Faint, small, round, with a brighter core

Richard Navarrete

Mark and I were the first of the group to arrive and we began leisurely setting up our equipment. We each have 18" Obsession scopes, and I also brought a pair of 12x80 binos and a binocular mount for observing comet Lulin. Eventually Mark Johnston, Steve Gottlieb, and Greg LaFlamme arrived. Including our host, Kevin Ritschel, we had a merry group of talented observers.

As usual when a group of observers are together, we spent some time talking about equipment. I was interested in seeing Greg's 13mm type 6 Nagler. I have the 5,7, and 9 type 6's and like them very much, and I have a 12 type 4 which is huge in comparison and not even close to being parfocal with the type 6's. After seeing Greg's 13, I've decided to hang on to my 12. I like the size and weight of the 13, but the eye-relief is at least double in the 12 type 4. As an eyeglass wearer, eye-relief is important to me. Mark. J. was interested in my 5mm Tak LE. He had one coming in the mail and wanted to compare it to the 5mm Nagler. After a few comparisons during the night, the consensus was that there is more to see in the Tak, but only a very minor improvement. Three of us have Stellarvue 80mm finders. I borrowed an illuminated reticle and decided I want one for my finder. Really made it easy to get things centered in finder and scope.

My observing plan was knocking off more of the Herschel 2500 from my list. My description for most of these you read in the heading. Still, there were plenty of gems and challenges during the night. A big surprise for me was Thor's Helmet. I can recall observing and talking about this object at Fremont Peak years ago, but somehow I had never logged it. Kevin had it in Dobzilla and it was incredible with a wealth of detail. I went back to my scope to observe it and realized it was on the H2500 and I'd never checked it off. Checking my database I discovered I'd never logged it. Good deal!

Hickson 35 in Mark's scope was a challenge, and having Alvin Huey's book was helpful as it showed us that one of the members was stellar. We were able to pick out members A, B, and C. I think Alvin managed 5 or 6 in his 22" scope.

Comet Lulin was a real treat. Mark found it around 9:00 in my binos while it was still pretty low in the sky. It was definitely bright, and we made note of the field stars. We came back often during the night as it rose higher in the sky and marked how much it had moved against the stars. It's always fun to welcome visitors to our little neck of the universe.

NGC 2537, the Bear Paw, was also new to me. I had made a note to observe it that night, and at some point Greg mentioned it as well. We checked it out in the 18" and had a fine view. Here's a nice image of it from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.
http://www.sdss.org/iotw/NGC2537.jpeg

The last 'object' for the night was a galaxy group around NGC 3158. Steve and Mark were going to do a joint run at this, and I decided to tag along. It's a rich area and I think I got 12 galaxies. There are eight NGC's in the area and whole bunch of MAC's and MCG's in the area. I wasn't taking notes at this point, so I'm working from memory. I had been in this area in 2003 up at Plettstone, and had logged the NGC's, but nothing else. Put this on your list when your looking for a bit of a challenge.

A fun night, a dark sky, pretty cold, but balm for the soul.

For those who like these kinds of things, here are my logs for the night.

NGC 2333 Gemini Galaxy 14.2 Extremely small and faint. Round with a brighter center. 412x.
NGC 2385 Gemini Galaxy 15 Very faint, small, round.
NGC 2388 Gemini Galaxy 14.7 Faint, round.
NGC 2389 Gemini Galaxy13.3 Round. Brightest in group - 2388 and 2385.
NGC 2375 Gemini Galaxy 14.8 Very small and faint.
NGC 2373 Gemini Galaxy 14.7 Very small and very faint.
NGC 2435 Gemini Galaxy 13 Small, faint, elongated. Brighter core.
NGC 2329 Lynx Galaxy 13.6 Small, faint, round. Gradually brighter core. Other very faint galaxies in field including UGC 3696 and MCG +8-13-61.
UGC 3696 Lynx Galaxy 13.8 Small, faint, round.
MCG +8-13-61 Lynx Galaxy 14.5 Very small, very faint, round.
NGC 2402 Canis Minor Galaxy 15 Very small, faint, round with a gradually brighter center.
NGC 2401 Puppis OC 13 Small, round, many dim members at 229x.
NGC 2425 Puppis OC A line of small faint stars. 15 members or so. Situated between M46 and M47. Nice neighborhood!
NGC 2566 Puppis Galaxy 11.8 Small with a brighter core.
IC 2311 Puppis Galaxy 12.5 Small, fairly dim, stellar core.
NGC 2578 Puppis Galaxy 12.4 Small, a bit elongated, brighter core. 412x.
NGC 2537 Lynx Galaxy 11.7 Bear Paw. Big, annular, mottled with dark lanes. Best at 294x.
NGC 2387 Auriga Galaxy 15 Very small, round, faint, almost stellar.
NGC 2426 Lynx Galaxy 14.1 Dim, small, not quite round. Near mag 10 star.
NGC 2429A Lynx Galaxy 14.4 Very small, very dim, elongated. Bright core.
NGC 2431 Lynx Galaxy 14 Extremely small and faint. You're not really reading all of this, are you? 229x.
NGC 2592 Cancer Galaxy 13 Very small, dim, round.
NGC 2359 Canis Major DN Thor's Helmet. Incredible. Large and bright. Annular with mottled core. 3 swirling arms. Responds well to OIII filter.
MAC 1013+3836 Leo Minor Galaxy 15.5 Member of 3158 field.
MAC 1013+3844 Leo Minor Galaxy 16.5 Member of 3158 field.
MAC 1013+3845B Leo Minor Galaxy 15.5 Member of 3158 field.
MCG +7-21-19 Leo Minor Galaxy 15.1 Member of 3158 field.