Rumors of Jeff seen at Little Blair Valley 03-May-2008

Jeff Gortatowski

It is pretty much a running joke and/or folklore in TAC South that I have said I am going to go observe at Little Blair Valley (LBV) in the Anza Borrego SP for… oh… years. The lore goes there is no end to the excuses I have come up with to actually avoid going. "I have to work", "I am not feeling well", "the weather looks iffy" (pretty lame in the Southern California desert), "I have to clean the telescope pad I own out near Palomar of weeds", "my cats need flossing" (a never ending job with 6 cats) etc. You get the idea.

Fact is all were true at the time - okay the cat thing is not. Fact is I needed and wanted little other motivation to come up with excuses. Occasionally I was simply unashamed to say, "I have a pad with electricity, nearby running water and bathrooms, and I pay club dues for the luxury." So why would I drive another hour farther to observe at a site that does not have all the creature comforts? Okay, that is probably my best excuse. Allow me to elborate.

LBV at 2+ hours drive pretty much requires a commitment to staying the whole night. I am *big* lover of 3rd quarter observing. Why? Well much of the year I can observe for hours and still have the perfect excuse to pack up and leave when the moon rises. From the club site I am home in 90 minutes and can still have almost a full day the next day to frolick. Whereas staying the night pretty much means part of the next day is screwed driving back or napping. Also new moon tends to bring out more people. More people means more commotion kibitzing, etc... and I am all about getting some specific observing done.

Well Saturday May 3rd 2008 saw the end of the lore. I had to drop off some equipment my friend had lent me. He lives in northern San Diego county. Since it was new moon weekend, and I had a tour guide to take me there, I sort of ran out of excuses.

Little Blair Valley is in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park. It’s a short but 'interesting' drive off San Diego County road S22. The road in is a single lane dirt road. Not impassible (obviously) by any means, certainly not by a 4x4, and almost anything could make it in. Of course it was dry. However it is narrow with vegetation close in on either side in spots. It dawned on me more than once that meeting someone driving out while I was on the way in, or vice verse, was going to be problematic in certain areas. However that never happen. Despite good instructions, I think I benefited first time from a guide and from arriving in daylight. IMO of course. LBV is a somewhat sheltered valley. If it’s a dry lake bed it has more vegetation on it than any other dry lake beds I have been on. Not my mental image of a dry lake bed given my prior *experience*. All the dry lake beds I have been on were in the high deserts of Southern California (Anza is considered low desert) and were completely lifeless dirt.

Parking just off the north side of the road, as is I gather the rules for the state park, I counted maybe 10 or 15 others. Later friends would join us with their 25 inch dob, eclectic music, and wine - the best friends! The highlight of setting up my 18 inch dob was dropping the UTA. Not far, and nothing was damaged except my ego, but the collimation was, as you might guess, screwed. I did the best I could to get it all squared and center correctly under the focuser, but noticed it took more turns of the mirror screws to collimate than it should have, so I have to work on that in the next few days to make sure it all is correct. Dropping it was a first, hopefully a last.

Conditions start off ‘ok’. Dry and comfortable temps all night long IMO. There was some wind in the 5 to 10 mph range. But there were also long stretches of almost calm. Seeing was very variable. It start off poor and got somewhat better as the night went on. The site is darker all around than the club site I use, with far more ‘useable’ sky. Nonetheless light domes from I gather the coast to the west and El Centro / Imperial in the east are visible. The transparency was good up until a lenticular cloud took up residence. Things got progressively worse until at about 2am, there was very little sky left that was not cloudy or hazy. That would be a very odd occurrence at my club’s site, but perhaps not so for LBV. My observing program was the Hershel 400 objects. Or more to the point the Springtime H400 objects which is where I have been ‘stuck’ for years. Obviously having 112 objects (still) left to observe, and having this go on for years, and knowing they are all Springtime galaxies, pretty much shows my commitment to Springtime observing. Or lack thereof.

Also you will note some long gaps in the times below. Another fallout of observing with good friends. It’s just irresistible when your friends have wine and a 25 inch dob to not wander over and have a go at it... oh and observe... There is no greater force in nature. Before you know it, an hour has passed.

Aside from the items below I also had a great view of Omega Centauri through my 15x45 Canon IS binoculars I picked up on eBay for about $450. Also some stupendous views of M101 and M51 through a friend’s 25 inch f/5 dob with a borrowed 13mm Ethos. Wow! So without further adieux my notes. Please note I corrected some errors at home, but not all. I leave mistakes as instructive to myself and others that my observations are far far from perfect and get progressively worse as my eyes grow older (IMO). Note times are in PDT. Sometimes I nail it. Sometimes I get nailed.

Here’s a link to a few pictures
http://fototime.com/inv/0F996972FDBD5E0

Location: Little Blair Valley – Anza Borrego State Park, California 33N 116.3W
Telescope: 45cm f/4.5 Litebox Dobsonian
Eyepieces: 31mm Nagler (75x), 12mm Nagler (195x) both used with a Paracorr (1.15x)
Date: 04-May-08 from about 03:00UT to 08:00UT

NGC 3945 20:04 31mm with Paracorr – Big, bright, round fuzzy patch of fuzzy light. Fairly concentrated central area. There are a couple of field stars that precede it to the west. One being brighter than other.

12mm + Paracorr – Definitely round and much bright central nucleus area. Hard to tell with bad seeing any other detail. Seeing is only about a 3 or 4 on 1 to 10 scale. There is a bright field star that precedes it to the west. Then a dimmer field star to the Southeast and yet another about the same magnitude as the second one but twice the distance to Northwest. I get the idea it is a face-on galaxy but hard to tell. Definitely some narrower and dimmer fuzziness in a circular pattern around a bright but decidedly non-stellar core.

NGC 4036 and NGC 4041 20:13
31mm + Paracorr – Just an obvious and beautiful edge on galaxy. Definitely a hint of a dark lane even at this low magnification. Highly elongated with a flying source like shape. NGC 4041 is round with a distinctive bright middle but not stellar. Beautiful pairing. Probably separated by 1/3 of degree.

12mm + Paracorr – 4036 Wonderful edge-on galaxy with a quite a bit brighter nucleus . It is elongated 3 or 4 to 1. I get the Distinct impression there might be a dust lane but it was more obvious at low power. It could be the seeing at higher power washes it out. The galaxy seems like it might be a bit tilted towards us. It has a PA of about 70 or 80. A beautiful very easy to see edge-on. If had to be pinned down to where I saw the dust lane I’d say running east to west and off center to the south.

12mm + Paracorr – 4041 - Just fits in the same field of view as 4036. Again this is giving a good idea they are about 1/3 of degree apart . It is dimmer than 4036, round and therefore hard to make out any PA. Very uniform brightness in the nucleus. A good 1/3 of the entire area is the nucleus area. Definitely not stellar like. With averted vision there seems to be about twice as much material surrounding the central area and there doubling the size of the galaxy. No other distinctive features can be make out. I do get the impression there might be a bit of a brighter area to the East Southeast and to the South but it is just an impression as I move it around the eyepiece.

NGC 3982 NGC 3998 NGC 3972 NGC 3977 NGC 3990 – 21:42
3998 12mm + Paracorr Fairly stellar-like core. Has a little bit of nebulous material around the nucleus. Difficult to make out any PA as it’s pretty round and the seeing is still probably still only a 5 out of 10. Interesting thing is it has a galaxy NGC 3990 about 10 arc-min to its west. This is a smaller and somewhat dimmer edge-on with a slightly brighter middle and a PA of maybe 35 or 45. But it’s smaller than 3998 and just happen to be quite noticeable in the 12mm Nagler’s FOV. I keep my maps solely displaying the H400 target objects so this object is not plotted but now I know it to be NGC 3990.

Moving only 1/2 degree to the Southwest of 3998 you come to a very obvious slash of light that is NGC 3972. An obvious edge-on that again is not part of the H400. Not as bright as NGC 3998 by any means but still very obvious and quite big. Elongated about 4 to 1. Very little or almost no defined nucleus with a PA of about 120 or 130. This object also has a smaller dimmer companion NGC 3977 about 10 arc-min away to the N/NE. I just noticed it. Round and relatively a small. Indeed quite a bit smaller than it’s nearby edge-on with just a little mottling and a slightly brighter nucleus. No PA that I can make out as its nearly round as far as I can tell.

Moving to 3982 is in the same FOV as the large edge on NGC 3972. Has two prominent set of field stars 7 to 10 arc-min to the south of it in an East to West line. A little bit of mottling but is mostly uniform in brightness. A little bit of dimmer material especially to the west southwest. No PA cause its round. Very interesting little area with all these galaxies and there are more. An area to revisit for sure.

NGC 3953 – 22:02
31mm + Paracorr Really big and bright easy to see. Elongated 4 to 1. About 5 or 6 arc-min long with a PA about 20 or 30. Almost stellar like core with a lot of mottling near the center. And there is some variation in lightness on the North and South lobes of the edge on disc. Followed by line of 4 stars that are basically running North South with one of those 4 being almost directly East of core. Also has two somewhat bright stars close to each other to the North of the galaxy. Very obvious.

12mm + Para – This galaxy is maybe 10 arc-mins in size. Quite big. Somewhat stellar core. Dim field star right above of the nucleus to the West. PA of about 25 or 30. Definitely some structure on the North and South side of the core. And some definite variation or structure in lobes to the north and south. Even some sort of hint of structure or lanes.

NGC 4102 – 22:19
12mm + Paracorr - Very obvious bright galaxy. Elongated galaxy probably 2 or 3 to 1. Not as elongated as some of the prior ‘edge-on’ galaxies I’ve seen tonight. Preceded by a field to the west as well as a dimmer one at twice that distance to the East. Core seem elongated as well with a somewhat stellar nucleus. Lots of material in the lobes that are Northeast to Southwest. A PA of about 60 to 70. Probably more like 75 (actually more like 30 according to references). Does not seem to be symmetrical from one side of the nucleus to the other. The Northeast side is longer than the Southwest. That could be an illusion because of the brighter field star on that side.

STT 244 – 22:24
While observing NGC 4102 I noticed a nice double star to the Northwest both in the 12mm and then on the chart. It’s a white primary with a light gold secondary. PA of about 300 (324 in 1991 and a separation of 3.2”). Nice little binary and not as easy as one might think with the bit of breeze that kicks up (5 to 10 mph I’d say – but sometimes calm as well). And seeing only being ‘moderate’ – maybe 5 or so on a 1 to 10 scale.

NGC 5322 – 22:45
12mm Nagler + ParaCorr This is a pretty bright galaxy with a very bright stellar like nucleus with a quite bright halo as well. Some close in field stars. Especially close one is to the South. Galaxy is elongated maybe 2 to 1 with a PA probably around 90. Definitely almost East West. Little field star close in the nucleus to the South and then another field star right on the edge of what I can see of the galaxy to the East of nucleus some 3 or 4 times further than the Southern close in field star. Gives the impression of being longer on the Eastern side than the Western. Could be that field star effect again.

NGC 5474 – 23:01
12mm + ParaCorr – This is sort of in the shadow of M101 which I first ‘stumbled’ upon mistaking it for 5474. At the time I was elated that such a wonderful object is virtually unknown and included in the H400! That was of course M101. But not before blurting out, “ Gee. Reminds me of M101!” which I had just seen in Paul A’s 25 inch dob using a borrowed Televue Ethos.

But of course NGC 5474 is a wee bit Southeast of M101 about a ‘Nagler or two’ field of views from the Southeast of M101. Call it 1,5 degrees to the Southeast. This object is nowhere near as grand and majestic as M101! It’s round and quite mottled in the core area. Not a stellar nucleus at all but there is a field star superimposed and slightly offset from the core to the east. Quite uniform in brightness but there is mottling that suggests a spiral structure. The field star I mentioned gives the illusion that the nucleus of offset to the east rather than being centered. No PA I can discern being quite round.

NGC 5473 – 23:11
12mm + ParaCorr This galaxy is a degree or so NE of M101. Embedded in ZigZag chain of four stars. Fairly small. Quit bight, high surface brightness. It appears to make a fifth component of the ZigZag. With that addition the asterism becomes like a small flattened Cassiopeia. The ‘W’ opens to the Southeast. Not very easy to make out a PA as it is fairly small galaxy with stellar like nucleus. Seeing does not really support going to the 9mm Nagler and I am not sure it would tease more out of this object. Especially with the bit of a breeze. Looks like it has a very dim field star is trailing it to the East. A little haziness surrounding an obvious and bright core. Not much else to say.

NGC 5676 – 23:31
31mm + ParaCorr Very bright obvious edge-on. Situated in the center of a triangle of bright field stars that fit in a circle of perhaps ¾ of degree. The brightest star of the triangle is in the East and is a beautiful golden or orange color. The galaxy has a somewhat brighter middle. Just a bit of fuzz to the west.

12mm + ParaCorr PA of about 160 or 170 (actually 40 or so??). Definitely no really bright core or stellar core. Perhaps a very small slightly brighter core. Fairly evenly lit across the entire surface. It is elongated about 3 to 1. At low power I thought I glimpsed or got the impression of a dust lane. But I said nothing figuring it would be more prominent with more magnification. However at higher power I don’t get that impression as strongly. Perhaps there is a bit of mottling towards the Southern side. But I can only guess that if it has a lane it is toward the Northern edge even though the mottling I mention is towards the Southern edge. That is to say the Northern side seems to have the sharper light cutoff.

STT 283 – 23:43
12mm + ParaCorr Noticed this while looking at NGC 5676. Nice white primary with a small gold or orange secondary with a PA of about 100 or 110 (129 actually in 1991)

NGC 5689 – 23:47 12mm Nagler + Paracorr Pretty obvious edge-on thought a bit dimmer than some I have seen tonight. Elongated 4 to 1 and quite needle like. Very bright central nucleus. Very delicate looking. Very difficult to observe any extensions as it is so thin. Seems like a PA of about 90. Very classic looking edge-on with maybe a hint of a dust lane bisecting the disk to the south of the ‘equator’. Followed to the East Northeast by two small field stars that make sort of a diagonal line Northwest to Southeast.

NGC 5631 – 00:01
12mm Nagler Paracorr – Very small but with a high surface brightness. Very bright stellar like core. Very little material showing around it the nucleus area that I can discern. Very round and no discernable PA. Nor do I see much detail to it.

NGC 5982 – 01:05
31mm Nagler + Paracorr Very dim round fuzzy. Took me a bit to find it. Guess I used to hunting brighter quarry (bright in the 45cm scope anyway). At this low magnification all I can see is a fuzzy patch with a bright middle. Maybe a field star near the nucleus or maybe a real stellar like core.

12mm Nagler + Paracorr The extra magnification does not help much. Still pretty small, round with a stellar like core. No discernable PA. High surface brightness because I assume, it is so small.

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Jeffrey D. Gortatowsky
Fullerton, California