tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79583158855135371672024-03-14T09:37:02.638+02:00Breath on a Mirror - Astronomy blog by Jaakko SalorantaJaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-73752245897323715112017-09-25T13:12:00.000+03:002017-09-25T13:14:05.580+03:00Few quick observations @ Deep Sky Meeting 2017<u>Observing place:</u> Tähtikallio, Artjärvi, Finland (Deep Sky Meeting 2017)<br />
<u>Date:</u> 23./24.9.2017<br />
<u>NE Lim.mag:</u> 6.8 (zenith)<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7958315885513537167" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><u>SQM-L:</u> 21.38 (zenith)<br />
<u>Background sky:</u> 7/10 (fairly good)<br />
<u>Seeing:</u> 7/10 (fairly good)<br />
<u>Transparency:</u> 6/10 (decent)<br />
<u>Weather:</u> Clear, slight breeze, +10°C.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-huDQqCXDx34/WceCVRw30II/AAAAAAAAAJY/NIxDt6ctg-0RsJmmEK4VorowfX9wuveVgCLcBGAs/s1600/DSC_1783-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="680" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-huDQqCXDx34/WceCVRw30II/AAAAAAAAAJY/NIxDt6ctg-0RsJmmEK4VorowfX9wuveVgCLcBGAs/s400/DSC_1783-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two of the observatory domes harboring Alluna RC-16 16" f/8 (left) and 36" Astrofox (right)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
From the get go, I knew that time constraints, constant (human) traffic and stray light would be a big issue so I only had a few objects in mind and even less objects to sketch. I was simply armed: only packing my 4.5" Orion SkyQuest but I had the privilege to use the 10" GSO of Juha Ojanperä.<br />
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The weather was decent with surprisingly poor transparency. SQM-L readings were between 21.20 to 21.40. Seeing was so so and the images at the telescope(s) appeared too "soft" to my liking. It must have been a transparency related issue (including a regular Finnish humidity issue) but despite the good SQM-readings from all over and several sources... I noticed right away that the weather just wasn't all that good. I showed a few objects to the audience and managed to properly try to view / view only a few objects:<br />
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<u>NGC 206</u> + <u>NGC 604</u> (GSO 10") - Both easily visible @ low magnification.<br />
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<u>NGC 1499</u> (XT 4.5") - Decent view with 40 mm Celestron Plössl eyepiece + UHC filter.<br />
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<u>Sh2-216</u> (XT 4.5") - I knew even without looking that I would not be able to see this object. Still had to give it a shot and most importantly getting myself acquainted with the field for a proper try using a bigger telescope.<br />
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<u>Pease 1</u> (GSO 10") - Same as above. Even Messier 15 didn't look too good with the big telescope. Used the biggest magnification on M15 just to dispel my illusions of Pease 1 being an easy object to observe.<br />
<u><br /></u>
<u>NGC 1491</u> (XT 4.5") - Sketched with a UHC filter. Noticed that I do not have a proper sketch of this so I did what I must.<br />
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<u>Outer wisps of Messier 27</u> (GSO 10") - Observed for a Avaruus.fi project however it proved to be far to difficult a task so instead I chose to sketch the inner regions of M27.Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-8900974968763830722017-05-31T21:30:00.000+03:002017-06-04T20:40:13.693+03:00Observing challenges for season 2017-2018The observing season has barely ended here in Southern Finland but it is already time to look ahead. I rarely do any visual observing (excluding LVAS Observer's Challenge and my column) any more but when I do, I try to concentrate on more challenging stuff. Here are a few objects I have on my to see list for the upcoming season.<br />
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<u>Cygnus A (<span class="st">3C 405)</span></u><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2015/iyl/iyl_cyga_optical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2015/iyl/iyl_cyga_optical.jpg" data-original-height="644" data-original-width="800" height="160" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span class="st">The famous 15th (visual magnitude 15.1) magnitude elliptical galaxy. </span><span class="st">One of the strongest radio sources in the sky. </span><span class="st"><span style="font-size: small;">Wolfgang Steinicke has reported seeing the galaxy using a 14" telescope @ 450x </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[1]</span></span>.<br />
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<u>Pease 1</u><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/M15pease1_(HST).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/M15pease1_(HST).jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pease 1. Copyright STScI / HST</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I'm not a big fan of stellar planetaries and I am especially not a fan of spotting one from a dense star fields of a globular cluster. Still, worth a try as I've never tried to seriously see Pease 1.<br />
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<u>PGC 69457</u><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Einstein_cross.jpg/1024px-Einstein_cross.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="800" height="193" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Einstein_cross.jpg/1024px-Einstein_cross.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Einstein's Cross. Copyright ESA</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Huchra's
lens. Another 15th magnitude galaxy at a somewhat low altitude in
Pegasus. Seeing the actual Einstein Cross won't be happening with the 10
inch telescope but just seeing the lensing galaxy is still something.<br />
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<u>Gyulbudaghian's Nebula (GM 1-29)</u><br />
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Variable nebula in Cepheus. Usually unfortunately faint.<br />
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<u>Mayall "C" (C39) & Star B 342 </u> <br />
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Brightest globular cluster and brightest single star in
Triangulum galaxy. With the extra 2 inches in aperture, seeing it will
probably be fairly doable.<br />
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<u>NGC 1554-5</u><br />
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A classic. Hind's Variable nebula. Time for a new view.<br />
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<u>Several Messier objects...</u><br />
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There are a bunch of Messiers I still do not have a proper sketch of. I will try to do a few of them in the upcoming season.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">References</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">[1] http://www.klima-luft.de/steinicke/Artikel/cyga/cyga_e.htm </span><br />
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Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-53370397311268727022017-05-10T17:32:00.000+03:002017-05-10T17:33:24.858+03:00Deep Sky column 3/2017: Red Rectangle, Frosty Leo, Minkowski's Footprint & Butterfly nebula<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7958315885513537167" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YwdqNOnl_WE/WRMkHbGHugI/AAAAAAAAAJI/ivFV-1j1ySICPYc74-pZlvey9sW92KFigCLcB/s1600/TA317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YwdqNOnl_WE/WRMkHbGHugI/AAAAAAAAAJI/ivFV-1j1ySICPYc74-pZlvey9sW92KFigCLcB/s1600/TA317.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7958315885513537167" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-63903284731569371292017-02-04T11:42:00.000+02:002017-02-04T11:42:01.204+02:00Deep Sky column 1/2017: NGC 1931, IC 405, IC 410, IC 417<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xRioU_F6Hjo/WJWh3Y-trfI/AAAAAAAAAIw/EZW_QTIu-y0rE-p6d53eG6LZf43MQqcKgCLcB/s1600/TA117.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xRioU_F6Hjo/WJWh3Y-trfI/AAAAAAAAAIw/EZW_QTIu-y0rE-p6d53eG6LZf43MQqcKgCLcB/s1600/TA117.png" /></a></div>
<br />Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-26871524560545343552016-11-01T00:00:00.000+02:002017-02-04T11:42:57.401+02:00Deep Sky column 7/2016: Milky Way, NGC 604, NGC 206 and NGC 6207<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2_gRTxm8xeY/WDA8r5XXmQI/AAAAAAAAAIY/9mbpNXjIq7kPRj3_QOsWMCzngm2h1GzKgCLcB/s1600/TA716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2_gRTxm8xeY/WDA8r5XXmQI/AAAAAAAAAIY/9mbpNXjIq7kPRj3_QOsWMCzngm2h1GzKgCLcB/s640/TA716.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/NGC/NGC206_2016.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/NGC/NGC604.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/NGC/NGC604.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-33800259242142507612016-10-03T15:18:00.002+03:002016-10-10T15:45:26.561+03:001.-2.10.2016 - A night in Hartola<u>Telescope</u>: 10" GSO<br />
<u>Obs. place</u>: Hartola, Finland<br />
<u>Date</u>: 1./2.10.2016<br />
<u>NE Lim.mag</u>: 7.0 (zenith)<br />
<u>SQM-L</u>: 21.40 (zenith)<br />
<u>Background sky</u>: 7/10 (fairly good)<br />
<u>Seeing</u>: 7/10 (fairly good)<br />
<u>Transparency</u>: 7/10 (fairly good)<br />
<u>Weather</u>: +9°C - +2°C, humidity 74-90%, 1010 hPa, W wind 3-8 m/s, clear.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/Hartola2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/Hartola2.jpg" height="209" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Around 7 pm the sky was still covered in clouds</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Around sunset the weather still looked pretty gloomy but in the end the sky was clear at around 9.30 pm. It was also the proper first light of the new 10 inch GSO. I have used the telescope a few times before but never under darker skies.<br />
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I was fairly well armed, however had no laptop or additional sky charts with me apart from Uranometria which proved to be a pretty bad idea. I struggled to find many of the fainter objects as they were not immediately visible.<br />
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Without further ado here are some of the more uncommon
described as I saw and experienced them. I will add the drawings to
this post later on when I have the sketches processed.<br />
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<u>Palomar 10</u> (altitude ~46°)<br />
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Despite my best efforts I could not see the globular cluster. I was exactly at the right position but could not pick out anything that resembled a glow.<br />
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Uwe Glahn reported Palomar 10 as "<i>very faint, difficult to detect</i>" using a 16" telescope. Iiro Sairanen described the object "<i>very faint haze without clear shape with extremely averted vision at 176x</i>" with a 18" telescope. So with this mind, I suppose it is forgiveable that I could not pick it out.<br />
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<u>Messier 57 central star</u> (altitude ~55°)<br />
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During few fleeting moments I could just see the central star @ 357x but not with any magnification below that. I managed to see a magnitude 15.3 star close to M57 fairly easily as well as a magnitude 15.7 from time to time. My previous sighting on the central star was back in 2008 using 12" GSO. My notes say: "<i>central star was invisible @ 429x but fairly easily spotted @ 600x</i>". <br />
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<u>NGC 6826 outer halo</u> (altitude ~71°)<br />
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Surprisingly easily visible as a 2' circular ring surrounding the "actual" NGC 6826 @357x. I also suspected a slightly brighter spot on the NE side of the outer halo. This seems so collaborate with a small knot visible in photographs. <br />
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<u>IC 4677</u> (altitude ~66°)<br />
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Invisible without a filter but with Lumicon O-III almost shamefully easy. NE-SW elongated blob nearly midway between NGC 6543 and PPM 20675. <br />
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<u>Veil nebula complex</u> (altitude ~56°)<br />
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Stunning view. I did a rough sketch showing several fainter components visible in the region. Simply by using Uranometria I was able to spot at least 17 different components in the Veil nebula. Looking at a map @ Adventures In Deep Space (by http://www.astronomy-mall.com/Adventures.In.Deep.Space/Veil.big.jpg) I could see all the marked components apart from "B" even without a proper map of the region.<br />
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<table border="0" style="width: 75%px;">
<tbody>
<tr><td> <u><a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Extra/Palomar1_2016.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Extra/Palomar1_2016.png" height="150" width="150" /></a></u></td>
<td><u><u><br />Palomar 1</u> (altitude ~80°)</u><br />
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Finally got this sucker! As soon as I found the Big
Dipper-shaped asterism just north of Pal 1 - I knew I was gonna get it.
However it was a lot more difficult than I had expected - same problem
as with Palomar 10. I appeared as a tiny 0,5' circular glow without
detail.<br />
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</tr>
</tbody></table>
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<u>Abell 6 + PK 136+5.1 (<span class="st">HFG 1</span>)</u> (altitude ~70°)<br />
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Despite interference from an annoyingly bright HD 18137, Abell 6 was fairly easy to see using a O-III filter. <span class="st">HFG 1 was a lot more of a challenge only barely showing a 6' irregular/circular glow.</span><br />
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<u>Pegasus dwarf / UGC 12613</u> (altitude ~42°)<br />
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Fairly bright, visible SE of a Y-shaped asterism as a 2' x 1' NW-SE elongated glow without a nucleus.<br />
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<table border="0" style="width: 75%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td> <u><a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/NGC/NGC604_2016.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/NGC/NGC604_2016.png" height="150" width="150" /></a></u></td><td><u>NGC 604</u> (altitude ~59°)<br />
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I got inspired to view this object again after seeing a sketch made by Riku Henriksson at the <a href="http://www.deepsky-archive.com/files/riku/ngc/rihen_ngc_604.png">DSA</a>.
Riku's sketch is an excellent representation of what I could see with
my telescope - apart from the actual individual stars. There was "a
string of stars" [without the stars!] visible in the NW section of the
nebula as well as a stellar brightening visible in the southern section
of NGC 604.<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table border="0" style="width: 75%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td> <u><a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Extra/CasA.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Extra/CasA.png" height="150" width="150" /></a></u></td><td><u><u><br /></u></u><u>Cassiopeia A</u> (altitude ~75°)<br />
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Cassiopeia A was the final object of the night. I was nearly certain I
had no chance of seeing it but the 10" GSO proved me wrong. I had to
wait for nearly 1.5 hours for it to climb down from zenith for a proper
look. It took me quite a while to find the correct position but once I
did... bang. Using a Lumicon UHC filter a circular glow was nearly
instantly visible with averted vision at the exactly correct position.
Cassiopeia A has been seen with an aperture below 10 inches but seeing
it with the GSO from a place such as Finland is quite nice.<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/Hartola3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/Hartola3.jpg" height="209" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morning mist<br />
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</tbody></table>
At 4 am the telescope started to look and feel quite damp
so I decided to head back in. All and all the weather was decent, although humidity started to rise to
unbearable
levels around 4 am as the winds calmed down. Despite it it, Messier 33
visible with the naked eye
and I was very happy that I managed to avoid the forecasted Aurora
Borealis display.<br />
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<u>Full list of objects observed. Asterisk (*) = sketched.</u><br />
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Collinder 399, NGC 6802, Cr 399, Palomar 10 (negative observation), Messier 71, Messier 57(*), NGC 6826(*), IC 4677(*), NGC 6910, NGC 7027(*), NGC 6888(*), Veil nebula complex, Palomar 1(*), PK 80-6.1 / Egg nebula(*), NGC 7000, NGC 6991, Messier 39, NGC 7026(*), NGC 7048, Stock 5, NGC 886, Abell 6(*), HFG 1(*), Pegasus dwarf(*), Messier 33 (naked eye), NGC 604(*), NGC 1 & 2(*), NGC 16, NGC 22, UGC 69, Andromeda galaxy, NGC 206, Messier 52 + Cz 43, NGC 7635 / Bubble nebula(*), Cassiopeia A(*).
Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-66664427186069668692016-07-01T00:00:00.000+03:002016-08-09T18:34:12.069+03:00Deep Sky column 5/2016: MCG -02-41-001, Messier 80 & Messier 4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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5/2016 column features <span class="st">MCG -02-41-001, Messier 80 & Messier 4.</span><br />
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Illustration sketches:<br /></div>
<a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Messier/M4_TA.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Messier/M4_TA.gif" height="200" width="200" /></a>Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-72624715616318310362016-04-16T00:00:00.000+03:002016-04-23T14:24:25.666+03:00Deep Sky column 3/2016: OJ 287 & 3C 273<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PrxhlOSmWsE/VxtZCkSD5OI/AAAAAAAAAHs/tHGf0ODCVjkyDxeDhS_FgQtcMKyFwEEbACLcB/s1600/TA316.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PrxhlOSmWsE/VxtZCkSD5OI/AAAAAAAAAHs/tHGf0ODCVjkyDxeDhS_FgQtcMKyFwEEbACLcB/s400/TA316.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
3/2016 column features <span class="st">BL Lac</span> object OJ 287 and quasar 3C 273.<br />
<br />
UGC 6132 (Markarian 421) was also featured in the draft version but was cropped later on due to length issues.<br />
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<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Illustration sketches:</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Extra/OJ287.png" height="200" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OJ 287 - 8" Orion DSE</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Extra/3C273.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Extra/3C273.png" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3C 273 - 4.5" Orion SkyQuest</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-87394833093216591562016-02-01T00:00:00.000+02:002016-02-01T00:00:07.989+02:00Deep Sky column 1/2016: NGC 2237, NGC 2264, Trumpler 5, IC 447 and Barnard 37<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mb3qH9O2heM/VpI8ula7YkI/AAAAAAAAAHM/60Z5iAuf08Y/s1600/TA116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mb3qH9O2heM/VpI8ula7YkI/AAAAAAAAAHM/60Z5iAuf08Y/s400/TA116.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
This column has a different look to it. The idea was to select a good (wide field) photograph from an interesting region in the winter sky and simply do an article based on it.<br />
<br />
The region selected is the famous "Heart of Monoceros" featuring - most notably - Rosette and Cone nebulae. Other region under consideration was "Heart of Auriga" featuring IC 405, IC 410, IC 417 and NGC 1931 which will probably be done next year.<br />
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The image in the background is by Stéphane Guisard - <a href="http://sguisard.astrosurf.com/Pagim/SGU-Cone-Rosette-STL-200mm-M-cp8.jpg">http://sguisard.astrosurf.com/Pagim/SGU-Cone-Rosette-STL-200mm-M-cp8.jpg</a>Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-27594089197519298962016-01-10T13:42:00.001+02:002017-06-01T21:02:51.758+03:00Treasure Island: Lynx the Bobcat <br />
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<br />
<table border="0" style="width: 70%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td width="40%"><div align="center">
<img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/Alessi2.gif" height="200" width="200" /></div>
</td><td width="60%"><div align="left">
<u>Alessi 2</u><br />
<u>Size:</u> 30'<br />
<u>Type:</u> IV 3 m<br />
<u>Notes:</u> Br * 8.8</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-68343708255732882392015-10-04T15:55:00.002+03:002015-10-04T15:55:39.925+03:00Deep Sky column 7/2015: NGC 7789 & NGC 7243<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uWH9G62fodM/VhEeQH8eocI/AAAAAAAAAG8/LLkjbq-TDzA/s1600/TA715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uWH9G62fodM/VhEeQH8eocI/AAAAAAAAAG8/LLkjbq-TDzA/s400/TA715.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
The original column featured NGC 7789, NGC 7243 and NGC 752 but it was cropped early on.<br />
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NGC 7789 is one of the finest open clusters in the northern hemisphere. It was discovered by Caroline Herschel on 30th of October 1789 using a modest 10 centimeter f/6.4 Newton. It features roughly 600 stars within 20' of which the brightest is 10th magnitude. Visually the object is less than 10' in size.<br />
<br />Loosely translated my friend Iiro described the object as "a labyrinth of dark pathways and starless regions". <br />
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NGC 7243 is an old favorite of mine. Several shapes can be discerned from the object most common one being a bird flying directly to the viewer. Brightest star in the cluster is 8.5 magnitude. Size of the object is 17' with a total number of stars visible with an 8 inch Orion DSE: ~150. Illustration (from my part) featured a sketch of NGC 7243:<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/NGC/NGC7243_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/NGC/NGC7243_1.png" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4.5 "
Orion SkyQuest @ 101x (30')</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-88820956647985899602015-07-01T00:00:00.000+03:002015-07-04T12:38:41.843+03:00Deep Sky column 5/2015: Dwarfs and Giants<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/TA515.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/TA515.png" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
Summer and non-deep sky oriented column due to midnight sun.<br />
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<u>Massive star</u>: LBV candidate Cyg OB2 #12 (HIP 101364). 11.4 magnitude star with ~110 M☉ and bolometric magnitude ~10.9. Dwarfed by R136a1 (~256 solar masses) in NGC 2070 (LMC - Dorado).<br />
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<u>A star close to us</u>: Lalande 21185 in Ursa Major. The star is only 8,3 light years away. At magnitude 7.5 is it also a naked eye object under excellent conditions. Absolute magnitude is quite faint: ~10.5.<br />
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<u>Tiny star</u>: Barnard's star. Closer to us than Lalande 21185 but a lot smaller: 0.14 M☉and with an absolute magnitude of only 13,2. The star has only 150 times more mass the Jupiter. Moves 10" in the sky per year - that's 90 km/s. Not discovered by E. E. Barnard.<br />
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<u>Far far away</u>: 6th magnitude Rho Cassiopeia. Distance estimates vary greatly: between 6000 and 16 000 light years. Commonly referred as the most distant (single) star visible to the naked eye. Radius is at least 400 R☉ then again dwarfed by UY Scuti (~1700 solar radii). Another distant star to the naked eye: V762 Cas, possibly even 15 000 light years away.Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-20444773631073595952015-04-06T00:00:00.000+03:002015-05-15T19:27:12.184+03:00Deep Sky column 3/2015: The three phases of galaxy mergers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IhyWpxKLTXg/VVYZ4FRQYBI/AAAAAAAAAGk/wF-4BDtDTJ8/s1600/TA315.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IhyWpxKLTXg/VVYZ4FRQYBI/AAAAAAAAAGk/wF-4BDtDTJ8/s400/TA315.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<u>First phase in galactic collision - NGC 2207 & IC 2163</u>: Merging in early stages - coexistence fairly peaceful. Latest collision happed over 40 million years ago. IC 2163 lies behind NGC 2207. Both galaxies easily visible with a 4 inch refractor.<br />
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<u>Second phase in galactic collision - NGC 4676A & NGC 4676B (Mice Galaxies)</u>: Galaxies visible with 8 inch Orion DSE, both galaxies of same size and brightness. Failed to spy with 4.5" SkyQuest. "Tails" commonly described as being difficult to observe, NGC 4676A's tail has been seen with 12 inch telescope. Pair discovered by William Herschel in 1785. IC designations (819 & 820) from Rudolf Spitaler (1849 – 1946).<br />
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<u>Third phase in galactic collision - NGC 4038 & NGC 4039 (Antennae Galaxies)</u>: Beaten up, tormented shape. 400 million years from now the two will merge as a giant elliptical galaxy. Southern "tail" is 10' long with the northern one being at least 7'. Brightening in southern tail is NGC 4038S - a presumed Tidal Dwarf Galaxy (TDG). Visually NGC 4039 is smaller and fainter. Both components have fairly faint surface brightness. Brightest H II regions are roughly magnitude 15 and within reach of medium to large apertures.Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-73598513740629195442015-02-02T00:00:00.000+02:002015-05-17T09:56:15.371+03:00Deep Sky column 1/2015: Orion Redux<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uTK2k-uy6iM/VVYR0t2uBSI/AAAAAAAAAGU/nxvAd-e6RXY/s1600/TA115.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uTK2k-uy6iM/VVYR0t2uBSI/AAAAAAAAAGU/nxvAd-e6RXY/s400/TA115.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<u>NGC 1684</u>: Fairly faint elliptical galaxy. Visible as a faint smudge paired with NGC 1682 using 8 inch Orion DSE @ 133x. Brightest galaxy in Orion.<br />
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<a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/NGC/NGC2194_SA.html">NGC 2194</a>: Beautiful open cluster with 150* within 5'. East of the cluster lies Luginbuhl-Skiff 1 discovered visually by astronomer Brian Skiff in 1975.<br />
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<a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Abell/Abell12.html">Abell 12</a> (PK 196-6.1): Glued to brilliant 4th magnitude Mu Orionis. Barely visible with 4.5 SkyQuest using an occulting bar. Using larger aperture and an OIII filter a darker center is visible.<br />
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<a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Extra/BLoop.html">Barnard's Loop</a> (Sh 2-276): Massive size of over 25 degrees. Visible with any optical instrument, usually best with small widefield refractors. UHC or H-Beta filter improves contrast. Edward Emerson Barnard called it "Orion Loop".<br />
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The original version included: <span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">NGC 1662+1663, NGC 1684, NGC 1788, NGC 1999, NGC 2141, NGC 2194, Cederbland 59 and Sh 2-276.</span></span> Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-69245407356642287572013-08-21T16:26:00.003+03:002013-08-21T17:08:10.560+03:00Treasure Island: Camelopardalis the Giraffe Camelopardalis the Giraffe is one of the (most) neglected constellations in the sky despite being 18th largest. Petrus Plancius (introduced Camelopardalis in 1612)<span style="font-size: x-small;"><sup>[1]</sup></span> probably made a bit of a mistake adding a giraffe so close to the north celestial pole. I mean a giraffe! What ever happened to, say a moose? No wonder the poor giraffe's so alone, far far away from her home. And frightened: it is surrounded by two bears (Ursa Major & Minor), a lynx (Lynx), a dragon (Draco) and an angry charioteer (Auriga)! And when you're next to Perseus the hero, Cassiopeia the queen and Cepheus the king... no wonder you're feeling a bit unappreciated and it is quite understandable why you're facing away from those three.
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Kidding aside, your typical observer probably knows NGC 1501 + NGC 1502 and NGC 2403 from the constellation. What one really shouldn't miss are the three fine and bright IC galaxies (IC 334, IC 342 and IC 356), fairly recently discovered open cluster Alessi 2 and a huge bunch of fine NGC galaxies worth browsing! Be sure to check out NGC 2366 - 3 bright HII regions (around 12th magnitude!) visible better than the parent galaxy itself. With larger apertures you can try to locate the elusive EGB 4, try to see the spiral structure in NGC 1530, NGC 1961 and NGC 2146 or zoom in on IC 361's tiny stars glittering with stardust. Without further ado, here are some of the treasures from Camelopardalis.
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<div align="center">
<table border="0" style="width: 70%px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="40%"><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/Alessi2.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td width="60%"><div align="left">
<u>Alessi 2</u><br />
<u>Size:</u> 30'<br />
<u>Type:</u> IV 3 m<br />
<u>Notes:</u> Br * 8.8</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/EGB4.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><div align="left">
<u>EGB 4 (Ellis-Grayson-Bond 4 / PK 144+24.1)</u><br />
<u>Magnitude:</u> 12.5 (v)<br />
<u>Size:</u> 1.7'<br />
<u>Type:</u> ?<br />
<u>Notes:</u> Central star 12.7 (v), very low surface brightness.</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/GSC%203719-1528.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><div align="left">
<u>GSC 3719-1528 group</u><br />
<u>Size:</u> 0.2'<br />
<u>Type:</u> II 1 p (asterism)<br />
<u>Notes:</u> Br * 13.4</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/IC334.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><div align="left">
<u>IC 334</u><br />
<u>Magnitude:</u> 11.3 (v)<br />
<u>Surface brightness:</u> 12.9<br />
<u>Size:</u> 2.5' x 2.1'<br />
<u>Type:</u> I/P<br />
<u>Notes:</u> Material bridge(?) racing towards south.</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/IC342.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><div align="left">
<u>IC 342</u><br />
<u>Magnitude:</u> 8.4 (v)<br />
<u>Surface brightness:</u> 14.9<br />
<u>Size:</u> 21.4' x 20.9'<br />
<u>Type:</u> SBc</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/IC356.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><div align="left">
<u>IC 356 (Arp 213)</u><br />
<u>Magnitude:</u> 10.6 (v)<br />
<u>Surface brightness:</u> 13.9<br />
<u>Size:</u> 5.9' x 3.9'<br />
<u>Type:</u> Sb/P</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/IC361.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><div align="left">
<u>IC 361</u><br />
<u>Magnitude:</u> 11.7 (v)<br />
<u>Size:</u> 7.0'<br />
<u>Type:</u> II 1 r<br />
<u>Notes:</u> Br * 14.0</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/IC3568.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><div align="left">
<u>IC 3568 (UGC 7731)</u><br />
<u>Magnitude:</u> 10.6 (v)<br />
<u>Size:</u> 18" x 18"<br />
<u>Type:</u> 2 (2a)<br />
<u>Notes:</u> Central star 11.4 (v).</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/Mayer2.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><div align="left">
<u>Mayer 2 + Sh2-207</u></div>
<div align="left">
<u>Size:</u> 3.0'<br />
<u>Type:</u> III 1 p n <br />
<u>Notes:</u> Surrounded by emission nebula Sh2-207.</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/NGC1501.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><div align="left">
<u>NGC 1501</u></div>
<div align="left">
<u>Magnitude:</u> 11.5 (v)<br />
<u>Size:</u> 52.0"<br />
<u>Type:</u> 3<br />
<u>Notes:</u> Central star 14.4 (v).</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/NGC1502.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><div align="left">
<u>NGC 1502</u></div>
<div align="left">
<u>Magnitude:</u> 6.9 (v)<br />
<u>Size:</u> 7.0'<br />
<u>Type:</u> I 3 m<br />
<u>Notes:</u> Br * 9.2</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/NGC1530.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><div align="left">
<u>NGC 1530</u></div>
<div align="left">
<u>Magnitude:</u> 11.5 (v)<br />
<u>Surface brightness:</u> 13.9<br />
<u>Size:</u> 4.4' x 2.5'<br />
<u>Type:</u> SBb</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/NGC1560.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><div align="left">
<u>NGC 1560</u><br />
<u>Magnitude:</u> 11.4 (v)<br />
<u>Surface brightness:</u> 14.4<br />
<u>Size:</u> 9.8' x 1.5'<br />
<u>Type:</u> Scd</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/NGC1569.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><div align="left">
<u>NGC 1569 (Arp 210)</u><br />
<u>Magnitude:</u> 11.0 (v)<br />
<u>Surface brightness:</u> 12.9<br />
<u>Size:</u> 3.7' x 1.8'<br />
<u>Type:</u> IBm</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/NGC1961.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><div align="left">
<u>NGC 1961 (Arp 184)</u></div>
<div align="left">
<u>Magnitude:</u> 11.0 (v)<br />
<u>Surface brightness:</u> 13.7<br />
<u>Size:</u> 4.5' x 3.1'<br />
<u>Type:</u> SBbc</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/NGC2146.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><div align="left">
<u>NGC 2146</u><br />
<u>Magnitude:</u> 10.6 (v)<br />
<u>Surface brightness:</u> 13.7<br />
<u>Size:</u> 5.4' x 2.9'<br />
<u>Type:</u> SBab/P</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/NGC2366.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><div align="left">
<u>NGC 2366</u><br />
<u>Magnitude:</u> 11.1 (v)<br />
<u>Surface brightness:</u> 14.5<br />
<u>Size:</u> 8.1' x 3.0'<br />
<u>Type:</u> IBm<br />
<u>Notes:</u> NGC 2366 = three giant H II regions SW side of the galaxy,
NGC 2363 = another H II region to the W.</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/NGC2403.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><div align="left">
<u>NGC 2403</u><br />
<u>Magnitude:</u> 8.9 (v)<br />
<u>Surface brightness:</u> 14.4<br />
<u>Size:</u> 23.4' x 11.8'<br />
<u>Type:</u> SBc</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/NGC2460.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><div align="left">
<u>NGC 2460</u></div>
<div align="left">
<u>Magnitude:</u> 11.8 (v)<br />
<u>Surface brightness:</u> 13.3<br />
<u>Size:</u> 2.5' x 1.9'<br />
<u>Type:</u> Sab<br />
<u>Notes:</u> Interacting pair with IC 2209 (lower right), LEDA 213434
(above NGC 2460) is a background galaxy.</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/NGC2633.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><div align="left">
<u>NGC 2633 & NGC 2634 (Arp 80)</u><br />
<u>Magnitude:</u> 12.2 (v) & 12.0 (v)<br />
<u>Surface brightness:</u> 13.6 & 13.1<br />
<u>Size:</u> 2.3' x 1.5' & 1.7' x 1.6'<br />
<u>Type:</u> SBb/P & E1<br />
<u>Notes:</u> NGC 2634A = 13.5 (v) magnitude.</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/NGC2655.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><div align="left">
<u>NGC 2655 (Arp 225)</u><br />
<u>Magnitude:</u> 10.1 (v)<br />
<u>Surface brightness:</u> 13.2<br />
<u>Size:</u> 4.9' x 4.1'<br />
<u>Type:</u> SB0-a</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/Stock23.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><div align="left">
<u>Stock 23</u><br />
<u>Size:</u> 28'<br />
<u>Type:</u> II 3 p n<br />
<u>Notes:</u> Br * 7.6</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><div align="center">
<img height="200" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/Tom5.gif" width="200" /></div>
</td>
<td><u>Tombaugh 5</u><br />
<u>Magnitude:</u> 8.4 (v)<br />
<u>Size:</u> 15'<br />
<u>Type:</u> III 2 r<br />
<u>Notes:</u> Br * 14.0</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">References </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelopardalis<br />Images courtecy of the Digitized Sky Survey (</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">STScI)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Magnitude data from "Revised NGC/IC Data 2013" by Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke</span>Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-29864186786213119762013-08-08T21:11:00.001+03:002017-06-01T21:02:51.772+03:00The Vorontsov-Velyaminov sequence - Classification of Planetary Nebulae 1. Stellar Image. (I) (IC 4997)
2. Smooth Disk (II) (IC 2003 / IC 5217)
2a. Smooth Disk, brighter towards center. (IIa) (IC 351)
2b. Smooth Disk, uniform brightness. (IIb) (IC 2448)
2c. Smooth Disk, traces of ring structure. (IIc) (IC 972)
3. Irregular Disk (III) (NGC 7008 / NGC 1501)
3a. Irregular Disk, very irregular brightness distribution. (IIIa) (M97 / NGC 7026 / NGC 7027)
3b. Irregular Disk, traces of ring structure. (IIIb) (NGC 7048)
4. Ring Structure. (IV) (NGC 7094, NGC 6818)
5. Irregular Form, similar to a diffuse nebula. (V) (NGC 6765)
6. Anomalous Form. (VI) NGC 6302Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-33236849827540952862013-08-08T14:34:00.001+03:002013-08-12T06:47:48.461+03:00Extragalactic objects - Beyond M31 and M33<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As I'm preparing a little
presentation of "EXTRAGALACTIC OBJECTS IN ANDROMEDA AND TRIANGULUM
GALAXIES" to our annual Deep Sky Meeting, I thought to myself, why not
dump some of that stuff in it here? As the goodies in Andromeda and Triangulum
galaxies have already been discussed in the Blog, here are some of the
fancy objects included in the intro of the presentation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://heasarc.nasa.gov/docs/cosmic/gifs/sagdeg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="154" src="http://heasarc.nasa.gov/docs/cosmic/gifs/sagdeg.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Artist's impression of SagDEG</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image courtesy of NASA</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you consider SagDEG and Canis
Major Dwarf as extragalactic and "not enough bound to the Milky Way",
the hunt for the extragalactic objects becomes quite a lot easier. With SagDEG
(size 7.5° x 3.6°), one can simply spot M54 (NGC 6715) with a pair of
binoculars and say they've logged an object from another galaxy. With this in mind, it is interesting to point out that it was Charles Messier in 1778 who was
the first person to have spotted an extragalactic object </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">from another galaxy</span>! Is it true? Of course
not. 30 Doradus (NGC 2070) was seen by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille back in 1751
as well as the Aboriginals who must have spotted this object hundreds of years
before Lacaille. How about the bulky 12°<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>x 12° Canis Major Dwarf? As with SagDEG, you can cheat a bit and consider
the galaxy as extragalactic and simply spot one of these globular clusters:
M79, NGC 1851, NGC 2298 or NGC 2808. The brightest star in the galaxy, that I
managed to find out about, is EIS 7873 at magnitude 16.2. </span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1104/LMC_HaOIIILRGB_lorenzi900c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="156" src="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1104/LMC_HaOIIILRGB_lorenzi900c.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Large Magellanic Cloud</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Credit & Copyright: Marco Lorenzi </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
No matter how you look at it, you don't have to cheat with the Large Magellanic Cloud (Nubecula Major / PGC 17223). This irregular galaxy was noted by al-Sufi (964) and Vespucci (1501) prior to Magalhães but I suppose "Large al-Sufi Cloud" or "Large Aboriginal Cloud" doesn't rhyme quite as well as “Large Magellanic Cloud”. Anyway, LMC harbors the brightest object in another galaxy (the brightest <i>extragalactic object </i>is of course LMC itself). It contains the gigantic (over 25 times larger than the Orion Nebula!) H II region 30 Doradus (Tarantula nebula / NGC 2070) which shines at an impressive magnitude of 4.0<span style="font-size: x-small;"><sup>[1]</sup></span>. Considering it is an easy naked eye object, the typical apparent magnitude of 8.0 (v) can be considered far too faint. The brightest star in LMC and also the brightest extragalactic star in the sky is S Doradus at 9.5 (v) magnitude (8.6 to 11.5 var). SMC (Nubecula Minor / NGC 292) comes far behind but it contains the conspicious H II region NGC 346 with a magnitude of </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6.0-6.5 (v)<span style="font-size: x-small;"><sup>[2]</sup></span>. The brightest single star in SMC is HD 5980 at 11.3 (v) magnitude which is located inside NGC 346.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After these two (or four, you little
cheater...) it becomes a bit trickier. In the Andromeda-piece the extragalactic
globular clusters in Fornax Dwarf (Spheroidal) where mentioned. Of the bunch
the brightest one is<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>NGC 1049 @ 12.6 (v)
magnitude so it can be spotted even with <a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Extra/MCG-06-07-001_SA.html">small apertures</a>. Despite the bright globular clusters, the brightest single stars in Fornax Dwarf are only around 19th magnitude! The hunt for individual stars
becomes easier with NGC 6822 (Barnard's galaxy). The brightest stars shine
around 15th magnitude so resolving the galaxy should be fairly easy but
identifying a star that actually is part of NGC 6822 and seeing it (not just a
bunch of resolved stars) is going to be annoying. Oh, and don't forget to bag
the brightest H II region in NGC 6822: IC 1308 which shines at around 14th
magnitude. Don't get freaked out by the larger aperture sightings of it by
Jakiel, Gottlieb, Polakis<span style="font-size: x-small;"><sup>[3]</sup></span>. IC 1308 is quite visible even with medium
apertures.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For globular cluster hunters, here's
a list of brightest extragalactic globular clusters.</span></div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 33.0%;" width="33%"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Host galaxy </span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 33.0%;" width="33%"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Name</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 33.0%;" width="33%"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mag (v)</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><br /></td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><br /></td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fornax Dwarf </span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NGC 1049 </span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12.6</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Andromeda galaxy </span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">G1</span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">13.7</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NGC 205 (M 110) </span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">G73</span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">14.9</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">WLM</span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">WLM 1</span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">15.7</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Triangulum galaxy </span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">C39</span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">15.9</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NGC 147 </span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hodge 3</span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">16.5</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 8;">
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NGC 185 </span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hodge 5 </span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">16.6</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 9;">
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NGC 2403</span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">F46 </span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">17.5</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 10; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Messier 81</span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[PR95] 50225 </span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">18.4</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">References<br />
[1] Stephen O'Meara. Deep-Sky Companions: The Caldwell Objects: page 406.<br />
[2] Visual magnitude estimate by Timo Karhula.<br />
[3] http://www.astronomy-mall.com/Adventures.In.Deep.Space/barnard.htm</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<!--964-->Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-14742239355420173632013-08-03T11:26:00.000+03:002013-08-08T11:24:23.014+03:00Extragalactic objects in Andromeda galaxy (M31)<span style="font-size: 120%;"><u>The Andromeda galaxy / Messier 31</u></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/M31_map.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/M31_map_small.gif" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 301px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 300px;" /></a>Even though the H II regions in the Andromeda galaxy are not as prominent as the ones in the Triangulum galaxy, this bad boy beats M33 in globulars that's for sure. When compared to the Triangulum galaxy, ten of the brightest globular clusters are between 13.7 and 14.9 magnitude (15.9 - 17.6 in M33). In total over 300 globular clusters have been identified from the galaxy. That's not all: there's a whooping 60 brighter clusters than 16th magnitude. Should you choose to pursue some of these objects, a good photograph is required. The image to the left shows only a handful of globular clusters, is very simplified and presents just a small part of the entire Andromeda Galaxy. A good place to start is the 1981 <a href="http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/ANDROMEDA_Atlas/frames.html">Atlas of the Andromeda Galaxy</a> by Paul W. Hodge. Observing Handbook and Catalogue of Deep-Sky Objects by Skiff and Luginbuhl has a basic map on page 17. Night Sky Observer's Guide Volume 1 has a fairly good photography map of M31 on page 16. There is an obvious error though: G78 is marked at the wrong position. If you're looking for a very complete list of objects in M31, the best one is Star Clusters by Hynes & Archinal containing literally hundreds of objects. <br />
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Even though only the brightest globular cluster is introduced, I encourage everyone to try to observe as many of them as possible. Several of the extragalactic globulars can be seen even with small apertures between 4 to 6 inches. So far I've been able to detect 7 of the brightest globular clusters using my 4.7" Sky-Watcher under typical truly dark skies of Finland. If you live south enough be sure to log NGC 1049 (Hodge 3) located in the Fornax dwarf galaxy. This globular cluster beats Andromeda's G1 in brightness (by over a magnitude) as do the three other globulars in the same galaxy. <br />
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<u>OB association NGC 206</u><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/NGC206.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RA: 00 40 31 Dec: +40 44 16</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
NGC 206 is the most prominent object in the entire Andromeda Galaxy. What I can remember about this star cloud is that it should be "kidney-shaped" and it slightly is. Still, have we really gone so low that we're spotting kidneys at the eyepiece these days? Apparently so! In any case, NGC 206 is so bright and obvious under good conditions that I wouldn't be surprised if someone came forth and claimed it to be visible with a pair of binoculars. It is just so conspicuous and cuddly even using a simple 3 inch telescope. With little research it seems like the brightest star in the NGC 206 association and in the entire Andromeda galaxy is #12 by a paper by Odewahn (1987) at magnitude 16.0 (v). The star is marked in the image on the left.<br />
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<u><br />OB association A 54 </u><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/A54.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RA: 00 44 33 Dec: +41 52 30</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This association is nearly as large as NGC 206 but a lot fainter. Generally listed as a magnitude 16 object it still is visible with medium apertures such as 8 to 10 inches of aperture. It appears as a NE-SW elongated, slightly mottled patch of light in the near the NE tip of the galaxy. It is even mentioned in the 1998 (2. edition) Observing Handbook and Catalogue of Deep-Sky Objects as being visible in a 10" telescope.<br />
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<u><br />H II region C 410</u><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/C410.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RA: 00 44 25.1 Dec: +41 20 42</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
C 410 is the brightest H II region (+ and open cluster) in the Andromeda galaxy according to the book Atlas of Messier Objects. The object is located between the globular clusters G272 and G280. Not much else can be said about it as I have not seen this object myself.<br />
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<u><br />Globular cluster G1 / Mayall II / NGC-224-G1 / SKHB 1 </u><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/G1.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RA: 00 32 46 Dec: +39 34 40</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As even the image above shows this is a big boy - especially when you keep in mind the distance of at least 2.5 million light years. As an example the remote globular cluster NGC 2419 is roughly 300 000 light years away. It is still uncertain if this object is actually a dwarf galaxy or simply a giant globular cluster. Compared to the biggest globular cluster in our Milky Way, Omega Centauri, G1 is twice as massive.[1]<br />
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G 1 forms a tight triangle with a pair of nearly 15th magnitude stars. With small apertures and small magnification this group forms a single, stellar point of light. Many observers say that in order to claim G1 as seen, one should resolve it from the two nearby stars. This can be done with small apertures such as 4 to 6 inches but requires high magnification and so good seeing as well. However, claiming G1 as seen does not require you to separate these two faint stars from the cluster. The non-stellar appearance is quite easily achieved even under suburban skies using 6 to 8 inches of aperture. <br />
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Finding G1 might require a bit of patience if you're unfamiliar with the field or star hopping in general (for some reason). Tom Trusock wrote in his 2006 Small Wonders column that: "<span style="font-style: italic;">While it's not a toughie to see - if you have sufficient aperture - it can be a real pistol to find</span>."[2] I assume this means that G1 difficult to find but it makes me wonder why. Maybe it is aperture related? To me the globular is basically just two star hops away. I will not go into specifics but I will explain you which one I use and the one I think is the easiest. First locate the 5th magnitude star 32 Andromedae which should be visible at least with your finder. From this star simply move to the north-west until you locate the 7th magnitude star HD 2993. This star has two fainter stars to the south the last one in line is 9th magnitude PPM 65429. From here, move less than 15' to the west and here is G 1. The key is just to get the finder and/or stars orientated the right way. Once you get it, rest is easy.<br />
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<u>Star AF Andromedae</u><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/AF_And.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RA: 00 43 33.1 Dec: 41 12 10</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The hypergiant AF And is one of the most luminous stars known with an absolute magnitude of -10.6 (our Sun is +4.5). This irregularly variable LBV is generally fainter than 17th magnitude but has had two brief eruptions in 1970-1974 and 1987-1992 when it was somewhere in the 16th magnitude. When measured between September 1992 and January 1993 (by Szeifert, T. et al.) it showed some variability from 16.91 to 17.14 magnitude.[3]<br />
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<u><br />Star AE Andromedae</u><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/AE_And.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RA: 00 43 02.5 Dec: +41 49 12</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This too is a bit on the heavy side although not as massive as AF And. With an absolute magnitude of -9.4 it still ranks high (top 20) in the most luminous list. As with AF Andromeda, this is a LBV star which has irregular eruptions. The last eruption was back in 1928 when the star flared up (and was also discovered for the first time) to an impressive object brighter than 15th magnitude. Between September 1992 and January 1993 CCD photometry was taken from the the star and it showed only a little variability: 17.56 - 17.59.[3]<br />
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<u>Star A1 Andromedae</u><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/A1_And.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RA: 00 44 50.57 Dec: +41 30 38</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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This star is located in a H II region A41. Out of the three most well known LBV stars in Andromeda galaxy, A1 And is the brightest. Once again photometry obtained between September 1992 and January 1993 showed this giant star at 16.18 - 16.59 magnitude.[3]<br />
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<u>References</u>:</div>
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<span style="font-size: 80%;">Atlas of Messier Objects. Ronald Stoyan et al. 2008.<br />[1] MAYALL II = G1 IN M31: GIANT GLOBULAR CLUSTER OR CORE OF A DWARF<br />ELLIPTICAL GALAXY? G. Meylan et al. 2001. http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0105013<br />[2] Tom Trusock. Small Wonders: Deep Andromeda Satellite Galaxies, Star Clouds and Globular Clusters of M31<br />[3] HST and groundbased observations of the `Hubble-Sandage' variables in M 31 and M 33. Szeifert, T. et al.<br />Images copyrighted by The Digitized Sky Survey.</span>Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-53847323534247906512013-08-03T11:23:00.000+03:002013-08-08T11:26:00.348+03:00Extragalactic objects in Triangulum galaxy (M33)<span style="font-size: 120%;"><u>The Triangulum galaxy / Messier 33</u></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/M33_map.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/M33_map_small.gif" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 301px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 300px;" /></a> The Triangulum galaxy is the best galaxy in the northern hemisphere when it comes to extragalactic objects. The easiest targets in M33 are the numerous H II regions and stellar associations. Globular clusters are numerous, but a lot fainter than the ones in Andromeda Galaxy, with ten brightest ranging between magnitudes 15.9 and 17.6.<br />
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There is a little problem when it comes to the H II regions. Finding an appropriate designation for an object can be quite a mess. This is mostly thanks to Guillaume Bigourdan whose original coordinates are inaccurate. Feel free to blame all the modern authors as well. They can't seem to be able to make up their minds which object is which. If you look at two modern sources and try to match the designations together, you are quite often in for a treat! The identities of NGC 588, 592, 595 and 604 are pretty certain. With the IC objects it isn't quite so. Several sources seem to agree on IC 135, IC 136, IC 132 and IC 133 as well. NGC/IC-project has a pretty good base but since you can't ask directly from Bigourdan himself, their fixed are guesses and estimates at best no matter how good, convincing and true they might be. There are numerous differences and errors out there in different books, software and internet sites. Here are some just to name two:<br />
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IC 143 is labeled twice on NSOG Vol1 (page 392) obviously the region to the nucleus is IC 142.<br />
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IC 137 problem. "Atlas of the Messier Objects" show IC 137 at 01 33 11 +30 29 53. Megastar V5 shows the same object as IC 136 and a map with in article by Steve Gottlieb[2] plots the same region just as A 127 and show IC 137 far away at 01 34 14 +30 34 31. Where is IC 137?<br />
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So what to do? In my opinion the best bet is to name the few NGC and IC objects correctly, then use the association designations as listed in the 1991 paper "The stellar populations of M 33" by Sidney Van Den Bergh[1] since they're correctly listed in nearly all publications. At least for me this saves a lot of time and frustration but enough history, time to go forward with the actual objects.<br />
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<u>H II region NGC 604</u><br />
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<img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/NGC604.gif" /><br />
No introduction is needed when it comes down to NGC 604. The H II region is the bomb: it is nearly 1500 light years in size, estimated to come only second to the Tarantula nebula in the entire Local Group of galaxies. The Orion nebula truly pales in front of this nebula. With these characteristics, it is no wonder NGC 604 can be observed with pretty much any telescope and larger binoculars. With a modest size telescope it looks like a slightly elliptical glow with a brighter center. In my opinion, this is the easiest extragalactic object in the northern hemisphere. NGC 206 comes close but its appearance is more diffuse and surface brightness lower. The brightest individual stars in the central region of NGC 604 are roughly 16th magnitude.<br />
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<u>Globular cluster C 39 (Mayall "C")</u><br />
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<img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/C39.gif" /><br />
It might not look like much but it is something alright. Also known by its GSC number (2293:1339), C 39 has a visual magnitude of 15.9 so it is right at the edge of a good 8" telescope under pristine conditions. This will be a great challenge.<br />
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<u>Globular cluster C 27</u><br />
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<img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/C27.gif" /><br />
This second brightest globular cluster in M33 is considerably fainter than the previous one, being close to 17th magnitude visually although the commonly given v magnitude is 16.5. This will require larger aperture. Coordinates for this one are 01 34 43.7 +30 47 38.<br />
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<u>Globular cluster U 49</u><br />
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<img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/U49.gif" /><br />
These two globulars appear very faint in photographs but are usually listed as brighter than C 27. U 49 is located at 01 33 44.3 +30 47 32.9 and listed at 16.2 magnitude. The B magnitude for the object is 16.3.<br />
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<u>Globular cluster U 62</u><br />
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<img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/U62.gif" /><br />
U 62 (listed as U 43 in the book Atlas of the Messier Objects, page 155) is slightly fainter and located at 01 34 10.5 +30 45 48.7. This stellar point seems to be a double object, so the combined magnitude of these two are 14.8 (v). The globular is the fainter object of this two, listed as 16.5 magnitude.<br />
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<u>Star B 342</u><br />
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<img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/B342.gif" /><br />
This is it: the brightest individual star in M33 - if you exclude the LBV stars. Star known as B 324 is an A-type supergiant and lies just 6' from the center of M33 in the star association 67 (A 67) or IC 142. The v magnitude of this star is 15.2 but is this really in M33 or just another Milky Way star? Lundmark (1921) listed the brightest star in the galaxy to be 15.7 (B) magnitude. Humphreys, Massey & Freedman proved in 1990 that B 342 is indeed part of M33 and also the brightest in single star in the entire galaxy. Considering the magnitude, this should be a fairly easy catch with telescopes 8" and larger. Coordinates: 01 33 55.9 +30 45 30.4.<br />
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<u>Star GR 290 (Romano's star)</u><br />
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<img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/GR290.gif" /><br />
This object is a LBV (Luminous Blue Variable) star. "It shows eruptions with amplitude of more than 1 mag and timescale of about 20 years and smaller oscillations with amplitude 0.5 mag and a period of about 320 days"[3]. The star varies between magnitude 16.5 and 17.8 so it isn't exactly for medium apertures. This star lies close to A 89. Coordinates: 01 35 09.7 +30 41 57.4.<br />
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Don't forget to check out the LBV stars Var B, Var C and Var 83 (absolute magnitude of -11.1!) in the galaxy. As with Romano's star, these are truly massive stars varying between magnitudes 15 down to 16.5 and from time to time display eruptions making them even brighter. For example Var C in M33 is listed as varying between magnitudes 15.2 - 16.5 making it in range to moderate size telescopes[4]. Good luck!<br />
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<u>References</u>:<br />
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<span style="font-size: 80%;">Atlas of Messier Objects. Ronald Stoyan et al. 2008.<br />[1] The stellar populations of M 33. Sidney Van Den Bergh. 1991. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1991PASP..103..609V<br />[2] http://astronomy-mall.com/Adventures.In.Deep.Space/M33.HII-Star.Clouds.html<br />[3] ROMANO’S STAR IN M33 - LBV CANDIDATE OR LBV? R. Kurtev et al. 2000.<br />[4] HST and groundbased observations of the `Hubble-Sandage' variables in M 31 and M 33. Szeifert, T. et al.<br />Images copyrighted by The Digitized Sky Survey.</span>Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-43639430292573546342013-02-21T12:05:00.001+02:002017-06-01T21:02:51.831+03:00Clouds, polar bears and greetingsFew nights ago I happened to stumble upon the re-opened <a href="http://freescruz.com/~4cygni/">website</a> of our beloved old geezer Stephen R. Waldee. Steve asked in this January blog entry "... <i>but what's happened to the regular entries by such interesting writers
as David Knisely, Steve Coe, Steve Gottlieb, Mark Wagner, my friend
Jaakko and several of his colleagues in the frigid north above the
arctic circle</i>?" <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/zoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/zoo.jpg" height="206" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finland: Sibelius, Sauna, Sisu and polar bears... wait what?<br />
Courtesy of San Jose Zoo.</td></tr>
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I do not know about the rest of the guys, but the winter here in Finland (which is mostly well BELOW the arctic circle) has been the cloudiest in recorded history(?). For example the town of Jyväskylä, in Central Finland has seen only 18 hours of sunshine during the past 2.5 months! So no matter what you try, there's no beating the clouds. The temperatures, observing conditions in general and cloudy days are something most people living in Central/Southern Europe / US cannot even fathom. The thought of planning an observing session for tonight/tomorrow, is something we're not familiar with. With the weather patterns in here, clouds will always sneak up on you. Not to mention the general changes in weather even I've witnessed over the past few decades: more clouds, warmer temperatures and simply crappy winters in general. So if you want to start astronomy, do it somewhere else than in Finland!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/NGC/NGC55_LVAS.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/NGC/NGC55_LVAS.gif" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NGC 55</td></tr>
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Despite the cold spell on the homepage front, many things have been going on. I still have a huge pile of sketches to be scanned and processed from my trip to the US as well as Tenerife. Here's an example: NGC 55 sketched with a 4.7 inch scope @ 90x (45') from Boca Tauce, Tenerife, Spain (2034 meters / 6673 feet) on 23rd of November 2011. The description reads: "<i>A gorgeous sight. Huge, WNW-ESE elongated galaxy with a mottled appearance. NW part of the galaxy contains a bright, elongated nucleus with somewhat mottled appearance. Two brightenings visible within the halo. Larger and brighter knot appears as slightly NW-SE elongated. The smaller and fainter knot appears as a nearly stellar, roundish spot in the E side of the galaxy's halo with a faint 14th magnitude star just W of it. A darker void seems to separate these two possible HII-regions from each other. Several 10-14th magnitude stars in vicinity / within the halo. Size 20' x 4'. With low power the galaxy is visible in the same field of view with pointy rock formations of Las Cañadas caldera</i>."<br />
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Between this post and the latest entry from less than year ago a lot has been going on behind the scenes. I've managed to contribute several sketches to the Las Vegas Astronomy Society's (LVAS) "<a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/TA812.jpg">Observer's Challenge</a>". Four of my "Deep Sky"-columns have been published:<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/TA812.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/TA812.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tähdet & Avaruus 8/2012</td></tr>
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<ul>
<li>Hunting the invisible: Cygnus X-1 (Tähdet & Avaruus 4/2012)</li>
<li>The Prince of Darkness - E. E. Barnard (Tähdet & Avaruus 6/2012)</li>
<li>Colors, details... oh my - Going against the Hubble Space Telescope (Tähdet & Avaruus 8/2012)</li>
<li>Fifteen years of astronomy - The fondest memories (Tähdet & Avaruus 2/2013) <br /> </li>
</ul>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/IMG_4037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/IMG_4037.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "night sky" in Tapanila, Helsinki</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So although it might seem bad on the outside, I'm still alive and breathing. This past year has brought many life changing things to my life. The one with the biggest impact was moving from the outskirts of Vantaa to rural Helsinki. The drop in SQM-L readings, limiting magnitude and huge increase in light pollution has had a really negative impact on my hobby. Not to mention living on the 3rd floor. Trust me, when the SQM-L readings drop below 18, that's when everything that's fun and worthy in observing - dies. When the snow melts away in a month or so, I'll probably try to do some observing before the summer break. One thing I've changed in my sketching is the speed. I've started to spend even more time on a single object than usual and it is starting to pay off. Simply put: more vague details than ever! And Steve, I'm sure you still have my email address. If you don't, you can see it if you're reading this. Use it buddy!Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-27994916408454074612012-04-28T15:55:00.000+03:002014-11-26T11:39:55.575+02:00Cosmic Challenge by Philip S. Harrington - A review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/cc.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.cambridge.org/us/knowledge/isbn/item5562960/Cosmic%20Challenge/?site_locale=en_US">Cosmic Challenge - The Ultimate Observing List for Amateurs by Philip S. Harrington</a><br />
Cambridge University Press (November 30, 2010)<br />
ISBN: 9780521899369<br />
466 (true) pages<br />
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Rating: 8/10 - Recommended<br />
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The ultimate observing list for amateurs. With such a name for a book you're entitled to some serious challenges from the night sky. I have to admit, I wasn't sure about getting this book. The main reason was, that I don't like digital sketches and I knew Philip's are digitally made. For me, such sketches easily spoil any book, article or anything they're associated with. Using, say Adobe Photoshop might let you do all the work with a computer but even a simple diffuse, nebulous glow is something that a computer cannot do properly without making it look otherworldly. And digital sketches hardly represent the true eyepiece view - this is the main reason why I dislike them.<br />
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So how are the sketches in the book? Well, surprisingly good. There are some bad apples to my eye in the bunch such as: M57 and NGC 7331 to name a few. The biggest problem by far in the book is that the most of the sketches are so low contrast that you actually have to us averted vision to spot them! I understand this is to represent the difficulty of the objects and how they even can look at the eyepiece but contrast up man! This issue was already discussed in CloudyNights.com but I was surprised at how obvious it was. Also, the accuracy of star placement in some of sketches is staggering to a point I wonder if they've been actually done to a printed starfields? I'm not saying such accuracy is impossible to achieve - it would just literally take hours. Most of the drawings have very, very high accuracy but some have some misplacement here and there but this is rare. So I suppose the original sketches are handmade.<br />
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What of the actual challenges? You can, of course, have many thoughts about them. I love the fact that there are so many of them and more importantly for
all apertures! What a great idea to have some naked eye challenges for a
start! I would have liked to see sketches of them too which sadly are
missing.<br />
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I personally would have changed several objects to different telescope categories but this isn't MY book is it. I'm glad there are some real challenges (although a bit too obvious ones) for monster telescopes (15 inch aperture and larger) such as Einstein's Cross, Hickson 50, Seyfert's Sextet and so on. From my point of view, some of the monster telescope challenges should be in large telescope challenges instead (10- to 14 inch telescope). Such objects are Leo I, IC 1613, (brightest of) M31 globulars, Terzan 7, WLM, Simeis 147 are most certainly small telescope challenges (although being difficult with larger ones as well). For example the author speaks of how difficult it is to observe the entire Simeis 147 at once in the narrow fields of view of large aperture telescopes. Could there be a better place for a high quality, wide field refractor than this? No! Especially considering that there are many observations of the object seen only with apertures around 4 inches! Some other that did hit the eye were galaxies beyond M44 (if you remember, Steve Waldee has seen all of these listed in the book with his 10 inch telescope!), Copeland's Septet, PK 164+31.1 (both visible with 8 inch aperture) and several other galaxies and groups should at least be downgraded to the "large telescope challenges" for sure. But most of the "bad" things in the book can be discarded as matter of opinion and personal taste. Other little things I noted (desperately grasped on) include:<br />
<ul>
<li>If you see M13 (non stellar, 5.7 magnitude object) with the naked eye - your naked-eye limiting magnitude can't be 5.5 but is more likely 5.9 at least.</li>
<li>Seeing M33 with the naked eye doesn't really need "absolutely, perfectly pristine skies". It is actually quite easy to see even from Finland which isn't even remotely absolutely, perfectly pristine anything.</li>
<li>Chart 5.19 IC 10 (page 264) says "Sculptor". It probably should read "Cassiopeia".</li>
</ul>
If you want something simple and short, here it is: the book is simple (in a good way), easy to navigate and the charts are most excellent. It is well written and while some might argue the text portions are a bit on the short side, I don't find this a problem but actually a bit of a relief (after reading O'Meara). Despite my - at first - biased view of it, the book is far from bad. It is quite excellent and I would recommend it to... well every amateur astronomer out there. And good to see my friends and colleges Timo and Steve mentioned in the book as well. I'm looking forward to volume 2.<br />
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8/10 for every living soul - RecommendedJaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-72035148132030017282012-04-13T19:22:00.002+03:002013-08-19T16:42:49.099+03:005 curious and nearly unknown nebulae for photographersHave you already taken a photo of every Messier object in the sky - twice?<br />
Nothing in MegaStar that you haven't already photographed?<br />
Looking for something different? Here's your chance!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Fodder/LBN437a.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Fodder/LBN437a.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of DSS (Digitized Sky Survey)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u>LBN 437(a) / V0375 Lac (Markarian 914)</u><br />
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Coordinates: 22 34 05 +40 42 36 (Lacerta)<br />
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Eastern part of the LBN 437 complex - designated here as LBN 437a. Small 2.5' nebula concentrated around the variable star V0375 Lac - sometimes credited as a galaxy Markarian 914. The size of the whole eastern complex is roughly 20'.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Fodder/LBN437b.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="311" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Fodder/LBN437b.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of DSS (Digitized Sky Survey)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u>LBN 437(b) </u><br />
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Coordinates: 22 30 13 +40 28 13 (Lacerta)<br />
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Western part of the LBN 437 - credited here as LBC 437b. Total size
is roughly 30' x 12' and forms a shape of a dragon, monkey or a lizard.
You decide. Bright star near the "head" of the dragon is
8th magnitude HD 213472.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Fodder/GSC790-523.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Fodder/GSC790-523.gif" width="319" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of DSS (Digitized Sky Survey)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u>GSC 790-523 nebula</u><br />
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Coordinates: 07 43 15 +14 48 05 (Gemini)<br />
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This anonymous nebula is surrounding 13th magnitude star and is 3' in size with fainter filaments continuing to south. Bright 9th magnitude star HD 62120 is just west of the nebula.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Fodder/TYC3651-1162-1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Fodder/TYC3651-1162-1.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of DSS (Digitized Sky Survey)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u>TYC 3651-1162-1 nebula</u><br />
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Coordinates: 23 57 11 +50 41 55 (Cassiopeia)<br />
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Small (12' x 10') anonymous detail of a huge nebula complex. Brightest part is located just south of TYC 3651-1162-1. Forms a shape similar to that of an ear or Crescent nebula (NGC 6888).<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Fodder/HD41397.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Fodder/HD41397.gif" width="310" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of DSS (Digitized Sky Survey)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u>HD 41397 nebula</u><br />
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Coordinates: 06 06 59 +54 54 51.9 (Auriga)<br />
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Anonymous nebula complex with several individual patches visible in a 30' area. The brightest individual puff of nebulosity is located W of magnitude 10.6 star TYC 3755-802-1 with a size of ~4'.<br />
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<br />Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-16914226174841795112012-04-10T18:31:00.000+03:002013-08-20T18:33:24.574+03:00Naked eye test - M44I did a little test on the visibility of Messier 44 in Cancer without optical aid. As it is impossible to make identical observations of the same object on two different nights, the results are directional at best. More data will be added later on but it would seem that in order to see the cluster with the naked eye, the limiting magnitude in the region should be close to 5.0. This is slightly less than my previous estimate of 5.2 (Deep Sky Naked Eye Limiting Magnitude 2005 / Saloranta). Next in line would obviously be the visibility of M35 (unfortunately "out of season") and M13.<br />
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Based on personal experience, in order to see M44 with the naked eye from suburban location:<br />
<ul>
<li>Delta Cnc (mag 3.9) needs to be visible with direct vision.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Gamma Cnc (mag 4.7) should be visible at least 50% of the time with averted vision. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Theta (5.4) and Eta Cnc (mag 5.3) will probably be invisible. </li>
</ul>
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<a href="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/M44_LP_small.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="M44" border="0" src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/M44_LP_small.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 320px; width: 480px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 80;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Castor, Pollux, Mars and M44 barely visible in the pinkish hue of light pollution</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><u>How were the observations made?</u><br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span></span></span><br />
<ol>
<li>The same observing spot was used on all occasions.</li>
<li>M44 at an altitude of 40 - 50°.</li>
<li><span style="font-size: 100%;">The weather was very similar on all occasions.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 100%;">Dark adaptation (night vision) was limited to 5 minutes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 100%;">The SQM-L reading was taken directly from M44 and mean value was taken based on 5 separate measurements.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 100%;">At 23.00 the city shuts down half of the streetlights on the small walking path leading to the observing spot used.</span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-size: 80;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />7.3.2010, 21.11 - SQM-L 17.70 (NELM ~4.85)- M44 invisible.<br />13.3.2010, 22.06 - SQM-L 17.98 (NELM ~4.99) - M44 fairly easily visible with averted vision.<br />13.3.2010, 22.36 - SQM-L 17.94 (NELM ~4.97) - M44 perhaps slightly more difficult than on the previous try.<br />13.3.2010, 23.06 - SQM-L 18.01 (NELM ~5.00) - M44 fairly easily visible.<br />13.3.2010, 23.36 - SQM-L 18.02 (NELM ~5.00) - M44 fairly easily visible.<br />13.3.2010, 23.56 - SQM-L 18.02 (NELM ~5.00) - M44 fairly easily visible.<br />14.3.2010, 21.36 - SQM-L 17.84 (NELM ~4.92) - M44 very difficult.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;">Naked eye limiting magnitude = (SQM reading - 8) / 2</span><br />
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Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-34629006759531614102012-04-10T14:50:00.000+03:002013-08-20T14:59:14.568+03:00The mighty few - the two missing NGC clustersIn 1863, G. P. Bond (director of the observatory at that time) published a list of 33 new deep sky objects discovered by astronomers who worked in the Harvard college observatory. These observers include George Phillips Bond himself (1825-1865), Phillip Sidney Coolidge (1830-1863), Horace Parnell Tuttle (1837-1923), and Truman Henry Safford (1836-1901). (As a side note, I'd like to note that in the 2010 book
"Observing and Cataloguing Nebulae and Star Clusters" by Wolfgang
Steinicke, there seems to be a typo regarding the age of Coolidge when
he died. It says in the book that Coolidge "was born on 22 August 1830
and died in the civil war on 19 September 1863 being only 29 years old".
Unless there are something wrong with the birth/death date, I'd say
Sidney Coolidge died at the age of 33) <br />
<br />Bond's paper was published in the Astronomische Nachricten (No. 1453) but the paper had some quirks. First, the discovery of the two of our objects in questions NGC 2189 and NGC 2198 are credited as having been discovered by J. H. Safford. This is at least corrected (by whom?) in the copied version of the publication (J crossed and T added to the right side margin). The second one is, as everyone who's had a look at this particular dilemma, the position of the two missing NGC clusters in Orion. There are no coordinates for any of the clusters, only 1863 coordinates for the near by position stars! What a bummer. We know that the clusters were pretty certainly found with a magnification of 141 and field of view of 11'. Either there is something I'm not seeing here or there is something profoundly wrong with the original coordinates. <br />
<hr />
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Object 7(a) & 7(b) - NGC 2189<br />
<img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/NGC2189.gif" /><br />
"Two clusters, seen 1863 March 19 near two stars of the 10.11th magnitude, by J. H. Safford, with the Great Refractor [15 inch Merz refractor]. In Harvard Zones [IV]. Position of stars:<br />
<br />
06h 04m 44.9s +01° 08' 37" (1863) = possibly GSC 131:1117 <br />
06h 05m 47.2s +01° 10' 02" (1863) = possibly GSC 131:1065<br />
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Not only are these two stars nearly 15' apart, there is no sign of any clusters in the area. It is also important to notice that Safford specifically mentions TWO clusters not a single one like the single NGC designation suggests. Safford's description "near two stars mag 10-11" is also fairly vague. Visual inspection of the region comes up pretty empty as well. 1908 paper by Pickering gives us coordinates of 06 12 22 +01 07 34 which is pretty much at the current non-ex position of NGC 2189. The asterisms discovered previously with the 15 inch refractor (1852-1853 for example) are pretty vague and are often very difficult to to discern from the background sky at all so in that aspect these clusters are a good match.<br />
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Object 8 - NGC 2198<br />
<img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/NGC2198.gif" /><br />
"A cluster, see 1869 March 19, by J. H. Safford, between two stars in the following position. With the Great Refractor. In Harvard Zones [IV].<br />
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Star of 10.11 mag. 06h 06m 27.8s +01° 01' 10" (1863) = possibly GSC 131:870<br />
Star of 9.10 mag. 06h 07m 12.7s +01° 00' 27" (1863) = possibly GSC 131:1266<br />
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What is between these two stars? A load of black space that's what! These two stars are separated by a mere 6'. Pickering's 1908 do not differ much from the current non-ex position of NGC 2198 just like with NGC 2189. <br />
<hr />
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Simply from a visual observer's point of view, there is one possibility hanging in the air. A fairly good looking asterism can be seen more to the north, nearly in the middle of NGC 2189 and NGC 2198. The asterism is flanked by 9th magnitude HD 288493 and 10th magnitude HD 288534.<br />
<img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Misc/NGC2198_ast.gif" /><br />
The position is however quite far away from the given positions of NGC 2189 and NGC 2198 and there is just one object - not three. <br />
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Unless someone takes a look at Safford's original observing logs like Dr. Harold G. Corwin suggest... I'm willing to go with the fact that these are nothing more than two very poor, uninteresting groups of few stars as suggested in the NGC/IC project home page. Sadly.Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7958315885513537167.post-73535762139449811832012-04-10T14:48:00.000+03:002013-08-20T14:54:34.083+03:00Johann Bode's three lost objectsThe German astronomer Johann Elert Bode (1747 - 1826) published a list of 75 deep sky objects in 1777 in the "Astronomisches Jahrbuch" for 1779. Five years later, Bode published an updated (but sadly not corrected) list of 110 objects. Simply too many errors remained to make Bode's catalogs a hit like that of Charles Messier's. Luckily, even today some objects, namely M81 & M82 and M92, are still marked as being discovered by Bode. [4]<br />
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As with nearly all the deep sky catalogs, certain entries in Bode's catalog are shrouded in mystery, deception and romance. Well, maybe not romance but at least some good old fashioned mystery. Some objects are simply considered lost. The two asterisms in Bode's list are no longer even associated with Bode himself, even though he was the probably the first person to note these at least a hundred years prior to others.<br />
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To simplify things, the three objects presented here are marked as Bode 1 – 3.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Bode 1 (published in 1777) = IC 1434?</span><br />
<img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Not_found.gif" /><br />
<u>Original coordinates</u>: 03 23 +57 30 (Ecliptic B1780.0)<br />
<u>Precessed coordinates</u>: 22 09 08 +52 54 40 (Equatorial J2000.0)<br />
<br />
Bode's first object is most commonly associated with the faint open cluster IC 1434 found at least by reverend Thomas Espin (1858 – 1934) in 1893 and added to the first Index catalog (1895) by J.L.E. Dreyer [1]. According to SEDS.org internet site by Hartmut Frommert and Christine Kronberg the cluster was "independently found by Espin in 1793" [2]. This is obviously a typo as Espin lived in the 19th not the 18th century. Still, no matter how you put it, IC 1434 just does not fit the bill.<br />
<br />
Bode's coordinates do match IC 1434 very well. The only problem is how can an observer look for something in this region of the sky, namely Lacerta, observe IC 1434 and completely miss two other brighter and more obvious clusters: NGC 7209 and NGC 7243. Without knowing the specifics of Bode's telescope, apart from the focal length of 7 feet, it is a big guessing game but the aperture might have been around 2.7 inches (7cm). Telescopes during that time commonly had magnifications of over 100 and very poor optics. With the high magnification in mind, one might understand why Bode might have not seen the two NGC clusters. Still, just to loose the few remaining hairs from my head, he rediscovered IC 4665 which basically is as sparse and big as a cluster can get. So anything more we know about his telescope? We can at least compare his notes to those of Messier's:<br />
<br />
M29<br />
Charles Messier saw "<span style="font-style: italic;">A cluster of 7 or 8 very small stars</span>"<br />
Johann Bode saw "<span style="font-style: italic;">A nebulous star cluster</span>"<br />
<br />
M37<br />
Messier: "<span style="font-style: italic;">Cluster of small stars</span>"<br />
Bode: "<span style="font-style: italic;">A vivid nebulous patch, in which no stars were recognizable</span>" but later on "<span style="font-style: italic;">Around the new nebula there appeared many small stars in the 7-foot telescope</span>"<br />
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M38<br />
Messier: "<span style="font-style: italic;">Cluster of small stars in Auriga</span>"<br />
Bode: "<span style="font-style: italic;">A star cluster</span>"<br />
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Bode, just like Charles Messier, failed to see individual stars from any of the globular clusters. At the same time, we can see from Bode's sketches he did manage resolved M67 (stars magnitude 9.6 and fainter) and M38 (stars magnitude 8.4 and fainter) [3]. This means his telescope much have reached at least 10th magnitude stars.<br />
<br />
So how is it even possible he saw IC 1434? He mentions it as a "star cluster" so it seems he managed to resolve the object, whatever it was he was observing. With the statistics of IC 1434 being 9.0 magnitude and the brightest stars close to 12th magnitude it is fairly easy to say he did not observe IC 1434. Did Johann Bode use a different, larger aperture telescope in his discovery of the first object? Bode was appointed to the Berlin observatory in 1772 and became the director in 1786, so he must have had access to the observatory's telescope(s) if there every was a bigger one. Still, I think it is very, very far fetched to say Bode saw IC 1434 based simply on the fact that his coordinates are close to it. Even if he might have seen it, he probably would have described it as a "a nebula" or "a nebula without stars" rather than a cluster.<br />
<br />
So what did Bode see? The only thing in the "tail of Cygnus" is of course M39 but this is already listed in Bode's catalog as number 75 and the location is correctly listed: "West near Pi at the tail of Cyg". With a bit of a reach, one could associate Bode's object as NGC 7243. This is east of Pi Cygni but no where near the tail or even in the constellation Cygnus. It would have probably been listed as "west of Alpha Lacertae" or something similar. Then again, Bode's original coordinates actually are in Lacerta, instead of Cygnus. Bode's own maps show the borders of both constellations nearly in modern form. Best bet in this puzzling case is that Bode independently found M39, poorly marked the position and then later added Messier's M39 in his list as well. Far fetched? Yes. Then it could be that he actually saw NGC 7243 but the coordinates are well off. So this issue will remain unresolved.<br />
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<hr />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Bode 2 (published in 1777) = HD 1825 group</span><br />
<img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Extra/Bode2.gif" /><br />
<u>Original coordinates</u>: 29 37 +45 55 (Ecliptic B1780.0)<br />
<u>Precessed coordinates</u>: 00 22 51 +53 57 19 (Equatorial J2000.0)<br />
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In Johann Bode's description of Charles Messier's object number 29 on the night of December 5th 1774 he also mentions an object "<span style="font-style: italic;">in Cassiopeia a similar cluster with the stars Zeta and Lambda at the head west of it in an obtuse-angled triangle</span>." <br />
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Little north of Bode's coordinates is a bright asterism of 7 stars brighter than magnitude 11. The brightest star is 8th magnitude HD 1825. This is obviously the grouping Bode was talking about and observed. The very same group is currently logged as Alessi J0022.7+5417 in the Deep Sky Hunters database for asterisms.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Draco 102 = Bode 3 (published in 1782), Bode's cluster, Kemble 2</span><br />
<img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/jaakko.saloranta/Deepsky/Extra/Kemble2.gif" /><br />
<u>Original coordinates</u>: 279 30 +72 10 (Ecliptic B1780.0 and Equatorial J2000.0 for Dec)<br />
<u>Precessed coordinates</u>: 18 19 26 +72 16 47 (Equatorial J2000.0)<br />
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Directly east of Bode's coordinates is an asterism some might know as "Mini Cassiopeia" or "Kemble 2". The nickname "Kemble 2" comes from Canadian Lucian J. Kemble (1922–1999) and he is well known by some from Kemble 1 / Kemble's Cascade in Camelopardalis. It is not known to me how this little group got the nickname "Kemble 2" but to be precise, there is no reason to do so. This is an original discovery of Johann Bode circa 1782, two centuries prior to Lucian Kemble. Of course asterisms don't have official names so anyone can call it whatever they want.<br />
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<u>References</u>:<br />
<span style="font-size: 80%;"><br />[1] NGC/IC observers. Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke. 2010.<br />[2] http://seds.org/messier/xtra/ngc/i1434.html<br />[3] http://www.lsw.uni-heidelberg.de/foerderkreis/bode/images/atlas/tab30.jpg<br />[4] http://seds.org/messier/xtra/similar/bode1782.html</span>Jaakko Salorantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11123017774793964972noreply@blogger.com