💾 Archived View for koyu.space › mrael2_obsv › sessions › 2015 › 2015-05-11.gmi captured on 2023-09-28 at 16:16:58. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2022-06-03)
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Date: 2015-05-11
Time: 9:30 PM MDT to 10:15 PM
Seeing: I
Transparency: 7
Telescope: 254 mm f/4.92 Newtonian reflector
Objects: M65, M66, NGC3628
At 42x, these three galaxies fit nicely in the field of view. This is the "Leo Triplet," and it is one of the great views I've come across in my observing so far. It rivals the M81/M82 pairing. NGC3628 is needle thin while the two Messier galaxies have clear oval shapes.
Object: NGC3593
At 42x, this galaxy in Leo very near M65/M66 was exceedingly faint, roundish, and uninteresting.
Objects: M95 and M96
Again in Leo, at 42x I viewed both of these galaxies simultaneously in the field of view. Potentially as bright as the M65/M66 pair, I nevertheless felt they were ever so slightly dimmer.
Objects: M105, NGC3384, NGC3389
This triplet of galaxies in Leo is grouped very closely together. M105 dominates, and NGC3384 is apparent, but NGC3389 was very dim and required averted vision to discern.
The grouping made a dense, small triangle of sorts at 42x.
Objects: galaxies in Virgo or Coma Berenices
Here I saw a handful of galaxies that I did not bother to identify. They are so plentiful and similar that I can't imagine taking an interest in any individual ones or even groups of them at this aperture.
Object: M104
At 84x, the Sombrero Galaxy in Virgo had only the slightest hint of a suggestion of the dark band that characterizes this edge-on galaxy which we see in photographs. It was smaller, thinner, and dimmer than I expected, but I will have to observe more later.
Object: M13
In Hercules, this globular cluster was a long-awaited observation for me. It is decidedly smaller and dimmer than Omega Centauri, but it did not have the gray disk-like appearance that Omega Centauri has.
Despite being dim, I could detect stars around the edge that spiked off into almost asymmetrical directions. Like spider legs protruding from a round body, these lines add a dimension that's not present in either M3 or Omega Centauri.
I viewed all this at 84x, but I might want to try more magnification next time.
So many of tonight's sights were striking and brilliant, but I am beginning to imagine how much more magnificent these sights would be with greater aperture! The fever is starting to take hold.