Click here if you are having trouble logging into the forums
Privacy Policy |
Please read our Terms
of Service | Signup and
Troubleshooting FAQ | Problems? PM a Red or a Green Gu… uh, User
rodelaet
Post Laureate
   
Reged: 04/28/06
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
|
NGC 2403 in Cam, with a 4 inch refractor.
#3086882 - 05/05/09 03:55 PM Attachment (57 downloads)
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
NGC 2403 in Camelopardalis is one of Messier’s missed objects. It may sound strange at first, but this galaxy is a member of the M81 Group of galaxies. Its distance to the M81/M82 duo is about 3 million l-y, comparable with the distance between our galaxy and M31. Its distance to our galaxy is about 10 million l-y. With a mag of 8.5, NGC 2403 is almost as bright as M82. But NGC 2403 appears much larger and has a lower surface brightness (14,6 compared to 12.8 for M82). NGC 2403 can be found from different starting points. Here follows my approach for low power instruments: draw an imaginary line from Capella to Polaris. Both stars are roughly 45° apart. Then find the midpoint of that line. From that point, draw a line (the bisector) perpendicular to the first line, for about 15° in the direction of the Bear’s nose (Omicron Ursae Majoris) until you run into NGC 2403. The low power view (at x17) reminds me of the glow of a partially resolved open cluster. Two 10th mag foreground stars lie embedded in the halo of the galaxy, one on each side of the diffuse core. The stars only show up with averted vision. At x62, the galaxy appears elongated in a SSW to ENE direction. Another 11th mag foreground star appears just a few minutes away from the core of the galaxy. The three embedded stars, albeit not particular bright, interfere with the subtle glow of the distant galaxy, as if the galaxy tries to hide its appearance behind the foreground stars.
Site : Bekkevoort, Belgium ( 51° N ) Date : April 19, 2009 Time : around 21.00 UT Scope : Skywatcher 102/500mm achromatic refractor Eyepiece : Baader Hyperion Zoom at 8mm Magnification : 63x FOV: 65’ Filter : none Seeing : 3/5 Transp. : 4/5 Sky brightness : 19.70 magnitudes per square arc second near zenith (SQM reading). Nelm: 5.4 Sketch Orientation: N up, W right. Digital sketch made with Corel Paint Shop Pro X2, based on a raw pencil sketch.
|
kraterkid
Post Laureate
   
Reged: 03/07/05
Loc: Jacumba, California
|
Re: NGC 2403 in Cam, with a 4 inch refractor.
[Re: rodelaet]
#3087156 - 05/05/09 06:59 PM
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Rony,
Absolutely gorgeous my friend! NGC 2403 appears so distant compared to the sparse foreground stars of the Milky Way. Wonderful detail, remarkable view and all this with such a modest aperature! You are the definition of an observer and an artist.
|
cildarith
Carpal Tunnel
   
Reged: 08/26/04
Loc: San Diego, CA
|
Re: NGC 2403 in Cam, with a 4 inch refractor.
[Re: kraterkid]
#3087190 - 05/05/09 07:29 PM
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Excellent rendition, Rony!
|
rolandlinda3
Post Laureate
   
Reged: 01/24/06
Loc: Crozet VA 22932
|
Re: NGC 2403 in Cam, with a 4 inch refractor.
[Re: rodelaet]
#3087384 - 05/05/09 09:17 PM
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Delightful sketch, Rony. Roland
|
frank5817
Postmaster
   
Reged: 06/13/06
Loc: Illinois
|
Re: NGC 2403 in Cam, with a 4 inch refractor.
[Re: rolandlinda3]
#3087707 - 05/06/09 12:18 AM
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Rony,
This is a beautiful sketch of a wonderful galaxy. I have trouble with this one because of the Chicago light glow.
Frank
|
yann pothier
member
Reged: 10/16/07
Loc: Paris, France
|
Re: NGC 2403 in Cam, with a 4 inch refractor.
[Re: frank5817]
#3087852 - 05/06/09 02:54 AM
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
very nice sketch Rony, as usual !
|
Achernar
Postmaster
   
Reged: 02/25/06
Loc: Mobile, Alabama, USA
|
Re: NGC 2403 in Cam, with a 4 inch refractor.
[Re: rodelaet]
#3088781 - 05/06/09 03:51 PM
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Nice drawing of this under-rated galaxy. NGC-2403 is every bit as bright as many of the Messier galaxies, and yet it's not as well known as it should be. This is how it looks through my 6-inch on typical nights in my area. Well done!
Taras
|
CarlosEH
Postmaster
   
Reged: 01/19/05
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
|
Re: NGC 2403 in Cam, with a 4 inch refractor.
[Re: Achernar]
#3089205 - 05/06/09 07:49 PM
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Rony,
An excellent observation and report of this interesting edge-on galaxy in Camelopardalis. You have captured it very nicely. Thank you for sharing it with us all.
Links; http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/maps/cam/cam2.gif http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060705.html
Carlos
|
|
1 registered and 10 anonymous users are browsing this forum.
Moderator: Undermidnight, cildarith
Print Thread
|
Forum Permissions
You cannot start new topics
You cannot reply to topics
HTML is disabled
UBBCode is enabled
|
Thread views: 846
|
|
|
|
|
|
|