The Lion’s Tail

26 March 2020, 20:30 – 22:15

Conditions: Cold and breezy (again). No clouds, no condensation.

Seeing: Poor to average
Transparency: Poor

Breeze aside, the forecasts on clearoutside.com and other websites predicted a really good night for observing. However, as soon as I went outside I could tell it was going to be a challenging session. Although the stars were out and astronomical twilight had passed, the cloudless sky seemed unusually bright, particularly the western half – which was dominated by a weird glow that had no obvious source. It seemed too bright and too big for the Zodiacal Light, although that may have contributed to the overall glow. Add to that an excessive (even by 2020 standards) number of satellites crawling across the sky and weird rummaging noises coming from the overgrown parts of the garden (I never did identify the culprit(s)), and it was altogether a very strange evening.

I started by looking at some double stars with the 9mm Nagler (133x). Polaris, Mizar/Alcor and Gamma Leonis have all been previously documented, but I did observe one new double while star-hopping to a galaxy.

54 Leonis, double star, Leo
A pretty pair of bright stars – close (6 arcseconds), but clearly separated at 133x. White primary and a green/blue secondary. (There are no green stars, so this must be a contrast effect.)

NGC 3344, galaxy, Leo Minor
133x. An extended, irregular misty patch with 2 bright foreground stars superimposed. Admittedly the conditions weren’t ideal, but its apparent “shapelessness”, along with the two field stars, made it seem more like a reflection nebula than a galaxy.

Despite the adverse conditions I had a go at “mopping up” the dozen or so galaxies on PSA chart G (The Lion’s Tail). Several of them weren’t visible tonight, but I did observe the following:

NGC 3607 & 3608, galaxy pair, Leo
Two faint misty patches comfortably in same fov at 133x. Similar size, but 3607 seemed brighter than 3608.

NGC 3626, galaxy, Leo
(Caldwell 40) 133x. Faint ellipse, aligned roughly north-south. Stellar core with averted vision.

NGC 3655, galaxy, Leo
133x. Ghostly ellipse, rather faint. Brighter towards centre with averted vision.

NGC 3593, galaxy, Leo
133x. Faint ellipse not far from the Leo Triplet, aligned east-west. Brighter towards centre with averted vision.

The Leo Triplet galaxies themselves were unimpressive tonight, even when I dropped down to 92x. I had also planned to track down some galaxies in the north-western corner of Coma Berenices, but that didn’t last very long…

NGC 4448, galaxy, Coma Berenices
92x. Ellipse near Gamma Comae Berenices, aligned east-west. Brighter towards the centre.

And with that uninspiring description, the session kind of fizzled out. The curious glow had subsided somewhat, but the sky transparency was still very poor. Globular cluster M3 still looked impressive at 133x, albeit a little washed out. It just wasn’t a night for galaxy hunting. Still, I can’t complain. To get this many (relatively) clear nights over a new moon period is rare for any time of the year, let alone early spring.

Galaxies, Globulars and a Comet

23 March 2020, 20:30 – 23:30

Conditions: Another cold, breezy night. The wind wasn’t as excessive as it was on Sunday, but still too severe for astrophotography. After the rigours of the Virgo Cluster this session was somewhat unstructured, and it took me a long time to properly get going. Though with hindsight I think my eyes hadn’t fully recovered from the previous night. Peering at faint galaxies can be surprisingly tiring.

Seeing: Good
Transparency: Average

Comet C/2019 Y4 (Atlas)
Viewed at 133x (Nagler 9mm) and 171x (DeLite 7mm). Other than having moved near a different star it appeared much the same as it did the previous night. Though without the glare of Rho UMa affecting it, there did seem to be a hint of a stubby tail to the southeast.

While I was in the area I took another look at M81, M82 and NGC 3077 at 133x and 171x. Nothing to add to previous notes. I think I’ve reached the point with these galaxies (particularly M81 and M82) where I’d need one of those rare nights of excellent transparency to eke out any more detail.

M94, galaxy, Canes Venatici
171x. Bright core; mottled outer envelope. Again, not much to add to previous notes.

The Leo Triplet, as imaged on the following night (24 March)

M65, galaxy, Leo
133x. Large, extended galaxy with bright core. Suggestion of dark and light bands on eastern side (dust lane and spiral arm).

M66, galaxy, Leo
133x. Initially appears smaller than M65, but with time the fainter outer regions became more apparent and the overall shape seemed more irregular than M65. Stellar nucleus, but the surrounding core region seemed larger than the one in M65.

NGC 3628, galaxy, Leo
133x. Third member of the Leo Triplet. A large, faint, boxy galaxy. The dust lane was just about visible with averted vision, but this galaxy really needs a night of excellent transparency to get the best out of it.

NGC 3521, galaxy, Leo
133x. Large oval galaxy, aligned north-south. Bright stellar nucleus. With averted vision it seemed more elongated and elliptical, with a suggestion of a dark lane on the western side. Quite an impressive galaxy tucked away in the southern reaches of Leo.

NGC 4429, galaxy, Virgo
133x. A quick sweep along Markarian's Chain and then south to pick up a galaxy I missed last night. Bright smudge of light, aligned east-west, just south of bright star. Core seemed slightly offset to the east.

M53, globular cluster, Coma Berenices
133x. Subtle, very pale blue tinge. Quite well resolved with averted vision. Large outer halo of faint stars at this magnification; loses starfish shape noted previously. Still no sign of NGC 5053!

M3, globular cluster, Canes Venatici
133x. Bigger, brighter, bolder than M53. Lots of stars resolved with direct vision. Averted vision revealed a roughly triangular pattern of star chains pointing west.

NGC 5466, globular cluster, Boötes
133x. A first foray into the hinterlands of Boötes. After drawing a blank on NGC 5053 I wasn’t confident of finding this one, but it showed up without too much difficulty, appearing as an extended misty patch. Rich sprinkling of faint stars with averted vision, but no sign of the central condensation typically seen in globular clusters. Not striking as globulars go, but certainly unusual and worth tracking down.

NGC 5248, galaxy, Boötes
(Caldwell 45) 133x. Faint oval, brighter towards the centre. Faint stars SW and S of core.

NGC 5866 (M102?), galaxy, Draco
Viewed at 133x and 171x. Bright little lens-shaped galaxy forming a triangle with two field stars. Symmetrical shape and no detail that I could see (I think I’ll need higher power to stand a chance of spotting the central dust lane), although the 7mm DeLite seemed to show fainter “extensions”, increasing the length of the galaxy. Worth seeing, regardless of its disputed Messier status.

Three Globulars and a lot of Galaxies

26 February 2019, 19:15 – 22:15

Very mild for time of year, a little hazy; some condensation, but not as bad as the last few sessions. All observations with the 9mm Nagler at 133x.

M79, globular cluster in Lepus
Grainy fuzzball – small and condensed, but quite distinctive despite the light pollution in this part of the sky. A single faint star resolved on northern edge (and it is a cluster member, not a foreground star; see the DeepSkyVideos take on M79). I was amazed I could see it so well given its declination (-24 degrees = about 15 degrees above the horizon at culmination).

NGC 2355, open cluster in Gemini
The “leaf” cluster, as described previously. Looked a little hazy tonight.

NGC 2266, open cluster in Gemini
Rich little cluster. Shape resembles a triangle with caved-in sides. Brightest star at southern apex.

NGC 2129, open cluster in Gemini
Two bright stars with a retinue of fainter stars in two lines arranged roughly east-west (southern line straight, the northern one wavy – like an approximation symbol).

M35, NGC 2158, open clusters in Gemini
Latter partially resolved with averted vision; M35 fills the field of view at 133x.

NGC 2419, globular cluster in Lynx
Found it at last (on the third attempt!). The so-called “intergalactic wanderer”. Faint round blur in line with two bright stars. Averted vision increases its size but little else. A few faint foreground stars sprinkled around the cluster, but obviously not associated with it.

NGC 2841, galaxy in Ursa Major
Elliptical shape, stellar nucleus embedded in what looked like a bar-shaped core region. Faint foreground star on western end. Dark lane on southern edge of galaxy?

NGC 2681, galaxy in Ursa Major
Small, round galaxy, fainter than 2841. Stellar nucleus with faint outer envelope. Two stars on western side of galaxy and a fainter one to the east.

M108, galaxy in Ursa Major
Large, extended, seems “mottled” with averted vision. Foreground star near nucleus and another one to the west.

M109, galaxy in Ursa Major
Hazy round blur. Seems kind of faint for a Messier object (albeit a belated entry), especially given all the much more obvious NGC galaxies in and around the same constellation.

NGC 3613, galaxy in Ursa Major
Faint round blur midway between two field stars. Bright, bar-like core. This area (in the bowl of Ursa Major) is one that would benefit from a 50mm finderscope alongside the EZ finder (I was actually looking for 3619).

NGC 3898, galaxy in Ursa Major
Another one inside the body of the Bear. Bright, stellar core; faint outer envelope. Overall, similar in brightness to 3613.

At this point I took a temporary break from galaxies to revisit some familiar double stars:

Mizar / Alcor, Ursa Major
Famous double star in Ursa Major: Both stars well-framed at 133x; Mizar resolves into a pair of icy blue stars.

Cor Caroli, Canes Venatici
Nice split at 20 arcseconds (similar separation to Mizar). Pale yellow secondary?

Gamma Leonis
Closely-paired double. Narrow separation and variable seeing made it tough to discern colours but the primary seemed pale orange and the secondary seemed pale yellow.

Back to the galaxies...

NGC 3607, NGC 3608, galaxies in Leo
Another Leo pair, fairly close together in the field of view. The smaller one (3608) forms a triangle with two stars. Both with stellar cores. Seemed like there were other galaxies in vicinity, but transparency and condensation (and tiredness) made it hard to be sure.

NGC 4565, Needle Galaxy in Coma Berenices
Well this one snapped me out of my tiredness in a hurry. I may have been hasty in stating that M82 was the best edge-on galaxy. After star-hopping to what I hoped was the correct region, it suddenly appeared as a long stiletto of milky light sliding into the field of view. The central bulge was clearly visible with a field star just to the north. The dark dust lane was visible without too much difficulty using averted vision, offset slightly to the north. Easily the night’s highlight despite the conditions and the less than optimal placement. On this evidence, much better than NGC 891, the other well-known edge-on galaxy in Andromeda.

NGC 4631, Whale Galaxy in Canes Venatici
Large, extended. Western end brighter and fatter. Star on northern edge of central region.

NGC 4656/7, Hockey Stick Galaxy in Canes Venatici
Extended blur, smaller and fainter than its neighbour (4631). Tired eyes prevented me from seeing more detail.

I started the evening with a globular, so it seemed apt to finish with one:

M3, globular cluster in Canes Venatici
Rising into view out of the east. A dense fuzzball of stars, well resolved with averted vision despite conditions/tiredness and other factors. After all the colourless galaxies, it seemed to have a distinctly bluish tinge. Weather (and moon) permitting, I’ll be coming back to this object, so it will be interesting to see if this is a real effect (over-abundance of blue stragglers perhaps?).

As I was starting to pack up, the night was capped by a slow meteor which left a brief trail as it descended past Polaris towards the northern horizon.

Galaxy Pairs in Leo

10 February 2019, 20:15 – 23:15

Conditions: Cold, but not freezing; light wind. Some interference from the crescent moon, but the transparency improved considerably once it got out of the way. Only meant to stay out for 90 minutes, but it turned into something of a marathon session.


Began with a low-power sweep across Auriga, stumbled upon M37: rich, lovely cluster. 50x really shows the cluster in context of its surroundings, at the expense of the fainter stars.

Then revisited some old favourites to test a new Astronomik OIII filter:
M42, Orion Nebula: western section greatly filled in. View similar to Ultrablock, but even more contrast between nebula and surrounding sky.
M1, Crab Nebula: OIII made it bigger; the edges seemed “crisper” and more defined, but as always, the Crab is one of those telescopic objects where expectation far exceeds reality.
Rosette Nebula: nebulosity more evenly distributed around cluster, more expansive.
Eskimo Nebula: very bright in OIII, overwhelming the central star.
M97, Owl Nebula: The OIII really benefits this planetary nebula, transforming it into a bright disc with sharper edges. Averted vision brings out the two dark cavities (the Owl’s “eyes”). Faint star adjacent to nebula. Otherwise there’s not much to choose between this (the OIII) and the Ultrablock, but still a huge improvement on the unfiltered view.

NGC 2022, planetary nebula in Orion
Small annulus of light, seemed to have brighter patches on opposite sides. Compared to previous observation, the OIII filter made it look even more like a mini M57.

NGC 2420, open cluster in Gemini
Rich, condensed mixture of directly resolved stars and underlying haze that resolves with averted vision. Brighter stars form a rough outline resembling a three-legged spiral or a propeller with swept-back blades.

NGC 2371-2, planetary nebula in Gemini
Small, elongated, bi-lobed nebula, like two tiny comets travelling in opposite directions. One lobe appeared slightly brighter than the other, with suggestion of a condensed core.

NGC 2683, galaxy in Lynx
Bright, lens-shaped galaxy. Suggestion of mottling around core and dark lane to north.

NGC 2775, galaxy in Cancer
Not as bright as 2683, but rounder, more face-on than previous galaxy. Averted vision shows stellar nucleus.

M67, open cluster in Cancer
Rich, fully resolved at 133x, though would probably look better at lower magnification to provide context.

M41, open cluster in Canis Major
Quick look: rich, sprawling cluster, bright stars forming curved lines. Unfortunately hampered by low altitude (-20 degrees declination) and local light pollution.

NGC 2903, galaxy in Leo
Large and bright as non-Messier galaxies go. Extended envelope surrounding bright core, with suggestion of at least one spiral arm. Slightly ragged appearance – arms not tightly wound, so in that sense intermediate between M81 and M33.

M95, M96, M105, NGC 3384, NGC 3412 and NGC 3377, galaxies in Leo
This was a pleasant surprise after the trouble I had picking out faint galaxies last autumn. A casual sweep of the area revealed six bright galaxies all within a few degrees of each other. M105 and NGC 3384 formed a close pair; M95 and M96 a wider pair. Initial impressions: all six galaxies showed condensed star-like cores and faint outer envelopes, with individual variations in size, brightness and roundness. M95 and M96 looked like they might show more detail with prolonged observation.

NGC 3190 and NGC 3193, galaxies in Leo
The atlas showed this pair positioned halfway between two naked-eye stars in the head of the lion – Gamma and Zeta Leonis (Algieba and Adhafera), so I knew I wouldn’t have to waste too much time sweeping the area. As it turned out, they showed up really well in the XT10. Smaller and fainter than previous set, but a pleasingly contrasting pair of galaxies in a star-rich fov. One circular, other edge-on, like mini version of M81 and M82.

NGC 3226 and NGC 3227, galaxies in Leo
As before, another easy star-hop from Gamma Leonis (Algieba). Slightly fainter than previous pair. Very close pair of galaxies, arranged end to end, long axes aligned. Condensed cores.

M65 and M66, galaxies in Leo
Larger, brighter than the M95/M96 pair, but the outer regions have lower surface brightness. Averted vision suggested brightness variations around the nuclei.

NGC 3628, galaxy, Leo
Third member of the Leo Triplet: faint bar of light perpendicular to M65/M66 pair. No central condensation; possible distortion/hook at one end? This galaxy (and the previous pair) was still fairly low down when I observed it – with higher altitude I might be able to see the dark lane.

M51 & NGC 5195, Whirlpool Galaxy in Canes Venatici
In a night of highlights, this was the undoubted stand-out. After staring at M51 for a couple of minutes I realised I could see the spiral arms quite clearly, defined by the dark space separating them. One arm curling out from core region around a foreground star. A magnificent sight at 133x, even though it was still some way from the zenith. With averted vision it started to look like a ghostly monochrome photo. A sketch might be in order.

M101, spiral galaxy in Ursa Major
Faint, hard to find (again). Hint of spiral structure, but my eyes were starting to feel tired by now.

M82, cigar galaxy in Ursa Major
Extended streak of light tapering to points at either end. High surface brightness, lots of detail in the form of bright condensations and dark dust lanes and notches. Best edge-on galaxy by far. Again, another sketch might be in order.

M81, spiral galaxy in Ursa Major
Bright core, extensive outer region. Possible dark patches near nucleus, but my eyes were getting really tired now, so time to call it a night.

Nature note 
Two frogs mating in the pond. I guess it’s never too early…