JakeT93
member
Reged: 06/28/08
Posts: 187
Loc: Williamstown, NJ
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Hey, tonight, I think I'll do some Galaxy-hunting.  I want to try and find the Galaxy Cluster near M5 ( Is this hard to view, and will they fit in a 1.14* FOV? ), and I want to try 891 again. How big is NGC 891, and is it bright?  Should I wait 'til around 2 Am when it's high? Myabe I'll also take a look into the Cat's Eye, 6891 in Delphinus, and maybe attempt the Bug Nebula again.
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-Jake the Snake
My equipment:
Orion DSE 10" Light Bucket!
10x50 Finder and ebay bracket
40mm GSO Plossl
32mm Celestron Plossl
2x Antares Barlow
25mm and 6.7mm Meade 3000 Plossls
Orion Explorer II 10mm and 17mm Kellners
Orion SkyGlow Ultrablock
Antares ND25
75 M's Obsreved
All Planets seen
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lymorkiew45
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/30/07
Posts: 894
Loc: Surfing the galaxy...
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NGC 891 is faint, and has a low surface brightness, it is best to see this galaxy when it is very dark, and the sky has high transparency. The magnitude of this galaxy is 10, but it is so spread out, that it appears very ghostly, and difficult unless you are under dark skies. I managed to see this galaxy a couple times, once through my 16", and another time through my 12", and it was not easy, my notes are, faint, low surface brightness, highly elongated 10'X 2' NNE-SSW, mottled, dustlane only suspected at higher magnifications. A 10" will do the job, but you need very dark skies, and high magnification to see any detail in this galaxy...clear skies
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12Xti Swayze optics, very nice
Z12 Excellent optics in this one
SF 16" Undergoing massive refurbishment
DS 10" in pieces, collectors item
Lanthunum superwide eyepieces
http://cleardarksky.com/c/SanJoseCAkey.html?1
The secret formula to life is not to take it too seriously, otherwise you grow old faster.
20 years in Lung Ying Mor Kiew, Chow Gar, Jook Lum, and Pak Mei Kung Fu!
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Achernar
Postmaster
Reged: 02/25/06
Posts: 5212
Loc: Mobile, Alabama, USA
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NGC-891 is not an easy object, even in a 12-inch unless you have very dark skies. You need a dark, clear and moonless night to bag this one because it's large and it's dust lane makes a dim galaxy even dimmer. A length of 13 arc-minutes makes the light of this 10th magnitude galaxy very dilute indeed. When sky conditions are favorable, I have seen this galaxy a number of times with my 10-inch F/4.5 Dob. As for the galaxy group near M-5, you'll have to look for it as soon as darkness falls, and even then it might be out of range. Several members are bright and the fifth one is very small, faint, and involved in the halo of one of the brighter galaxies. I've had no trouble getting all or most of them in a 1 degree field of view.
Taras
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15-inch F/4.5 Dob under construction
10-inch F/4.5 Discovery Dob
6-inch F/8 Homebuilt Dob
4 1/4-inch F/4 Homebuilt reflector
A whole bunch of eyepieces, filters and other accessories....
One curious cat
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walt r
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/13/07
Posts: 3524
Loc: Doylestown, PA
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Yep, NGC891 is faint. It should be easier to see when high. My observation with the 18" at 195x on a night with good transparency is:
Faint, 6' long, hint of dust lane, N-S, star at each end.
The Cat's Eye is a nice bright planetary that can that a lot of magnification on good nights.
I looked at NGC6891 last night. My observation is:
334x, Bright, C-star when looking start at it. Kind of blinks. UHC doesn't help.
good luck
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Walt
Obsession 18" f/4.45 #1370 AN/SC
MK67 Deluxe 6" f/12 Mak-Cass, Super Polaris GEM, JMI MicroMax DSC
DIY 60mm f/6 Achromat
Cookbook 245 CCD
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bicparker
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 02/07/05
Posts: 1759
Loc: Plano, TX
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Last weekend with dark west Texas skies and a 30" f/4.5, 891 looked pretty spectacular through my 13E. It still looked nice through the 18" f/4.5 as well with a strong, well defined dark lane. In both cases, though, it almost has a "ghost" appearance with respect to its accompanying field stars. It is an interesting case of where the surface brightness is somewhat low (there are many things far lower in SB), yet you can see a lot of definition in the structure. A comparative view in a 6" AP refractor nearby (at much lower power, I should mention) showed its edge-on appearance, but structural details like the longitudinal dust lane were pretty obscure at best, which is a lesson of where higher magnification can be especially helpful (not to mention aperture).
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Bic Parker
17.5" f/5 dob
10" f/10 SCT
5" f/8 refractor
80mm f/6 refractor
66mm f/6 refractor
Plus a few others out of the rotation
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rocco13
Got Milk?
Reged: 07/29/06
Posts: 2862
Loc: Phoenix, Arizona
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I stopped counting the number of times I attempted to snag 891. By all data (magnitude, high location, etc), I should be staring right at it, but never had any luck until I went to a dark sky site. Once sighted, the dust lane was very easy to make out, but I'll second Bic's above description of a 'ghostly' feel to it. There are no definite edges to it; it just kind of fades out to nothing. Averted vision helps.
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Rocco
Zhumell Z12
Super C8 (1984 vintage)
Celestron 102 f/5
and a cheap pair of binoculars
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JakeT93
member
Reged: 06/28/08
Posts: 187
Loc: Williamstown, NJ
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I'll try it from the Yellow Bortle Poconos instead. Tonight, I'm just looking at some old favorites in Saggitarius, and Neptune, Juniper, Uranus, and many differant Nebs, and may attempt the Bug Nebula, but maybe not...
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-Jake the Snake
My equipment:
Orion DSE 10" Light Bucket!
10x50 Finder and ebay bracket
40mm GSO Plossl
32mm Celestron Plossl
2x Antares Barlow
25mm and 6.7mm Meade 3000 Plossls
Orion Explorer II 10mm and 17mm Kellners
Orion SkyGlow Ultrablock
Antares ND25
75 M's Obsreved
All Planets seen
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CESDewar
GorillAstronomer
Reged: 01/16/05
Posts: 2075
Loc: Morganton, GA, USA
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My observing notes recorded that NGC 891 was "very faint, at the borderline of visibility" in my Saturn III Binoculars (39x100mm) - I have very good dark skies here - often as good as 21.40 on a moonless night. I also recorded that in the 15" Dob, the central dust lane was 'very obvious' - again, under good seeing conditions...
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Lard Greystoke
sage
Reged: 07/27/08
Posts: 411
Loc: Ohio
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Regarding the galaxies west of M5, we are starting to run out of time - as it gets really dark, they are starting to get low. However a 10" should show some or most of them.
A good chart of the area helps a great deal (I use Triatlas "C" from Jose Torres). Out of the 8 shown in the old Skalnate-Pleso I have seen 6 in a 10" - one I missed, one I forgot to look for. The brightest is NGC 5846. None of them are larger than 4 minutes.
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Lard Greystoke
10" Odyssey Compact
"With Tantor, the elephant, he made friends. How? Ask me not."
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Dave Mitsky
Postmaster
Reged: 04/08/02
Posts: 11686
Loc: PA, USA, Planet Earth
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I've detected NGC 891 with an 80mm achromat from Cherry Springs State Park. It was a rather easy target for Sue French's 130mm apochromat at Stellafane earlier this month.
Dave Mitsky
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Chance favors the prepared mind.
De gustibus non est disputandum.
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David Knisely
Postmaster
Reged: 04/19/04
Posts: 8803
Loc: Beatrice, Nebraska
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The smallest scope I have picked up NGC 891 was my 80mm f/5 "short tube" refractor, but it was quite marginal. At my dark sky site (ZLM 6.5 to 6.8 typically), I have little trouble seeing it show some detail in my Nexstar 9.25" SCT. The dark lane extends down most of the length of the galaxy, although the object remains somewhat dim. However, nothing topped the view I got in a 25 inch Obsession at the Nebraska Star Party, as the darn thing looked about like a dim black and white photograph, with tons of detail all along its length. It seems to look somewhat "fatter" than it does in some images, although I imagine that this is due to the fainter halo which flanks the central disk section of the galaxy. Clear skies to you.
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David W. Knisely
Hyde Memorial Observatory
http://www.hydeobservatory.info
Prairie Astronomy Club
http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org
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Alvin Huey
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/18/05
Posts: 1870
Loc: NorCal
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I took a peek at NGC 891 with my 6" refractor under NELM 6.9 skies last Saturday. It was very NICE. The dust lane was obvious.
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Clear Skies,
Alvin #26
22" f/4.0 reflector and 30" f/4.3 StarMaster
FaintFuzzies | TAC | TAC-Sac
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HfxObserver
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/12/04
Posts: 873
Loc: Regina, SK, Canada
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With my 5-inch under mag. 6 sky using 53X it was ghostly and slender, center lane was there with averted vision.
-Chris
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Chris
7X50 Vixen,22X100 Antares
80mm William Optics Megrez II ED
Santel MK6
Borg 125SD f6 (Pentax/Oasis version)
Tak-Lapides
Pentax XW's 40,20,14,10,3.5, 5mm XO,3.8XP, Speers 5-8, 30mm Widescan III
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Mr Q
sage
Reged: 02/25/08
Posts: 351
Loc: N Central New Mexico
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Hey Jake - The galaxy cluster you are trying for west of M5 will not fit into a 1.1 degree f.o.v. The cluster is about 4 degrees long (NE/SW) and about 21/2 degrees wide. The cluster is to the left and below the star 110 Vir. Keeping the glare of 110 (5th mag.) out of you view is a big help in detecting the brighter of these galaxies.
A few nights ago I tried these EGs with my 10" (between clouds) and was only able to detect the 4 brightest (at 10-11th mag.) only as faint small smudges of haze with my 6-6.5 VLM at the zenith (about 5 at Ser Cauda) so without dark skies, these will be a challenge for you. The other 4 are at 12th mag. I also tried NGC891 in And and only seen it as a faint patch of haze probably because it was about 25 degrees above my NE horizon 1/2 hour after dusk. When it gets higher in the sky with no Moon out, you may just detect it in your sky conditions.
Last night while out observing the Perseids, I was able to see the Lagoon near the 1/2 moon, M11 in Scu, M13, with 10x50 binos and could make out the M.W. from Cygnus down to Aquila naked eye. Not bad for having a 1/2 moon fairly low in the southern sky! Finally a break in my cloudy skies
 Did you see the Helix at an earlier time? Its a very low surface brightness object due to its size and I'm looking forward to trying for it with binos soon.
Latter, Mr Q
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What goes around, comes around, eventually.
Meade DS-10(10" newt)
10x50, 10x70 binos
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jmcdonald
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 06/01/05
Posts: 1518
Loc: Tucson, AZ
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When the experienced observers on this forum call it dim, take note. I found it difficult in a C9.25 even at a dark site (blue). Required averted vision at first. It's very big, maybe 1 degree off the top of my head, and very dim.
Forget about it in the city or if the moon is up at all.
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Jerel
Discovery 12.5" modified truss DOB
Garret 15x70 LW Binoculars
22-T4,13-T6
IDA Membership
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Photoner
sage
Reged: 12/06/06
Posts: 445
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I copied a good astro photo oriented to my scope view reversed it to white & black for a real 891 contextual map and I still couldn't see it although the location is easy enough. I didn't realize how faint it really is. M33, M1 and M101 are extroverts compared to the sneaky 891.
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M72
M90
TV 102
120ST
150ST
Nexstar 5i
C 8 Edge HD
Obs 12.5
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boatstar
super member
Reged: 04/10/05
Posts: 149
Loc: Cowtown, Texas
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As for the galaxies in Virgo west of M5, don't give up on ngc 5746 this time of year. Its an edge on stunner, in a league with 4565 and 891. I've seen it through an 8" under fair skies, but it explodes in a 30" under west Texas darkness like Bic Parker describes.
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Jeff Young
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/04/05
Posts: 4333
Loc: Ireland
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NGC891 is one of those objects that seems to respond better to darker skies than increased aperture. Here's what it looks like with moderately large aperture under moderately dark skies:
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Nikon 18x70s / UA Millennium Colorado:
Solarscope SF70 / TV Pronto / AP400QMD Coronado SolarMax40 DS / Bogen 055+3130
APM MC1610 / Tak FC-125 / AP1200GTO Tak Mewlon 250 / AP600EGTO
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lymorkiew45
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/30/07
Posts: 894
Loc: Surfing the galaxy...
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Very faint...clear skies 
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12Xti Swayze optics, very nice
Z12 Excellent optics in this one
SF 16" Undergoing massive refurbishment
DS 10" in pieces, collectors item
Lanthunum superwide eyepieces
http://cleardarksky.com/c/SanJoseCAkey.html?1
The secret formula to life is not to take it too seriously, otherwise you grow old faster.
20 years in Lung Ying Mor Kiew, Chow Gar, Jook Lum, and Pak Mei Kung Fu!
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jeff heck
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/16/06
Posts: 629
Loc: stl,mo.
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I finally bagged this one last fall,dim but still impressive.I love edge on galaxies,the dust lane pops in and out but it is there.
--------------------
"Hey, Mr. Spaceman.
Won't you please take me along, I won't do anything wrong.
Hey, Mr. Spaceman.
Won't you please take me along for a ride."
The Byrds "Mr. Spaceman" 1966
XT10 classic
TV ep's
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JakeT93
member
Reged: 06/28/08
Posts: 187
Loc: Williamstown, NJ
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Don't worry guys I gave up on that. Havn't been around awile, I found the Cat's Eye, it was pretty nice, and easy, even though the Moon was out (That was last week) Are there any other nice edge-on's rising up in the fall skies that are easy, smaller, and brighter than Magnitude 10?
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-Jake the Snake
My equipment:
Orion DSE 10" Light Bucket!
10x50 Finder and ebay bracket
40mm GSO Plossl
32mm Celestron Plossl
2x Antares Barlow
25mm and 6.7mm Meade 3000 Plossls
Orion Explorer II 10mm and 17mm Kellners
Orion SkyGlow Ultrablock
Antares ND25
75 M's Obsreved
All Planets seen
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Starman1
Vendor - Scope City
Reged: 06/24/03
Posts: 12490
Loc: Los Angeles
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here are some sketches of NGC891 that I feel are a little more representative of how 891 appears in a scope:
http://www.ds-sketches.com/entry_2005.10.25.16.45.html
http://homepage3.nifty.com/cometsm/sketch/nebulae/N891.html
http://www.regulusastro.com/regulus/sketches/ngc891.jpg
http://www.whiteoaks.com/sketches/ngc891.html
That last one is a high-power view under very dark skies, I think.
The second one seems "just right" to me as an image in the 12.5".
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Don Pensack
12.5" Truss Dob, 5" Maksutov, Fujinon Binos
Sustaining Lifetime IDA member
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jack45
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/07/03
Posts: 2577
Loc: Lacey WA
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Jeff
Your right on with the sketch you made. I put a star just a little more center of the galaxy. I also used a 16" scope with my 20mm T/2. Waiting for the Moon for the first shot of it this year.
Clear Skies!
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16"f/4.5 Discovery Split Tube/TV Paracorr
12.5"f/5 Discovery PDHQ/TV 2x Barlow/Filters
Orion f/4.9 XT12"Intelliscope
BV's/Bugress Model 24/Stellarvue Model BV3A
TV Smooth Side Plossls,7.4mm,10.5mm,13mm,17mm,21mm,26mm,all NJs
Nagler EPs 9mm T/1,13mm T/1,16mm T/2,20mm T/2,26mm T/5,24mm,28mm Meade SWA,40mm 5000s Plossl
Axiom EPs 23mm,31mm LX
Zhumell Planetary 9mm,12.5mm,14.5mm,18mm
UO EPs 5MM,6MM,7MM,12.5MM
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square_peg
Postmaster
Reged: 03/26/04
Posts: 31559
Loc: Maple Valley, WA
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I had the honor of observing this object in Buckaroo's 29.25" Starmaster at Mt. St. Helens Star Party on a good night. It was a bright object with a very detailed dust lane. Unforgettable!
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Tom (Pegster)
DSH-8 (GSO Dob)
15x70 Oberwerks
SVP/ED80
WO 66 Petzval
Sears Discoverer EQ 60/900
8x42 Regals
History is Philosophy teaching by examples.
Thucydides
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VanJan
sage
Reged: 07/09/08
Posts: 235
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To answer your question on an alternative to NGC 891, try NGC 779 at 01h 59.7m -05d 58m in Cetus. It is an edge-on Sb; visually about 3.0 x 0.5; visual mag circa 11th, which is below your criteria of 10th, but believe me it appears brighter than 11th magnitude. Shines through light-pollution well and offers some detail in small to moderate apetures. NGC 779 is a balm to the eyestrain of NGC 891.
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tigerroach
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/13/08
Posts: 509
Loc: Houston, TX
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891 was a great object in my old C8. I don't think I've tried it since I have been observing with the 4".
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Brian
TeleVue TV-102, Gibralter alt-az mount
Webster 14.5" f/4.3 truss dob *under construction*
Canon 10x30 & 15x50 IS binocs
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scopethis
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 05/30/08
Posts: 826
Loc: Kingman, Ks
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Edge-on and very very thin: try NGC 5907. easily seen in 10" scope @ 78x or higher.
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Jeff Young
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/04/05
Posts: 4333
Loc: Ireland
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I looked at my post on a different monitor, and it occurs to me that some might have thought I was sketching the field stars without the galaxy. (The galaxy was there, at least on my monitor.)
Here's another go with the brightness adjusted:
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Nikon 18x70s / UA Millennium Colorado:
Solarscope SF70 / TV Pronto / AP400QMD Coronado SolarMax40 DS / Bogen 055+3130
APM MC1610 / Tak FC-125 / AP1200GTO Tak Mewlon 250 / AP600EGTO
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Jeff Young
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/04/05
Posts: 4333
Loc: Ireland
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And in case that one is too bright, here's a member of the Leo Triplet to calibrate it against:
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Nikon 18x70s / UA Millennium Colorado:
Solarscope SF70 / TV Pronto / AP400QMD Coronado SolarMax40 DS / Bogen 055+3130
APM MC1610 / Tak FC-125 / AP1200GTO Tak Mewlon 250 / AP600EGTO
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tigerroach
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/13/08
Posts: 509
Loc: Houston, TX
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They look good on my monitor - great sketches, Jeff! Very eyepiece view-like.
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Brian
TeleVue TV-102, Gibralter alt-az mount
Webster 14.5" f/4.3 truss dob *under construction*
Canon 10x30 & 15x50 IS binocs
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Jeff Young
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/04/05
Posts: 4333
Loc: Ireland
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Thanks, Brian. There are a few more on my website: www.rokeby.ie/observatory .
-- Jeff.
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Nikon 18x70s / UA Millennium Colorado:
Solarscope SF70 / TV Pronto / AP400QMD Coronado SolarMax40 DS / Bogen 055+3130
APM MC1610 / Tak FC-125 / AP1200GTO Tak Mewlon 250 / AP600EGTO
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timokarhula
member
Reged: 01/30/06
Posts: 99
Loc: Sweden
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I have seen NGC891 with 20x100 Vixen binoculars without too much difficulty. It looked like the Andomeda galaxy naked eye but about one magnitude fainter.
/Timo Karhula
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Starman1
Vendor - Scope City
Reged: 06/24/03
Posts: 12490
Loc: Los Angeles
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Quote:
I looked at my post on a different monitor, and it occurs to me that some might have thought I was sketching the field stars without the galaxy. (The galaxy was there, at least on my monitor.)
Here's another go with the brightness adjusted:
Jeff,
Much better and more realistic. That this drawing is made with a 16" says you have a lot of light pollution to contend with. My sympathies.
Nonetheless, except for brightness, a fairly realistic depiction.
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Don Pensack
12.5" Truss Dob, 5" Maksutov, Fujinon Binos
Sustaining Lifetime IDA member
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chug187
member
Reged: 09/18/06
Posts: 43
Loc: Bethesda, MD
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Quote:
I looked at my post on a different monitor, and it occurs to me that some might have thought I was sketching the field stars without the galaxy. (The galaxy was there, at least on my monitor.)
I just inverted the colors to see it, which gives you an NSOG-esque view. Nice sketch!
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Matt
=============================
6" Meade Starfinder, EQ Mount
12.5" Obsession
Edited by chug187 (08/18/08 03:10 PM)
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Jeff Young
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/04/05
Posts: 4333
Loc: Ireland
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Quote:
... That this drawing is made with a 16" says you have a lot of light pollution to contend with. My sympathies.
Sadly it's one of those things that only appears to move in one direction: worse. But, at least as I get older my eyes are getting... oh wait, they're getting worse too. 
Cheers,
-- Jeff.
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Nikon 18x70s / UA Millennium Colorado:
Solarscope SF70 / TV Pronto / AP400QMD Coronado SolarMax40 DS / Bogen 055+3130
APM MC1610 / Tak FC-125 / AP1200GTO Tak Mewlon 250 / AP600EGTO
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Jeff Young
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/04/05
Posts: 4333
Loc: Ireland
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Quote:
I just inverted the colors to see it, which gives you an NSOG-esque view. Nice sketch!
Thanks!
(They certainly are easier to see in black on a white background. I've almost gone back to not inverting them, but they just look so much more realistic in white on black when you do get the balance right.)
Cheers,
-- Jeff.
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Nikon 18x70s / UA Millennium Colorado:
Solarscope SF70 / TV Pronto / AP400QMD Coronado SolarMax40 DS / Bogen 055+3130
APM MC1610 / Tak FC-125 / AP1200GTO Tak Mewlon 250 / AP600EGTO
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Mr Q
sage
Reged: 02/25/08
Posts: 351
Loc: N Central New Mexico
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Jake - You can determine which constellation is up high for the month you are interested in, then visit the NGC/IC Project site or the Saguaro Astronomy Club site for a very long list of all types of objects including galaxies with visual mag., surface brightness and size (hight and width). The edge-ons will have size demensions like 1' x 4' (face-ons with 4' x 4')
Mr Q
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What goes around, comes around, eventually.
Meade DS-10(10" newt)
10x50, 10x70 binos
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jeff heck
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/16/06
Posts: 629
Loc: stl,mo.
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Perfect sketch,Jeff.I could not make it out during the day but tonight I can see it clearly.The Windex helped alot too.Your drawing looks like how I saw it at 150x,it was a tad brighter at 92x.
--------------------
"Hey, Mr. Spaceman.
Won't you please take me along, I won't do anything wrong.
Hey, Mr. Spaceman.
Won't you please take me along for a ride."
The Byrds "Mr. Spaceman" 1966
XT10 classic
TV ep's
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star drop
Guilty as Charged
Reged: 02/02/08
Posts: 18665
Loc: Snow Plop, WNY
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At a comparable elevation above the horizon NGC 891 is easier for me to see than M33 and M101. My view last night at 99.5x showed more nearby field stars than the sketch and the, slightly warped ?, dust lane seemed to run almost the full extent of its approximately 13 arc minute lenght. The galaxy was never visible in my 25" when I lived in a red zone trying to see it in the direction of a nearby white zone.
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Ted
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nytecam
Postmaster
Reged: 08/20/05
Posts: 5997
Loc: London UK
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Megastar quotes SB [surface brightness] 14.6 so this galaxy is dim and of comparable SB to many much smaller galaxies in the surrounding field.  I'll target it when it gets high at a reasonable hour
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Nytecam 51N 0.1W
Meade 30cm LX200+ETX-70+e-finder+C8+Ha+CaK PSTs SBIG SGS+homebuilt spectrographs
Starlight SXVF_M9+Lodestar CCDs/Canon 300D DSLR/Hitachi HD+Disgo Video Fun cams
My observatory build-ETX-70 imaging-my videos
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nytecam
Postmaster
Reged: 08/20/05
Posts: 5997
Loc: London UK
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Quote:
NGC891 is one of those objects that seems to respond better to darker skies than increased aperture. Here's what it looks like with moderately large aperture under moderately dark skies:
Excellent sketch Jeff  - no chance of a view from London but my cam does a fair job here via my ETX-70 forum post with stars down to mag 14
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Nytecam 51N 0.1W
Meade 30cm LX200+ETX-70+e-finder+C8+Ha+CaK PSTs SBIG SGS+homebuilt spectrographs
Starlight SXVF_M9+Lodestar CCDs/Canon 300D DSLR/Hitachi HD+Disgo Video Fun cams
My observatory build-ETX-70 imaging-my videos
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bper
member
Reged: 02/22/08
Posts: 45
Loc: Yakima Washington
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I looked at NGC891 during the last moon cycle with my 13" and it was plainly visible as a large galaxy, but it was dim.
A couple others that you may like to try that are in our local group and in the same area are NGC185 and NGC147 above M31. NGC185 is fairly easy and a nice galaxy, but in my scope NGC147 is a challenge. It is large and dim. Also NGC278 is a nice little galaxy in the area. These are good objects for a clear moonless night along with NGC891.
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Bruce Perrault
The Cowiche Astronomer
Yakima Astronomical Society
Goldendale Observatory State Park
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F.Meiresonne
Post Laureate
Reged: 12/22/03
Posts: 3634
Loc: Eeklo,Belgium
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Difficult galaxie. Still i've seen in my 8 incher in the Provence in France and also from my backyard. Only detectable, no real fun...
Have yet to cath it in my 18"
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Freddy Meiresonne
Obsession 18 inch #1638
Orion Optics 8 inch F/4.5 -1/8 wave optics -Vixen GP-E
22x85 Helios Apollo (=GO SS)
15x70 TS Marine (=Obie Ultra)
10x60 Helios Quantum 4(= Obie Mariner)
10x50,8x40 Helios Nature sport plus
Eyepieces in use :Pan 35,24,19, N13T6, Pentax 10 XW, N9T6, Ultrascopic 7.5, TV2, BGO 12.5 and 9 mm
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David Knisely
Postmaster
Reged: 04/19/04
Posts: 8803
Loc: Beatrice, Nebraska
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Quote:
Megastar quotes SB [surface brightness] 14.6 so this galaxy is dim and of comparable SB to many much smaller galaxies in the surrounding field. I'll target it when it gets high at a reasonable hour
At the Nebraska Star Party, I was using a 25 inch Dob and was having a little trouble getting NGC 891 in the field, as I kept getting distracted by all the other little faint galaxies nearby. The galaxy sits almost right next to the fairly rich Abell 347 galaxy cluster, and I kept getting those guys instead of the big one. Finally, after a few more tries I got NGC 891 and it did look photographic, although I wish I had had more time to study the galaxy cluster as well. Clear skies to you.
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David W. Knisely
Hyde Memorial Observatory
http://www.hydeobservatory.info
Prairie Astronomy Club
http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org
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Fiske
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 03/14/04
Posts: 2132
Loc: Missouri / United States
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Over the last week I have done a lot of dark sky observing -- the first I have done all year. Last Friday and Saturday nights I used my 22-inch Dob at the club dark sky site, where, unfortunately, we actually had fog banks rolling over the observing field. Although fog is often said to accompany steading seeing, such was not the case last weekend at our site, where the seeing was lousy.
Still, I got a lot of observing done, including a good look at 891 with the big scope. Despite the seeing issues the galaxy was an impressive sight: dust lane readily seen in direct vision and lots of mottling in the central area and in the arms.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night I observed with an XT-8 at Arrow Rock State Park (in Missouri) with absolutely superb conditions. In the smaller scope 891 was not as bright, but it was still readily seen in direct vision. I got a few hints of the dark lane and a very subtle suggestion of mottling in the core area. Still, the galaxy was easily seen -- not a stretch for an 8-inch scope under a good dark sky by any means.
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Fiske Miles
Nikon 8x42 LX / 12x50 SE Binos
Mini Borg 60ED, TV-101, AT80Ach, XT-8, C11/CI-700, 22-Inch Dob
Way too many Nagler eyepieces
http://www.fiskemiles.blogspot.com/
www.fiskemiles.com
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skyward_eyes
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/12/06
Posts: 2390
Loc: Arizona
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I saw it last month with my 16". Its a hard one to find but a very cool galaxy. The dust lane was very good.
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5 Reflectors 3"-16"
www.skiesofarizona.webs.com
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Fireball
sage
Reged: 03/24/06
Posts: 364
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Saw it this weekend through my friend's 10" but it took a while to find it (used telrad only and no good star charts).
This is one of the objects where my Stellarvue F50 RACI and good charts are really helpful to relatively quickly find this fuzzy with my 12".
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20x90 Bino
12" Lightbridge
Meade UWAs, TV Ethoi, Pentax XW, Hyperion, AT Titan.
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Fiske
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 03/14/04
Posts: 2132
Loc: Missouri / United States
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Quote:
This is one of the objects where my Stellarvue F50 RACI and good charts are really helpful to relatively quickly find this fuzzy with my 12".
Uh, I use the same RACI finder on both scopes -- a Mini Borg 60ED with a Zeiss precision Amici diagonal and a 24mm Panoptic eyepiece. I wish Tele Vue offered a reticle version...
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Fiske Miles
Nikon 8x42 LX / 12x50 SE Binos
Mini Borg 60ED, TV-101, AT80Ach, XT-8, C11/CI-700, 22-Inch Dob
Way too many Nagler eyepieces
http://www.fiskemiles.blogspot.com/
www.fiskemiles.com
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Jeff Lee
professor emeritus
Reged: 09/17/06
Posts: 560
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I was just at a 21.6 sky. One of the club members had his 20" and 891 was "bright".
However in my 8" at 50X, I felt it was also bright for a galaxy, but the seeing was very good and except for our galxy, it was very dark. I was amazed at the stuff I could really see (not averted) with my 8"...when its not raining, Oregon has some great skies:)
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Jeff Lee
C90,C5,C8, 10 x 50's
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Jim Curry
professor emeritus
Reged: 10/29/07
Posts: 528
Loc: Maine
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I too found it recently in my 140 refractor. No dust lane or nucleus but I did note (and draw) the elongated shape with a foreground star at each end as Regulus drew w/his C8 sketch. My impression was it was an easy find.
Jim
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Vixen 140 refractor
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