Category: Galaxy

Siamese If You Please

Siamese Twins

The Siamese Twins (NGC 4567, 4568, and 4564)
Sketch and Details by Bill Ferris

NGC 4567 & NGC 4568 “Siamese Twins”: Galaxy Pair (Virgo)
RA: 12h 36.6m / DEC: +11º 15′.5
Instrument: 18-inch Obsession

This interacting galaxy pair resides in the heart of the Virgo cluster. My sketch presents a 199X view in the 18-inch Obsession. NGC 4567 and NGC 4568 stand just inside the southern field boundary. This duo is known collectively as the “Siamese Twins.” Of the two, NGC 4567 is more prominent. This 11.3 magnitude SA-type galaxy ranges over a 2′.8 by 1′ area and is aligned nearly east-to-west. This galaxy features a stellar core embedded within a brighter core region. NGC 4568 connects at the eastern tip and extends to the south-southwest. This 10.8 magnitude spiral is about the same length but cuts a slimmer profile. NGC 4568 also presents a brighter core region within the larger oval but does not present a stellaring at the center. A close pair of bright stars simmers 3′ to the east. About 11′ north just inside the opposite field boundary, NGC 4564 is seen. It’s an 11.1 magnitude elliptical galaxy about 1′.5 by 0′.6 in size. NGC 4564 is arranged along a northeast-to-southwest axis. It is flanked 4′ to the southeast and 3′ to the northwest by 12th magnitude stars. You’ll find the Siamese Twins about 38 southeast of M58.

Bright Gem in Virgo’s Collection

M58

M58, Virgo Cluster Galaxy
Sketch and Details by Jeremy Perez

M58 was my final Virgo Cluster galaxy observation on the evening of July 25. The core was faintly stellar and had a soft plateau of brightness that then dropped off gradually at the edges. It was mildly elliptical at a PA of about 70 degrees. The NGCIC project database notes a PA of 95 degrees. Checking the DSS Image shows the extended outer halo aligning reasonably well to 95 degrees. The inner core region however does line up closely to 70 degrees and is certainly the only portion I actually saw that night.

Object Information:

As with its neighbors, M58 lies about 60 million light years away. It is one of the brightest members of the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies. Charles Messier discovered M58 on April 15, 1779 along with M59 and M60 while observing the comet of 1779.

M58 is also cataloged as: NGC 4579, UGC 7796, MCG+02-32-160, CGCG 070.197, h 1368, GC 3121, VCC 1727, IRAS 12351+1205, PGC 42168

Subject M58 (NGC 4579)
Classification* Spiral Galaxy (Sb)
Position* Virgo [RA: 12:37:43.5 / Dec: 11:49:05]
Size* 5.9′ x 4.7′
Brightness* 10.1 vMag
Date/Time June 25, 2008 – 10:20 PM MST (June 26, 2008 – 05:20 UT)
Observing Loc. Flagstaff, AZ – Home
Instrument Orion SkyQuest XT8 (203 mm dia./1200 mm F/L)
Eyepieces/Mag. 10 mm Sirius Plössl (120X)
Conditions Clear, calm
Seeing 5/10 Pickering
Transparency ~ Mag 5.5 NELM
*References SEDS; NGCIC.org

Galactic Hat Dance

Sombero 120XSombrero 2

The Sombrero Galaxy, M104
Sketches and Details by Jeremy Perez

It’s about time I sketched this beautiful, bright galaxy. Once again, I observed from home, which is not the best place to see structure in galaxies–but the Sombrero was very cooperative. It was conveniently aligned at a PA of 90 degrees. The visible extent appeared to be about 1 x 6 arc minutes. At 120X, the sharp drop in brightness along the south edge was picked up again by a subtle, soft brightening. I would not say the dark lane was apparent at this scale, and under these conditions. At 240X however, the dark lane dividing the two regions was visible. The apparent width of this southern section was about 3 arc minutes.

The heart of the galaxy was punctuated by a stellar core. At 120X, this core appered to be at the edge of the dark lane boundary. At 240X, it was definitely separated from the dark lane. The dark lane appeared to bow very slightly around the stellar core.

Object Information:

M104, the Sombrero Galaxy, lies about 50 million light years away and is a primary member of the M104 group of galaxies. It is an Sa/Sb type galaxy, seen from about 6 degrees above its equatorial plane. It sports a pronounced dust lane as well as a large population of globular clusters. In 1912, it was found to have a large redshift of 1000 km/sec by V. Slipher at Lowell Observatory. M104 was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781.

Subject M104 (NGC 4594)
Classification Spiral Galaxy (Sa-Sb)
Position* Virgo [RA: 12:40:00 / Dec: -11:37:00]
Size* 9′ x 4′
Brightness* 8.0 vMag
Date/Time June 21, 2007 – 9:30 PM MST (June 22, 2007 – 04:30 UT)
Observing Loc. Flagstaff, AZ – Home
Instrument Orion SkyQuest XT8 (203 mm dia./1200 mm F/L)
Eyepieces/Mag. 10 mm Sirius Plössl (120X) / 10 mm Sirius Plössl + 2X Barlow (240X)
Conditions Clear, breezy
Seeing 5/10 Pickering
Transparency ~ Mag 5.5 NELM
*References SEDS

A Flower in a Field of Space

M63

M63, the Sunflower Galaxy
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

There are a handful of bright springtime galaxies that can be reached by modest telescopes in the light polluted south suburbs of Chicago. At approximately 9th magnitude M-63 is one of those galaxies. A spiral galaxy with a bright central bulge of about 4”of arc, this galaxy quickly drops off in brightness where you might hope to see many short spiral arms and knotty dust bands. However they were not visible at the eyepiece of a 10 inch telescope under my sky conditions. Three days after I drew this sketch my daughter and I had an opportunity to observe M-63 under exceptionally transparent conditions at Kitt Peak National Observatory using a 20” RC telescope. The galaxy appeared much brighter and more than twice the diameter but the spiral arms were not detected at all. Never the less this is a beautiful galaxy to see at the eyepiece by direct vision. It is the astrophotography that gives this galaxy the name sunflower.

This galaxy is easily located between Cor Caroli in Canes Venatici and Alkaid in Ursa Major. It was discovered 229 years ago this month by Pierre Méchain.

Sketching:

9”x12” white sketching paper; 4B graphite pencil and a blending stump; after sketching a 6” circle was cut from the sketching paper;

Scanned and inverted; brightness of stars adjusted with MS Paint.

Scope: 10” f/5.7 Dobsonian: 24 mm widefield eyepiece 60x and 12 mm eyepiece 121x

Date and Time: 6-2-2008, 3:00-4:30 UT

Seeing: Pickering 7/10

Transparency: Good 3/5

NELM: 4.6

Frank McCabe

Galactic Smirk

NGC 5529

NGC 5529
Sketch and Details by Bill Ferris

NGC 5529: Edge-on Galaxy (Bootes) RA: 14h 15.6m / DEC: +36º 13′.6
Instrument: 18-inch Obsession

Here’s an interesting edge-on galaxy. NGC 5529 resides in west-central Boötes about 4 degrees southwest of 3rd magnitude Gamma (27) Bootis. My sketch presents a 199X view in the 18-inch Obsession. NGC 5529 is the thin sliver of light at the center. This 11.9 magnitude spiral covers a 6′ by 0′.7 patch of sky with that part west of the core appearing brighter than its counterpart to the east. The core region is slightly irregular in shape, looking like two small humps on either side of the core. An interesting three-star asterism stands a few arcminutes to the east. A faint 14th magnitude sparkler simmers close by, just off the galaxy’s eastern tip. And 1′.7 south of this star is where PGC 50952 emerges from the night. This 15.3 magnitude spiral presents as a 30″ diameter glow. It’s very subtle and best seen with averted vision. Even more challenging, is the delicate smudge some 5′ to the northwest. That tiny patch of fog is MCG +06-31-85a, a 16th magnitude galaxy with just the brighter 0′.3 diameter core being visible in the 18-inch. This galaxy is seen intermittently with averted vision, but always in the same location. This view is framed by twenty-five stars scattered throughout the field in my sketch.

The Swirling Splendor of M51

M51

M51 (NGC 5194 and 5195)
Sketch by Serge Vieillard

Serge Vieillard created this sketch of M51 during three precious minutes he had at the eyepiece of a 60 cm (T600) telescope. The intricate detail that was visible conflicted with the short amount of time he had to record it. Serge notes that he wished he had hours to spend on the nearly photographic detail, but he did his best to quickly capture the main features of this beautiful pair of galaxies. He did have opportunity a little later in the evening to spend 2 more minutes at the 80 cm (T800) telescope to refine a few more details.

A Splinter in Virgo

NGC 5170

NGC 5170
Sketch and Details by Kiminori Ikebe

NGC 5170 Vir galaxy
2000.04.09 01:35
32cm at 150x

A good contrast with the face-one galaxy NGC 5247 located 1.7 degrees to the east. Not very bright but a fine sight with a very long and narrow shape. No bulging at the center. A long and narrow central condensation with a gradual fading towards the ends.

Hickson 70

Hickson 70

Hickson 70
Sketch and Commentary by Bill Ferris
Move cursor over image to see labels.

Hickson 70: Galaxy Cluster (Canes Venatici)
RA: 14h 04.2m / DEC: +33º 20′.3
Instrument: 18-inch Obsession

Hickson 70 resides in far eastern Canes Venatici. The magnificent M3 can be found just 7 degrees to the southwest. But this cluster presents more challenging fare. My sketch combines 199X and 272X views in the 18-inch Obsession. Seven member galaxies in this tightly-packed cluster are visible. Hickson 70A is cataloged as UGC 8990 (=MCG +06-31-59, PGC 50139) and is often misidentified as IC 4371. The 16.1(B) magnitude galaxy resides at 14 hrs., 04 min., 10 sec,; +33 deg., 20.3 minutes and is nearly centered in my sketch. It features a stellar core and covers a 0′.7 by 0′.3 area. Hickson 70D (=IC 4370, MCG +06-31-60) appears as a tiny, 16th magnitude smudge along the northern edge of Hickson 70A. About 2′ to the south, Hickson 70B (=IC 4371, MCG +06-31-61, PGC 50140) displays a stellar core embedded within a 0′.5 by 0′.3 oval glow. 11.0 magnitude SAO 63918 simmers another 2′.3 to the south. The thin sliver of light 2′ to the east of Hickson 70B is MCG +06-31-064. This 16.2(B) magnitude galaxy covers a 0′.5 by 0′.2 area and is aligned northeast to southwest. Three galaxies are grouped to the southwest of Hickson 70A. These include 16.2(B) magnitude Hickson 70E (=IC 4369, MCG +06-31-58, PGC 50134), 17.3(B) magnitude Hickson 70F (=MCG +06-31-57, PGC 50133), and 17.4 magnitude 2MASX J14040011+3319540. Hicksons 70E and 70F are very close to each other and just 1′.3 southwest of Hickson 70A. High magnification was needed to consistently separate the two.