by Bob Jardine
Observed with Portaball, 12.5" f/5
I spent some time on NEAT (2001 Q4), as did everyone else I guess. I was using Canon 15X50 IS binocs. I watched the tail "grow" as darkness deepened from about 9:00 to 10:00. Of course, I told myself, it is growing because it is getting darker and my eyes are getting dark adapted. But who knows? Isn't/wasn't 5/15 perihelion day for this comet? Perhaps it was actually growing rapidly! ;-) At least it was fun to imagine it so. I also watched the celestial game of "pin the tail on the donkey" -- as the tail moved across a bright star (one of the two "donkeys", I think) -- first "below" that star, then enveloping it, then "above" it.
At 9:55 I took a look at Jupiter at 317X (Tak 5LE). The seeing was good. At the south edge of the NEB was a very long thin "white" oval -- or perhaps multiple white ovals that I couldn't resolve. Pretty interesting. One of the largest features I've ever seen.
At 10:15, Jamie and I did a limiting mag check -- 14 stars in the Bootes triangle for 5.8.
Next, I revisited the galaxies near Porrima.
| NGC 4666 | H400 gal, Virgo. Obvious sweeping at 45X (35mm). At 122X (13mm) it is large, bright, very elongated, with a slightly brighter center. At 176X (9mm), it is long and thin, but with a bit of a bulge; the center is brighter, but not stellar. |
|---|---|
| NGC 4653 | gal, Virgo. Large and dim. Nothing to write home about. (122X). |
| NGC 4632 | gal, Virgo. Another nice obvious one, with nearly the same orientation as 4666, but not quite as thin and not as much brighter in the center. |
| NGC 4592 | gal, Virgo. Another pretty easy one, but a little dimmer than 4632 & 4666. Somewhat elongated, not brighter center. |
I tracked down the same three asteroids that I had observed a few nights before at Montebello: (5) Astraea, (20) Massalia, and (40) Nysa. Sure enough, they had all moved. Interesting contrast -- they had all moved only a little more in three days than the comet had moved in an hour.
Back to galaxies:
| NGC 4618 | H400 gal, CVn. Same FOV as 4625 in the 13mm Nagler. 4618 is larger and brighter. Roundish, pretty big, a bit brighter in center, but only slightly. |
|---|---|
| NGC 4625 | gal, CVn. A lot smaller and a little dimmer than 4618. Shape is uncertain. Not much brighter center. |
M94. While in the area, I checked out the eye candy. After the little H400 (and even dimmer) galaxies, this one rates a wow. Big and bright at 122X and begs for more power. At 176X it is large, round, very bright, much brighter in center, with a round core, but not stellar.
| NGC 5273 | H400 gal, CVn. Off all by itself. Pretty obvious, but nothing special. Small, medium bright, a hint of elongation, very slightly brighter center. |
|---|
At 12:25, I repeated the count in Bootes. Now 16 or 17 stars for 5.9.
| NGC 4800 | H400 gal, Bootes. Another one off by itself. Obvious at 45X. In the 13mm, small and bright, but too small to tell much shape. So up to 176X, still just small and bright; maybe slightly elongated, with brighter center, but not stellar. |
|---|---|
| NGC 5533 | gal, Bootes. Small, dim, not much to write home about. Pretty close to A (?) Bootes. |
| NGC 5557 | H400 gal, Bootes. Obvious at 122X, small and bright. At 176X, still just small and bright; a little brighter center, not obviously elongated. |
| NGC 5529 | gal, Bootes. Much smaller and dimmer than 5557; shape not clear. |
| NGC 5660 | gal, Bootes. Same FOV as 5676 (35 Panoptic). At 122X, pretty large, medium bright, round, not much brighter center. |
| NGC 5676 | H400 gal, Bootes. Very elongated, pretty bright, pretty much brighter center (122X). |
| NGC 5689 | H400 gal, Bootes. Not too far from 5676 and pretty similar size and shape. At 122X, elongated and a little dimmer than 5676. Much brighter center, but maybe slightly smaller, compared to 5676. |
| NGC 6217 | H400 gal, UMi. Pretty easy to locate; just barely visible in 35mm. In 13mm, it is medium size, medium bright, definitely brighter center, and just slightly elongated. |
I wrapped up with M5 and M11. Gorgeous views of both in the 9mm Nagler. Packed up around 2:00. I might have stayed later, but the sky was only mediocre at this point.
Evening summary:
One comet, two planets, three asteroids, four pieces of eye candy, five new (for me) H400 galaxies (plus a couple of revisits), and about a dozen other galaxies on the way to the H400s. Serious white oval FU. And a drive-in astronomy award to C/2001 Q4 for playing pin the tail on the donkey. Joe Bob is glad he checked it out!
Posted on sf-bay-tac May 17, 2004 23:10:47 PT
Converted by report.pm 1.1 Jul 11, 2004 19:34:38 PT