I've been working my way through the Hickson Galaxy clusters, and
various other galaxy group catalogues at a leisurely pace, and also
documenting observations for the Astronomical League Galaxy Groups and
Clusters program. The AL project includes 50 galaxy trios from the
Atlas of compact galaxy trios, 99 Hickson compact groups of galaxies,
50 additional galaxy groups (which exclude Hicksons and trios) and 50
of the northern and southern survey of Abell rich clusters of galaxies.
Plus a bonus object. :-) Here is info on this program:
http://www.astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/galaxygroups/index.html You can
complete this program in manual or device-aided mode, and visual or
imaging mode. :-)
The AL booklet is a great help to me, with Megastar charts and SkyView
DSS images of the objects. I also have been using a new charting and
logging program called SkyTools to print out paper charts of each object
for the past month or two. http://www.skyhound.com/ The customizable
charts I use show naked eye view of the surrounding constellations (with
a telrad circle on the object), a finder view (my 80mm Orion short tube
25mm 16x field of view), plus a 9 Nagler chart (222x with my f/4.5 17.5
inch reflector) all on one sheet of paper. I also printed out full size
(8.5 x 11) eyepiece charts for the FOV of my 16mm Nagler for 125X, in
case I needed a little help with the field of view near the target. This
way I stay at my telescope, with a couple pieces of paper on a
clipboard while hunting these fainy fuzzies.
This past weekend, we had three good observing nights at Lake Sonoma:
Friday night May 23 from 9:00 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. May 24. Highlights:
Outstanding transparency, temps in th 60's humidity in the 70's. Wind
picked up at midnight. ISS pass at 9:46 p.m. Non-supernova - a star
obseved but not plotted on our star charts :-) - sketched through 14.5
Litebox in galaxy NGC 4866. 11 new or repeated Hickson Compact Galaxy
Groups (HCG). Omega Centauri, NGC 5128.
Sunday night May 25 from 9:00 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. May 26. Highlights:
Excellent transparency at times, temps in the high 50's and 60's,
humidity in the 80's at times. High clouds and horizon obscuring muck
other times, lots of wind. ISS pass at 9:26 p.m. Jupiter red spot on
limb. 8 new or repeated HCGs. 3 new or repeated Abell Galaxy Clusters -
not a detailed look. 24 Messiers through 4.5-inch f/4 Orion StarBlast
reflector.
Monday night May 26 from 9:00 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. May 27. Highlights, not
as good as Friday night, but close. Temps in the 60's humidity in the
20's nice and dry. No clouds, not quite as dark, more pronounced light
dome from Santa Rosa to the south, no fog filled the valleys below as
was the case on Friday night. Wind picked up after midnight. Repeated
some HCGs for a better view than the previous night, found others for
first time, and showed some of them to the other observers. Pluto,
Omega Centauri and NGC 5138.
Hickson 36 (repeat) in Cancer 09h 09m 23.7s +15.47.44 - 4 galaxies, HCG
36a and b seen. Below Jupiter tonight, observed on 3/23/03 too. One
faint and one large galaxy observed. HCG 36a mag 14.5 IC 528, and 36b
is very close to a bright star - mag 9 (SAO 98393) which cuts into the
view. 36b is mag 16 PGC 25791. Move the star out of a high power view
and the galaxy pops into view. Nearby PGC galaxies (mag 16 and 17 36c
and d) were not seen.
Hickson 37 in Cancer 09h 13m 35.6s +30.00 - 5 galaxies, 2 seen. A
pretty star hop up from the Beehive Cluster, avoiding Jupiter. I was
only able to see two of the galaxies - HCG 37a and b. 37a is mag 13 NGC
2783 oval , 37b is U 5044+M+2-24-13 mag14.5, a faint edge-on.
Possibly in between them a smudge of 37c , PGC 26004 at mag 15.6.
Hickson 38 in Leo. 09h27m28.8s +12.16 - 4 galaxies, all 4 seen.
Between Regulus and Cancer. HCG 38b is mag 16 Galaxy MGC 2-24-14, UGC
5044 or Arp 237, take your pick of names. It is visible merged with
component c. Both 38b and c interacting galaxies are near mag 15. 38d
PGC 26830 was visible - mag 16.6.
Hickson 39 in Hydra 09h 29m 28.8s -01.20.40 chain of 4 faint gals -
amazingly, I was even able to show this cluster to another observer, who
also saw at least two of the galaxies, 4 peas-in-a-pod lined up SW to
NE. I suspect the excellent transparency and high power - 6 Radian for
333X to 9 Nagler for 222x brought them out for viewing. Two sources
show the magnitudes from 16.6 for the 39a UGC 5057 to mag 17.3 for the
39d PGC 26925. Another galaxy PGC 1120300 is in the same field of view
using 9 Nagler for 222x. I tried this Sunday night, suspected it, and
went back for a verification Monday night.
Hickson 43 in Sextans 10h 11m 13.8s -00.01.54 6 galaxies, three
observed. Three stars in the eyepiece field. Push them out of the way
and three components may be glimpsed. The three I glimpsed were PGC
29657, 665 and 668 (43e). Did not see 43f, PGC 1154802 or 29677.
Infuritaingly, these all have different names in the different
catalogues and reference material. I went to find out some information
about this object by searching Hickson 43 in google. I found an
obituary for Michael Hickson, 43 years old. Life is short, enjoy every
minute of it!
Hickson 45 in Ursa Major 10h 19m 11.2s +59.06.25 4 galaxies, one, 45a
observed with 6mm Radian 333x, after finding the field with the 16mm
then 9mm Naglers. Some really bright mag 11 and 12 stars just
obliterated the view of the mag 17 and 18 45b, c, and d. Outstanding
transparency in Ursa Major Sunday night. Easy to starhop from either
Dubhe or Merak in Ursa Major. The bright stars make it easy to find the
field, but hard to see the faint galaxies.
Hickson 49 (repeat) in Ursa Major 10h56m36.4s +67.10 Also viewed this
one 3/23/03. 4 galaxies, two spotted 49a PGC 32899 is mag 16.2 and 49b
is PGC 32895 at mag 16.9. 49 c and d are mag 17's and I didn't see them.
Hickson 50 in Ursa Major 11h 17m 06.1s +54.55.07 5 components, something
seen. M97, the Owl nebula is so close to this object, at the edge of
the eyepiece field of view at 125x, 20 arc minutes away. I was having
such luck in Ursa Major that I went for this one. I was planning to try
it this weekend when we volunteer at the FPOA 30-inch. My 125x eyepiece
chart made it a snap to get the field of view in the eyepiece. A
distinctive trapezoid (like the Hercules keyhole) asterism of stars led
the way east of M97. Exactly one asterism furthur east were the pair of
mag 13 stars. Directly between these two and a little north should be
Hickson 50. I did get confused because the SkyTool map showed an object
that I took for a cluster - a circle with a cross in the middle. It's
just a second confusing galaxy symbol it turns out. But I did see a
smudge of something in the right spot, to me the smudge was more than
one object - truly a barely perceptible clump. The only other star in
the area is a mag 17 star to the north, and I could see that star as
well. For a much more detailed list of these asterisms and stars, read
Randy Muller's HCG50 report:
http://www.observers.org/reports/2003.02.21.3.html I'll have another
look this weekend through the FPOA 30-inch for hopefully more detail.
Regardless, these galaxies are in the 18 and 19 magnitude range.
Hickson 52 in Leo 11h 26m 18.7 +21.05 4 galaxies, 2 seen. 52a is mag
15.5 PGC 35183. Also seen was 52c a little wisp of light, PGC 35184.
52b and d not visible. A mag 13 star was in the field - GSC-1439-1303,
and another star, bright mag 10 TYC 1439-346-1 was outside the eyepiece
view.
Hickson 54 in Leo 11h 29m 15.2s +20.34.43 near Denebola 4 galaxies, 1
seen. 54a is IC 700, a mag 13.9 edge-on. The others were not picked
up. This one is fun to starhop to with lots of stars to lead the way.
My SkyTools chart showed a goofy triple cluster to the north in the
same eyepiece view, all 3 galaxies numbered 3697. I only saw one of
them. :-) I guess I have a couple boo boos to report to SkyTools.
Hickson 57 in Leo 11h 37m 50.5s +21.59.06 also known as Copelands Septet
7 galaxies (8 actually) 10 seen. I have observed this one many times -
it is a good one to show other observers at dark sky parties. I observed
it all three nights. When I started observing this cluster Friday night,
with my SkyTools chart showing naked-eye, 80mm finder and 9 Nagler view
on a paper, and a second chart just showing just the eyepiece field in
my 16mm Nagler for 125x I checked off mag 14 NGC 3753, mag 14.5 NGC
3754, and mag 14.5 NGC 3750 galaxies - a nice grouping with the
elongated oval 3753 wedged in-between the two round smudges. South of
these three galaxies is the second triple cluster portion of the group:
mag 15.4 NGC 3748, mag 15.8 NGC 3745 and 14.3 NGC 3746. These three,
along with mag 16.8 PGC 36010 make up the famous septet. All seven were
resolvable with steady consistent views. The transparency was so awesome
just as I was observing, I spotted other galaxies in the eyepiece field
of view. PGC 1661710 and PGC 1661085 were on either side of the 3754,
3753 and 3750 trio. South of them was mag 15.3 NGC 3751. These three
are not part of the septet, but framed the famous cluster nicely in the
same 9 Nagler view.
Hickson 58 in Leo 11h 42m 11.7 s +10.19 5 galaxies, all five seen. Good
one for smaller apertures, right off Denebola - all are in the mag
13-low 14s.
Hickson 59 in Leo 11h 48m 25.6s +12.43 5 galaxies, 2 seen. 59a is IC
737 and 59b is IC 736. West to east in decreasing magnitude, mag 15 IC
737, mag 14 IC 736, and mag 13.5 star GSC -0870-0526.
Hickson 60 in Ursa Major 12h 03m 05.0s +51.41.354 galaxies, one seen.
60a is PGC 38065 mag 15.7. 60b PGC 38053 maybe.
Hickson 61 in Coma Berenices (The Box) 12h 12m 23.9s +29.10.40. Hickson
61 is known as "The Box" because the four galaxies form a rectangular
shape all in the same field of view. The largest and faintest of the
group is a foreground object, actually. I wrote about it last year.
http://observers.org/reports/2002.05.31.3.html
Hickson 62 in Virgo 12h 53m 08.1 -09.13.27 An easy one. 4 galaxies, 4
seen. 62c NGC 4761 little edge-on mag 15.6 - Chandra took a picture
of 62c NGC 4761 which is the APOD for March 9, 2001. The APOD links to
Ray Cash's Hickson website! 62c is a little east of the interacting pair
of galaxies mag 13.4 62a NGC 4778 and mag 13.8 62b NGC 4776. 62d is
way south of the other three galaxies - about 3 degrees south. Tyc
5535-881-1 (or SAO 139019) is in-between 62d and the other three galaxies.
Hickson 63 in Centaurus 13h02m 09.9s -32.46.05 4 galaxies 2 seen.
Viewed this one before. A nice dark horizon is needed for this one.
Mag 14 63b is surrounded by a group of 4 mag 15 stars and one mag 14.
Edge-on mag 15 63a PGC 44984 seen south and east of b. Between them is
mag 15 63 c. Nice sets of stars frame the cluster. I didn't see "C"
this time.
Hickson 64 in Virgo 13h 25m 43.3s -03.51.28 4 galaxies 2 seen - 64 a and
b PGC 36975 is mag 14.7 and PGC 46972 is mag 15.8. Maybe I only saw 64a
- both are edge-ons. 64C is actually quite a bit north - is identified
with a "?" in the AL Hickson booklet, but shown as PGC 46977 in SkyTools
and also in Sky Map Pro v9. It is located right next to a star almost
the same mag.
Hickson 65 in Hydra 12h 29m 53.9s -29.29.58 65 5 galaxies, 1 seen: 65a,
PGC 47397. I saw the star separating 65a and 65b but not the galaxy.
One eyepiece field away from triple NGC 5152, 5193 and 5150.
Hickson 66 in Ursa Major 13h 38m 33.5s +57.18.16 5 galaxies, 1 seen.
66a mag 15.8 PGC 48226. Starhopped from Alcor/Mizar using the excellent
finder chart, to several mag 10 stars and mag 6 CQ Ursae Majoris, in the
same 16 Nagler field of view as HGC 66.
Hickson 68 in Canes Venatici 13h 53m 40.9 s +40.19.41 5 galaxies, all
seen. 10 degrees from the Whirlpool galaxy M51, also a nice star hop
from Cor Coroli. Excellent transparency in this area of the sky. A
good one to end the list with - an easy target in smaller telescopes.
68a NGC 5353 oval and 68b 5354 round interacting pair of mag 12
galaxies. 68c is NGC 5350 is also mag 12. 68d NGC 5355 is mag 14 and
and 68e NGC 14.6 were visible too. Nearby less than an eyepiece fild
away was mag 10 NGC 5371. Big and bright.
Abell galaxy cluster 1060 in Hydra 10h 36m 54.0 s -27.31.00 a quick
glimpse of the cluster field
Abell galaxy cluster 754 in Hydra 09h 08m 48.0s -09.38.00 a quick
glimpse of the cluster field
Abell galaxy cluster 3537 in Centaurus 13h 01m 00,0s -32.26.00 a quick
glimpse of the cluster field
Date May 23/25/26, 2003
Location Lone Rock Flat, Lake Sonoma, California 38 42' 90" N , 123
02'43.7" Altitude 900 ft.
Instruments: 17.5-inch f/4.5 Litebox reflector, Orion 80mm reflector
used as a finderscope, Orion 4.5-inch f/4 StarBlast
Oculars: 6mm (333x), 9mm (222x) and 16mm (125x)in Litebox 17.5 inch,
25mm (16x)in 80mm finder, 17mm and 6mm (25x and 75x) in the StarBlast.
Seeing average, transparency varied from outstanding to poor.
Transparency May 23 LM 6.4 using LM Area 16
Transparency May 25 LM 6.2 at 11:00 p.m. and 6.0 at midnight using LM
Area 16
Transparency May 26 LM 6.2 at 11:00 p.m. using LM Area 16
--
Jane Houston Jones
San Rafael, CA
jane@No-Spam