by Bob Czerwinski
They say it's the thrill of the hunt ... right? Well, this observing report is only about one object, NGC 3319.
Observing with a host of others at Dino Point on 02/02/02, I spent a fair amount of time chasing selected galaxies listed in The Night Sky Observer's Guide, specifically in Ursa Major. The NSOG is one of my favorite references, and I've been systematically running through it for a few years now. Much like work around the home, it's become the never-ending project ... but *much* more enjoyable. :)
Observing with my 12.5" f/5.0 Dob-mounted Newt and a 17mm Nagler eyepiece (107x w/ Paracorr), I spent a significant portion of my time that night trying to find NGC 3319. Now the NSOG lists this as a three-star item, generally signifying an "average object", where an 8- to 10-inch 'scope should present a good view. And once I saw the three-star designation, well, the only other thing that registered in my brain was it's listed visual magnitude of 11.1. Hey, ought to be an easy find in a 12.5", right? The finder charts in the NSOG are pretty good (in Kepple's original "Astro Cards" format), and I started my star-hop from 34-Mu, one of the Great Bear's hind feet. I'd already located NGC 3184 this way, less than a degree from the star, only now I was moving in the opposite direction, with NGC 3319 about 3-degrees away from 34-Mu. The NSOG offered a pretty clear guide, so off I went. And I went nowhere fast. Just couldn't find the blasted thing. So over I went to my computer and took a look at where TheSky said NGC 3319 should be. Yep, matched up with the NSOG, all right. Even provided me with a few more key stars for reference. So once again it was time for another look through the eyepiece for this 11th magnitude object. And still nothing there. Okay, now it was time to cheat. Punched up NGC 3319 on the 'scope's Sky Commander. Yep, the coordinates matched the field; I was definitely where I should be. So how come I couldn't find the ^%$#@ thing?! Back to the NSOG ... and there was my answer. Integrated surface brightness: 14.5, and this thing was large, about 7'x4'. That'll teach me not to read! And TheSky added to the tale with a Dreyer description of "considerably faint." So what's this thing doing as a three-star NSOG item?!! Okay, now that I knew what I was dealing with, it was back to the eyepiece. A towel over my head, averted vision and a sweeping motion of the 'scope ... and finally, there she was. No 'scope movement, and 3319 became more of a "suspected" object. Man, was this thing tough to hold, even with averted vision. Granted transparency was about average that night, with fairly high humidity (92%), but I had nailed a number of other galaxies in the general area with no trouble at all.
So I felt good that I'd found this thing, but was surprised (and frustrated) by the difficulty. Was it just the sky transparency/humidity? I'd sure like to know how others in the group have viewed NGC 3319, wondering what your experience was like, especially in a 'scope about the same size as mine. Looking forward to your comments!