Julien Lecomte
I would like to join Peter in thanking Dr. Lee Hoglan, Dr. Bob Caton, and all those who have been involved with the D.A.R.C. Observatory, for their generous invitation. The site of the D.A.R.C. Observatory is a pleasant two hour drive away from San Jose, which makes it an extremely convenient location. The site is truly dark and offers great horizons, especially toward the south. By midnight, after the high clouds had dissipated, the sky turned "sugary". The light domes from Fresno, Hollister and Los Banos were relatively inconspicuous. The seeing was decent, although a bit soft at times. Among the highlights of the night, I was able to log about 20 new H400 objects, saw Omega Centauri pretty easily in my 9x63 binocular (I spotted it naked eye once I knew where to look) Peter also shared views through his 24" F/3.7 Starmaster telescope:
* M101, reminiscent of Rogelio's recent photograph (see TAC archive)
* NGC 4565, absolutely superb
* A galaxy cluster in Leo (we counted about a dozen faint galaxies
in one eyepiece)
* A superb Arp galaxy (I can't remember which one) with
jaw-dropping intricate details
* A globular cluster (I can't remember which one) using a binoviewer
Below is my log for that most excellent night. I'm looking forward to go back. Cheers!
NGC 2787 UMa 09h20m13.0s +69°10'01 11.6 mag 10:50p
Round, gradually brighter toward the center, with a non stellar core
surrounded by a very faint halo. Faint star 1' SE, even fainter one 1'
W-SW.
NGC 2976 UMa 09h48m05.1s +67°52'35 10.8 mag 11:05p
Elongated 3x1 NW-SE. Fairly uniform, no central condensation visible.
Fairly bright superimposed stathe SW edge of the halo. Slightly
fainter star (mag. 14.1) just beyond the NW edge of the halo.
NGC 2985 UMa 09h51m16.9s +72°14'17 11.2 mag 11:15p
Round, with an almost stellar core surrounded by a faint halo. A star
of similar apparent magnitude as the nucleus of this galaxy can be
found 1' E.
Cigar Galaxy UMa 09h56m42.9s +69°38'15 9.0 mag 11:25p
At low power (56x and 95x), this galaxy appears very bright and very
elongated SW-NE. It looks like a cigar or a spindle. At higher
magnification (169x), many details start to appear. A large dark lane
almost splits the galaxy in half. Other dark and bright patches can be
seen throughout.
NGC 3077 UMa 10h04m08.7s +68°41'26 10.6 mag 11:35p
Very slightly elongated NE-SW. Fairly large core surrounded by a faint
uniform halo.
M 101 UMa 14h03m35.0s +54°17'56 8.4 mag 11:40p
Seen through Peter Natscher's 24" F/3.7 Starmaster using a Televue
Ethos 17mm eyepiece. The view was absolutely incredible! It was
reminiscent of photographs I've seen of this galaxy. The spiral arms
were superbly defined, and many bright knots (HII regions maybe?) were
easily popping out here and there.
NGC 2742 UMa 09h08m20.1s +60°26'40 12.1 mag 11:55p
Elongated 2x1 E-W. Fairly uniform, with only a weak central condensation.
NGC 2768 UMa 09h12m23.5s +60°00'05 10.8 mag 12:00a
Bright, elongated 3x1 E-W with a fairly bright non stellar core.
NGC 2950 UMa 09h43m18.5s +58°48'37 11.9 mag 12:10a
Bright, almost stellar core. Faint halo, elongated 2x1 NW-SE.
NGC 3079 UMa 10h02m39.1s +55°38'12 11.4 mag 12:15a
Very elongated almost N-S, slightly curved and assymetrical. There is
a faint superimposed stathe northern end.
NGC 3310 UMa 10h39m23.4s +53°27'17 11.2 mag 12:25a
Round, small and fairly bright, with a relatively large core.
NGC 2681 UMa 08h54m14.9s +51°16'48 11.2 mag 12:30a
Very bright, almost stellar core surrounded by a faint round halo.
NGC 2841 UMa 09h22m43.4s +50°56'17 10.0 mag 12:45a
Elongated 4x1 NW-SE. Fairbly bright elongated core with a stellar
nucleus. Pretty faint superimposed stathe NW end.
NGC 3184 UMa 10h18m52.7s +41°22'39 10.4 mag 01:00a
At low power, this galaxy appears as a uniform disk. At higher power,
with a bit of concentration, a faint and stellar nucleus appears
embedded inside a very weak and slightly elongated core. The halo
shows hints of spiral structure.
NGC 3198 UMa 10h20m31.5s +45°30'10 10.9 mag 01:05a
Pretty faint. Elongated 3x1 NE-SW. Fairly uniform with a very weak
core and some very subtle mottling.
NGC 4027 Crv 12h00m00.5s -19°19'14 11.6 mag 01:35a
Overall pretty faint with a weak core. Northern portion of the halo
shows a spiral arm, confirming my impression on 2009 Mar 24.
NGC 3166 Sex 10h14m16.3s +03°22'34 11.5 mag 01:50a
Small, roundish, with a fairly bright almost stellar core. This galaxy
forms an interesting couple with NGC 3169, located only 7' E.
NGC 3169 Sex 10h14m45.4s +03°25'04 11.3 mag 01:50a
Small, roundish, with a fairly bright almost stellar core. This galaxy
forms an interesting couple with NGC 3166, located only 7' W.
M 108 UMa 11h12m06.7s +55°37'22 10.7 mag 01:15a
Fairly uniform. Elongated 5x1 E-W. Superimposed star right in the
center - could be confused with the galaxy nucleus. Some mottling was
easily detected.
NGC 3726 UMa 11h33m54.2s +46°58'35 10.7 mag 02:25a
At low power (95x), this galaxy appears uniform, elongated 2x1 almost
N-S. At higher power (169x), a faint stellar nucleus appears, along
with some hints of a spiral structure.
NGC 3877 UMa 11h46m40.1s +47°26'28 11.8 mag 02:30a
Elongated 5x1 NE-SW with a weak core and a faint stellar nucleus.
NGC 3893 UMa 11h49m10.6s +48°39'22 10.8 mag 02:35a
Small, roundish, fairly bright, with a large core. Fairly bright
superimposed star about 1' NW. Very faint superimposed star less than
1' S. Halo does not seem perfectly uniform.
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