[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
(IAAC) NGC 5797 & NGC 5077 in Vixen 102 FL
Observers name: Bill Becker
Observing site: my Backyard
Site classification: Suburban
Seeing: 6
Sky darkness/limiting magnitude: 6.0
Telescope used: Vixen 102 FL
Magnifications used: 51x & 102x
Date & time: 2/6/2000 6:15 UT
Well, I decided to tackle some galaxies tonight. I had a few as targets,
but only succeeded on 2. Having avoided galaxies for most of my
observing life, I guess some experience is required before I can have
some real success. Oh yeah, I am trying this with a 4" aperture, so wish
me luck! ;^)
NGC 5796:
Galaxy in Libra: magnitude 11.6; 1.9' x 1.7'. With averted vision, it
looked stellar like. As
my eye moved closer, a faint halo appeared; direct vision and this
appeared as an
unresolved star. A triangle of 3 stars located about 5' to the s.e.
Upon looking up the data in SkyMap Pro on the 3 stars, this is what I
found: star furthest north: Tyc 6168-55-1 = mag 10.86
star just s.e. of first star: GSC 6168-89 = mag 12.47; star on north
eastern corner: GSC6168-7 = mag 13.58 The last star was only seen using
averted vision but it wasn't always visible. No sign of NGC 5793(mag
13.2)
NGC 5077: Galaxy in Virgo of magnitude 11.4 and about 2'x1.6'. Similar
results to NGC 5796, maybe just a
little brighter. I saw 2 faint stars which, with 5077, formed a
triangle. Checking my SkyMap Pro again, I found the star just s.e. is
GSC 5550-45 at mag 12.18; the other star to
the n.w. is GSC 5550-295 at mag 12.87. There are at least 4 other
galaxies in the immediate area but I saw no sign of them :^(
Well, that's all for tonight. Sorry about the short report but I wanted
to make sure my sightings were real so I spent a lot of time on each.
Clear & steady skies to all!
Best regards,
Bill
To UNSUBSCRIBE from the 'netastrocatalog' lists, use the Web form at:
http://www.tiac.net/users/lewkaren/netastrocatalog/subscribe.html