rodelaet
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 3063
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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How far can one see with a simple pair of binoculars? One way to find out is to go hunting in the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies. The Virgo Cluster lies 60 million light years away. At least four galaxies can be framed in the same field of view. Let’s start at Vindemiatrix (Epsilon Virginis). From there it’s a 5° star hop to the west and a little to the south, until Rho Virginis pops into view. Rho is very easy to recognize, as it is the only bright star in the fov and it is surrounded by three fainter stars. Our first target is M60, a small smudge of light, 1° north of Rho Virginis. Our next target is the giant galaxy, M87. Return back to Rho, and sweep 2° to the west, until 20 Virginis is centered in the field of view. M87 can be found 2° north of 20 Vir. M87 looks like a small star out of focus and lies next to a faint star. With patience, the core of M87 looks stellar to me. Now shift your gaze 1° to the west of M87. Two faint minute spots of light, M86 and M84, can be found if you observe with care. Now you can try to keep these four galaxies in the same field of view, as shown in the sketch below. The brightest star is Rho Vir.
Before you leave the Virgo Cluster, try to find M49. Return to 20 Vir and look 2° south for M49. M49 and M87 can also be kept in the same field of view together with 20 Vir.
Have fun!
Site : Bischofshofen, Austria
Date : May 3, 2008
Time : around 21.30UT
Binoculars : Bresser 8x56
FOV: 5.9°
Filter : none
Mount : Trico Machine Sky Window
Seeing : 3/5
Transp. : 4/5
Nelm : 6.0
Sketch Orientation : N up, W right.
Digital sketch made with PhotoPaint, based on a raw pencil sketch.
(You may need to adjust your monitor settings in order to see all of the four galaxies.)
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Rony
My Astronomical Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
Callibrate your Monitor with this little strip.
Edited by rodelaet (05/08/08 05:10 PM)
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Acheron
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 08/07/05
Posts: 776
Loc: Croatia, Velika Gorica
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Man, I had to use averted vision to see something!
A+ for the realism
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I like sketching...
8" F6 Dob - "Betsy"
12" F5 Dob - "Tristac"
25x100 Binos
Messier Catalogue - done
Herschel 400 - 189 more to go
http://www.inet.hr/~vevrhova/english/index
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BobinKy
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/27/07
Posts: 1682
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Rony--
This series keeps getting better and better. Once again, your text led us by the hand--and your sketch confirmed what to look for. Truly amazing.
Thank you for sharing your work.
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Bob
38°N
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xfile101
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/08/07
Posts: 759
Loc: Ocean Gate, NJ
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Rony,
I have been probing the Virgo cluster as of late (first real time at figuring out which object I'm looking at) and I want to thank you for pointing out some markers, it will certainly help me figure out what I'm looking at. Oh yeah and the sketch is pretty good too as usual 
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Orion XT8I
Celestron 114EQ Firstscope
Meade 70mm
Astroscan
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WadeVC
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/02/05
Posts: 2831
Loc: Lodi, California,
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RONY!
STOP IT!
Your continued excellent sketches make me fall out of my seat! LOL
Seriously though, that is just simply spectacular...the subtleness of the galaxies and the beautiful rendering of the star-field are magnificent!!  
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Orion XTi10 f/4.7
Orion XTi8 f/5.9
Meade NGC 70mm f/10
Orion UltraView 10x50 Wide-Angle Binoculars
My Sketch Gallery
My Astronomy Blog
A wise man can see more from the bottom of a well than a fool can from a mountain top.
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frank5817
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/13/06
Posts: 4084
Loc: Illinois
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Rony,
I never would have guessed you could pick out galaxies this well with your setup but it makes a lot of sense. I am a hand held binocular user and your hands off method really does the trick.  
Frank
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my gallery
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rolandlinda3
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/24/06
Posts: 2233
Loc: Crozet VA 22932
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Great Rony. Do I assume you are using that setup with the mounted binoculars? IF so, looks like it really is a winner for sketching applications. Roland
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Roland
Sketches in members galleries: rolandlinda3
Inspirational stories/sketches at:
www.christworksministries.org
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Charles Laird
super member
Reged: 08/24/07
Posts: 147
Loc: Kerrville, Texas
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Excellent, excellent!! THAT is what things look like. So many renditions are far too bright. Very good work.
Charles
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"Nothing is too wonderful to be true."
Michael Faraday
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rodelaet
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 3063
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Thank you all for the compliments! 
Frank and Roland : a mounted solution does help a lot with the detection of these galaxies. And the nelm was 6.0.
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Rony
My Astronomical Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
Callibrate your Monitor with this little strip.
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CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 4132
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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Rony,
An outstanding observation showing the value of patience and persistence. You have captured this faint galaxies in your latest observation. Thank you for sharing it with us all.
Carlos
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rodelaet
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 3063
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Thank you, Carlos!
It was a pleasant observation.
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Rony
My Astronomical Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
Callibrate your Monitor with this little strip.
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David Castillo
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 09/09/06
Posts: 881
Loc: Carmel Valley, Ca
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Rony, that sketch is fantastic. I have to look long and hard to get 1/2 that detail with my binos. Can I ask how long it took to produce such a nice piece of art?
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Dave
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rodelaet
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 3063
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Hello Dave,
Thank you for the compliments.
About the sketch : I do take my time to observe in a relaxed way. Most field sketches take 45 minutes to one hour to complete. The digital reproduction takes about 60 minutes to complete.
What set-up do you use to observe, Dave? Is it comparable with my equipment?
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Rony
My Astronomical Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
Callibrate your Monitor with this little strip.
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