setting in), but I did see a dramatic multiple star system west of its location (Struve 1831). I didn’t want to finish the night on a blank, so I tracked down one last galaxy just over the border in Draco:
NGC 5678, galaxy, Draco
133x. Slim oval smudge of light flanked by two field stars. Only very slightly brighter towards the centre with averted vision. Nice pale orange and blue double star due east (Struve 1872?).
Nature note:
Aside from a fox barking in the distance and two cats fighting out the front, it was very quiet again.
No comments:
Post a Comment