(IAAC) Obj: NGC 6822, Barnard's galaxy - negative report -Inst:3.5" (9cm) ecuatorial refractor

[Lewis J. Gramer]

Florian, please consider sharing your logs for some of these
observations of Barnard's Galaxy with us fellow IAAC readers,
especially the observation with 16x70mm binoculars!
  http://www.visualdeepsky.org/enter-log.html

That way, if someone else asks this same observing question
a month, a year, or 10 years from now - they can do a quick
search on IAAC and find your observations right away! :)


As Florian mentions, it is indeed possible to see this very
low-surface-brightness galaxy with smaller instruments - and
not necessarily at gasp-inducing altitudes, either. :)

The following log was from a site near 700m, with a nice 4"
(10cm) refractor - after I had FAILED to see this galaxy in
my 20" that night! It really is a matter of experimenting,
until you find that "Optimal Detection Magnification" for
your particular object, on that particular night and site:
  http://www.visualdeepsky.org/logs/msg00237.html


Clear skies all!
Lew Gramer


> -----Original Message-----
> From: netastrocatalog On Behalf Of Florian
> Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 5:16 PM
> Subject: Re: (IAAC) Obj: NGC 6822, Barnard's galaxy -
> negative report -Inst:3.5" (9cm) ecuatorial refractor
>
>
> Hi Tudorica and Natko,
>
> Barnard's Galaxy is visible in such small scopes as you both
> mention. I observed the galaxy last weekend with my Tele Vue
> 76 from the Cottonwood campground in Joshua Tree National
> Park, Calif. I've also seen the galaxy from the same site
> with Fujinon 16x70mm binoculars. (I "almost" thought i could
> see it with 10x42 binoculars but i'm not willing to claim
> that as a real observation.) One thing that can throw you off
> is the size of the galaxy. It's quite large and its surface
> brightness very low. I find it helps if i pan the scope back
> and forth over the area and use low powers. The galaxy was
> easier to see in the TV76 at 30x than it was at 48x.
>
> -Florian
>  Stargazing.com