Fiddletown 12/3/05

by Steve Gottlieb

With the cloudy, rainy weather during the week who woulda thunk we'd have a great night of observing on Saturday (3 Dec '05) - but we did! Our small group from Davis (Jane Smith), Placerville (Bill Porte), Antioch (Renato del Rosario) and Albany (moi) converged around sunset at the Fiddletown site and were treated to steady conditions (after 8:00), no wind, no dew and oh yeah, very good transparency in most parts of the sky. I started off with the challenging NGC 128 group (5 galaxies within 7') in Pisces. This was my 4th time looking at this group but the last time was 17 years ago so it was long overdue for another visit. I spend quite a bit of time on the large NGC 524 group also in Pisces, also last visited 18 years back. After working through 13 members I spend the remainder of the evening on a hodgepodge of eye-candy, spying the bright, anomalous spiral arm in NGC 772 and obscure objects such as the little-known Abell Galaxy Cluster 496 in Eridanus and the Red Rectangle, a proto-planetary in Monoceros. Based on recent discussions on TAC, we also took peeks in my scope of the huge California Nebula in Pisces and the Horsehead (neither one a big challenge). We ended up feeling quite fortunate as this was a very sweet night of observing for this time of year. Notes on the two groups in Pisces appended below.

NGC 125 00 28 50.3 +02 50 19 V = 12.1; Size 1.2x1.2; Surf Br = 12.4; PA = 85d
18" (12/3/05): fairly faint, fairly small, round, 0.7' diameter. Sharply concentrated with a very small bright core ~15" diameter surrounded by a faint halo. A 20" pair of mag 12 stars is less than 1' S of center.
NGC 126 00 29 08.1 +02 48 40 V = 14.2; Size 0.7x0.4; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 110d
18" (12/3/05): faint, very small, elongated 3:2 WNW-ESE, 0.3'x0.2', weak concentration, low surface brightness but easy with averted vision and slightly brighter than the close companions to N128. Located 3.6' SW of N128 in a group of five. A mag 12 star lies.1.6' NW.
NGC 127 00 29 12.4 +02 52 21 V = 14.8; Size 0.8x0.5; Surf Br = 13.6; PA = 70d
18" (12/3/05): this very close companion to N128 is quite dim, appearing as an extremely faint knot just 12" diameter with no details. It is fainter and closer than N130 and situated just west of the northern extension, 0.8' from center. Not noticed initially, but once seen was not difficult with averted vision at 225x.
NGC 128 00 29 15.1 +02 51 51 V = 11.8; Size 2.5x0.7; Surf Br = 12.2; PA = 1d
18" (12/3/05): moderately bright and large, very elongated 7:2 N-S, 1.4'x0.4', sharply concentrated with a very bright core that gradually increases to a stellar nucleus. The N-S extensions fade out and taper towards the tips. Flanked on either side of the northern extension by two close companions, N127 and N130, less than 1' NW and 1' NE.
NGC 130 00 29 18.5 +02 52 13 V = 14.4; Size 0.7x0.4; Surf Br = 12.9; PA = 44d
18" (12/3/05): very faint, very small, slightly elongated SW-NE, ~0.3'x0.2', weak concentration, easy with averted vision. Slightly brighter of two companions to N128 and situated just off the NE flank, 1.0' from center.
NGC 489 01 21 53.9 +09 12 24 V = 12.6; Size 1.7x0.4; Surf Br = 11.9; PA = 120d
18" (12/3/05): moderately bright, fairly small, edge-on streak NW-SE, 0.9'x0.2', well concentrated with a very small bright core. Contains a faint quasi-stellar nucleus with direct vision. Furthest west of a large group of galaxies in the N524 group.
NGC 502 01 22 55.6 +09 02 57 V = 12.8; Size 1.1x1.0; Surf Br = 12.9
18" (12/3/05): fairly faint, small, round, 25" diameter, sharply concentrated with a very small, very bright core ~10" diameter.
NGC 505 01 22 57.1 +09 28 08 V = 13.8; Size 0.9x0.6; Surf Br = 13.1
18" (12/3/05): faint, very small, round, 20" diameter. Contains a faint stellar nucleus with direct vision. Located 7' WNW of N509 in the N524 group.
NGC 509 01 23 24.1 +09 26 01 V = 13.4; Size 1.6x0.6; Surf Br = 13.2; PA = 82d
18" (12/3/05): faint, fairly small, elongated nearly 2:1 ~E-W, 1.0'x0.5', broad weak concentration. Situated between two mag 13.8/14.3 stars less than 2' SW and NNE. N505 lies 7' WNW. Member of the N524 group.
IC 101 01 24 08.6 +09 55 50 V = 13.8; Size 1.4x0.6; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 127d
18" (12/3/05): faint hazy spot, irregularly round, ~20"-25" diameter. A mag 14.5 star lies 1' S. Pair with fainter IC 102 5' SE. Located 10' SW of N522 in the N524 group.
NGC 516 01 24 08.1 +09 33 06 V = 13.1; Size 1.4x0.5; Surf Br = 12.7; PA = 44d
18" (12/3/05): fairly faint, moderately large, appears as a thin streak, ~1.0'x0.25' oriented SW-NE, weak concentration, bulging core and tapering extgensions. Member of the N524 group.
NGC 518 01 24 17.7 +09 19 52 V = 13.3; Size 1.7x0.6; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 98d
18" (12/3/05): faint or fairly faint, very elongated E-W, 1.0'x0.3', weak concentration with a slightly brighter core, irregular surface brightness. A mag 14.5 star lies 1' SW. Located 2.5' SW of a mag 10.5 star.
IC 102 01 24 26.3 +09 53 12 V = 14.4; Size 0.9x0.3; Surf Br = 12.8
18" (12/3/05): extremely faint, very small, 15" diameter, no details. Marginal object that was just glimpsed as drifted through the field. Located 8' SW of N522 in the N524 group.
NGC 522 01 24 45.9 +09 59 40 V = 12.9; Size 2.7x0.5; Surf Br = 13.0; PA = 33d
18" (12/3/05): faint to fairly faint edge-on streak SW-NE, 1.2'x0.2'. This is a pretty slash with a slightly brighter core. Fades at the tips but uniformly narrow in width (does not bulge in the center). N525 lies 17' S within the N524 group. A couple of faint member, IC 101 and IC 102, lie 10' and 8' SW.
NGC 524 01 24 47.8 +09 32 19 V = 10.3; Size 2.8x2.8; Surf Br = 12.3
18" (12/3/05): very bright, large, round, well concentrated with a bright core increasing to a very bright small nucleus. The halo extends to 2.0' or 2.5'. A mag 11 star lies 2.3' S of center. Brightest in a large group of 8 NGC galaxies and a few IC galaxies.
NGC 525 01 24 52.9 +09 42 12 V = 13.2; Size 1.5x0.7; Surf Br = 13.1; PA = 5d
18" (12/3/05): fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated, ~50"x40", symmetrical appearance and increases steadily to a brighter core and faint stellar nucleus. Member of the N524 group. A mag 11 star lies 2' NW.
NGC 532 01 25 17.3 +09 15 51 V = 12.9; Size 2.5x0.8; Surf Br = 13.5; PA = 28d
18" (12/3/05): moderately bright, fairly large, elongated 7:2 SW-NE, ~2.0'x0.4', broad concentration, patchy appearance with an irregular surface brightness. Member of the N524 group.
IC 114 01 26 22.6 +09 54 36 V = 14.1; Size 1.7x0.7; Surf Br = 14.1; PA = 150d
18" (12/3/05): extremely faint, small, appears as a low surface brightness spot ~25" diameter, appears elongated but too faint for details. A mag 13 star lies 1.8' W. Located 30' NE of N524 in a large group of galaxies.

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Posted on sf-bay-tac Dec 04, 2005 17:12:00 PT
Converted by report.pm 1.2 Mar 16, 2006 22:19:23 PT