Thursday night I decided to chase down some dim galaxies in Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs) and its environs. By 'dim', I meant non-Messier galaxies brighter than magnitude 12 or so.
I have two current deep-sky observing programs in progress: 1) I am finishing a Messier survey (my second) and 2) I want to observe as many non-Messier objects as possible.
Last year at this time, I was so focused on the Messier catalog, that I was ignoring lots of other great things in the sky, notably the enormous number of visible non-Messier galaxies in Coma-Virgo, Ursa Major and Canes Venatici to mention a few.
I have also started a "Herschel 400" survey, but I'm not really specifically looking for "Herschel 400" (sounds like a stock car race) objects -- but I am checking them off as I observe them. I've seen 62 -- only 338 to go! I picked up 4 Thursday night and 3 the night before.
I began with a dim Messier galaxy, M109. It's always somewhat of a challenge for me, and I wanted to assess the transparency. I found it relatively easily, though not as easy as some nights, but it wasn't much to look at.
Next, I went up to nearby NGC 3982 and SN 1998aq. This galaxy had a round, non-stellar core, and the supernova was a short distance south and very easy to see.
My concentration was disrupted by noise from a neighbor's house, so I took a break.
When I went back out, I took a quick look at M51. Both cores were equally bright and equally sized. I could not tell which was the 'main' galaxy.
I began the hunt in earnest with M106, a large, bright Messier galaxy. I used this as an anchor for the first part of my hunt.
4346 was dim and small, but relatively easy to find a short distance to the east of M106. I had never seen this little feller before.
Next I hunted down 4449. I had seen this once before with my 9" Mak, using digital setting circles. It was much more satisfying to me to see it after having found it manually, rather than with the DSCs. I don't know why. I felt I knew it better. I felt like I knew its context. I knew where it was. I knew how to get there. I did find it much faster with the DSCs.
I was seeing the rest of the galaxies for the first time.
Next, I moved on to 4051, which was very faint, but quite easy to find. I made a half-hearted search for 3938 nearby, but I didn't see it. I probably was not looking in the right place. Sometimes I get impatient when searching, and I stop being careful, which of course only increases my frustration.
Since this area was starting to become obstructed by a tree, I moved down to Alpha Canum, a.k.a. Cor Caroli (The Heart of Charles) (What's the deal with _this_ name?)
5005 was a bright oval and 5033 was similar, but a little bit dimmer.
The final objects I saw this night were the most interesting configuration I've seen in a while.
After an arduous starhop from Cor Caroli via 23 Canum, I arrived at a small row of three stars with a small fuzzy patch near them at my limit of detectibility at 55x. I increased magnification to 142x and the fuzzy patch separated into two extremely close galaxies, 5353 and 5354. 5354 was slightly dimmer. A short distance away lay 5350. Somewhat further away was 5371. None of these is a "Herschel 400" object.
I've never seen galaxies so close to one another as 5353 and 5354. It reminds me of just one more of the many reasons I love galaxies so much: They are all different sizes and scales. No one magnification works well for all galaxies. Each galaxy is unique, demanding its own personal magnification for the best appreciation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: May 21, 1998 10pm (0500 May 22 UTC) Location: Backyard in Roseville (near Sacramento), CA 121W 16', 38N 44' Instrument: Orion DSE 10" f/5.6 dob-newt Oculars: 26, 17, 10mm Sirius Ploessls Seeing: 9/10 very steady Transparency: 7/10 fairly clear Visual limiting mag: <5.0 (I see all but the mag 5.0 star of Ursa Minor)