Bill Barlow
sage
Reged: 12/03/07
Posts: 336
Loc: Overland Park KS
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I am going to try and find Barnards galaxy tonight from a sligltly light polluted suburb of Kansas City using a Meade 10" ACF SCT. Is this object tough to see/find unless you have a pretty dark sky? What about the "Litle Gem" planetary nebula nearby Barnards?
Thanks for any comments in advance.
Bill
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Meade 10" SCT ACF OTA on a UA UniStar Deluxe Super 8 altaz mount on a UA heavy duty surveyor tripod and a Manny Miles eyepiece tray.
SV 102ED doublet refractor on a UA UniStar Light mount on a UA light surveyor tripod with a Manny Miles eyepiece tray.
Garrett Optical 10x50 and 12x60 binoculars. Also Garrett Optical 30x100 binoculars mounted on a SLIK Pro 700DX AMT tripod.
Several TV Plossls and Naglers, plus a few very good Celestron Ultima wide TFOV eyepieces.
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JakeSaloranta
sage
Reged: 09/18/08
Posts: 234
Loc: Sisu, Sauna, Sibelius...
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To see NGC 6822 you definitely need a dark sky. I'd say you need limiting magnitude above 6 near NGC 6822 to see it. If you site is too light polluted the galaxy simply disappears in to the background sky.
And NGC 6818 is very easy compared to Barnard's galaxy. Just remember it is small (50") unlike with the galaxy use high magnification and blinking with a filter to be sure if you're having trouble with identification.
Both of these objects are visible even with small refractors under dark skies.
/Jake
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Achernar
Postmaster
Reged: 02/25/06
Posts: 5025
Loc: Mobile, Alabama, USA
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You need a very dark sky to see Barnard's galaxy, light pollution swallows it up because it's very large and has a very low surface brightness. Ironically, from a dark site, you can easily see it with a small telescope! In large telescopes it tends to be underwhelming unless you have a wide enough field of view to see it's outline. The planetary nebula NGC-6818 on the other hand is an easy object even from a badly light polluted area. I can see it from my house easily without nebula filters, and it takes high magnifications well. In appearance it looks like a face-on bagel with a hint of bluish color to me.
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....
Two curious cats
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Bill Barlow
sage
Reged: 12/03/07
Posts: 336
Loc: Overland Park KS
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Thanks for the replies/information. It looks like Barnards galaxy will be a very tough object to see from my backyard. Similar to M101, I guess..a fairly large galaxy but with low surface brightness. Maybe I'll have better luck with the little gem nebula.
Bill
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Meade 10" SCT ACF OTA on a UA UniStar Deluxe Super 8 altaz mount on a UA heavy duty surveyor tripod and a Manny Miles eyepiece tray.
SV 102ED doublet refractor on a UA UniStar Light mount on a UA light surveyor tripod with a Manny Miles eyepiece tray.
Garrett Optical 10x50 and 12x60 binoculars. Also Garrett Optical 30x100 binoculars mounted on a SLIK Pro 700DX AMT tripod.
Several TV Plossls and Naglers, plus a few very good Celestron Ultima wide TFOV eyepieces.
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Tony Flanders
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/06
Posts: 3469
Loc: Cambridge, MA, USA
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Quote:
Thanks for the replies/information. It looks like Barnards galaxy will be a very tough object to see from my backyard. Similar to M101, I guess..a fairly large galaxy but with low surface brightness.
No, not like M101 at all. M101 is super-bold and bright compared to Barnard's Galaxy. Barnard's Galaxy is to M101 as M101 is to M82.
Then there are some really faint galaxies, like several of the Local Group Dwarfs, that are to Barnard's Galaxy as Barnard's Galaxy is to M101.
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Tony Flanders
First and foremost observing love: naked eye.
Second, binoculars.
Last but not least, telescopes.
And I sometimes dabble with cameras.
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Bill Barlow
sage
Reged: 12/03/07
Posts: 336
Loc: Overland Park KS
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I've never been able to view M101 yet from my backyard, so I guess Barnards galaxy is waisting my time. Maybe I'll see the little gem nebula as it is about mag 8.5 or so.
I was able to see M110 near Andromeda last fall with a C11 from my backyard, but had to use averted vision as it was barely visible.
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Meade 10" SCT ACF OTA on a UA UniStar Deluxe Super 8 altaz mount on a UA heavy duty surveyor tripod and a Manny Miles eyepiece tray.
SV 102ED doublet refractor on a UA UniStar Light mount on a UA light surveyor tripod with a Manny Miles eyepiece tray.
Garrett Optical 10x50 and 12x60 binoculars. Also Garrett Optical 30x100 binoculars mounted on a SLIK Pro 700DX AMT tripod.
Several TV Plossls and Naglers, plus a few very good Celestron Ultima wide TFOV eyepieces.
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Achernar
Postmaster
Reged: 02/25/06
Posts: 5025
Loc: Mobile, Alabama, USA
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If you've had that much trouble seeing M-110, then NGC-6822 is out of the question from your backyard. This is a drawing I made of the galaxy from the western tip of Oklahoma, where there was no light pollution at all.
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....
Two curious cats
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Lard Greystoke
sage
Reged: 07/27/08
Posts: 377
Loc: Ohio
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Nice sketch of 6822. I agree with the above posts, Barnard's is difficult. I find it comparable to NGC 147 in Cass or NGC 6118 Serpens, barely detectable under a decent sky.
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Lard Greystoke
10" Odyssey Compact
"With Tantor, the elephant, he made friends. How? Ask me not."
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scopethis
professor emeritus
Reged: 05/30/08
Posts: 633
Loc: Kingman, Ks
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Barnard will be very difficult w/lights abound--as other have stated, you need a dark site. However NGC 6818 should be detected easily. It's pretty bright and fairly large for a planetary (non stellar). My observation notes say that under low power the planetary was round, but power increase showed it to be oval. High power can be used on this object also.
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Bill Barlow
sage
Reged: 12/03/07
Posts: 336
Loc: Overland Park KS
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I was able to find and view the Little Gem nebula yesterday eveing. I star hop on a UA UniStar deluxe mount with a 10" Meade SCT. Pretty small object to see for the first time. Looked like a fuzzy star, but quite bright. Took medium to high magnifications well.
I then panned downward about 1 degree to Barnards location, but nothing there, only a loose open cluster of stars.
Last fall we visited my wife's parents in Alva Oklahoma (northwest part of the state) where there is little or no light pollution, and wow! the nightsky came alive! Maybe when we retire, would like to move into a darker nightsky region away from a city with 1.5 million people. Thanks for all the helpful suggestions.
Bill
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Meade 10" SCT ACF OTA on a UA UniStar Deluxe Super 8 altaz mount on a UA heavy duty surveyor tripod and a Manny Miles eyepiece tray.
SV 102ED doublet refractor on a UA UniStar Light mount on a UA light surveyor tripod with a Manny Miles eyepiece tray.
Garrett Optical 10x50 and 12x60 binoculars. Also Garrett Optical 30x100 binoculars mounted on a SLIK Pro 700DX AMT tripod.
Several TV Plossls and Naglers, plus a few very good Celestron Ultima wide TFOV eyepieces.
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Frank
member
Reged: 01/18/09
Posts: 56
Loc: Netherlands
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I've recently tried this with a C6 under dark skies in Southern France, and with adverted vision and abit of imagination, I think I've seen it. Viewing NGC147 was possible quit easy, with same equipment.
Has somebody been able to seen NGC6822 with a 6" SCT?
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Celestron CGE1400 XLT
C6 XLT
Vixen 6" F5.0 Newton
WO Zenithstar 80 FD
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JakeSaloranta
sage
Reged: 09/18/08
Posts: 234
Loc: Sisu, Sauna, Sibelius...
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Quote:
Has somebody been able to seen NGC6822 with a 6" SCT?
Many have seen it with binoculars so I think it safe to say yes.
Also NGC 147 is often a lot higher (northern hemisphere) in the sky than NGC 6822. Here from Finland Barnard's galaxy is barely 15deg above the horizon so it is extremely difficult to spot and a lot more difficult than NGC 147 that I've seen even from my suburban backyard (zenith limiting magnitude around 6.0).
/Jake
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YankeeJeff
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/11/06
Posts: 537
Loc: Brooklyn, NY
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Barnards galaxy looks huge (and very nice) in a picture printed in the August issue of Sky at Night. I believe they said it's about the size of a quarter of the full moon. Bummer that LP kills the view for you Bill but congrats on the Little Gem Nebula. I sure as heck have no shot at any of them.
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Oh let the sun beat down upon my face, stars to fill my dream
I am a traveler of both time and space, to be where I have been
24Pan, 17T4, 13T6, 11T6, 9BTMB, 8TVpl, 7T6, 5T6, 3.5T6, 5/6BTMBs
Z10"Dob, Paracorr, 2xBrlw, Telrad, RACI,°Circles, )Spider
FBF, Brooklyn: 
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David Knisely
Postmaster
Reged: 04/19/04
Posts: 8279
Loc: Beatrice, Nebraska
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Quote:
I've recently tried this with a C6 under dark skies in Southern France, and with adverted vision and abit of imagination, I think I've seen it. Viewing NGC147 was possible quit easy, with same equipment.
Has somebody been able to seen NGC6822 with a 6" SCT?
I have seen it in a pair of 10x50 binoculars from the dark sky site of the Nebraska Star Party, and can get a fairly decent view of its faint glow in my 100mm f/6 refractor. With as low a power as you can go, a six inch SCT should just be able to show the galaxy under good dark-sky conditions. From my local dark sky site (ZLM 6.4 to 6.9), I usually have little trouble seeing Barnard's Galaxy in my NexStar 9.25 inch SCT, although it is by no means bright. 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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sgottlieb
sage
Reged: 07/22/07
Posts: 339
Loc: SF Bay area
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Barnard's galaxy is really sky-dependent as many have said. In the Sierras (2200 meters), the galaxy is easy in my 80mm finder at 25x as a faint, elongated glow and just visible in my 15x50 IS binoculars.
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Steve Gottlieb
18" f/4.3 Starmaster
Adventures In Deep Space
7500+ NGC/IC Visual Descriptions
NGC/IC Project
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mbares
member
Reged: 06/15/06
Posts: 33
Loc: Pilsen, Europe
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According to my experience, you don't need super-dark sky to see 6822, but you need a bit of patience and a lot of averted vision. I have seen it about month ago with my 10" dob when it was about 25° above the horizon as a quite large, but barely detectable brightening of the field, visible only at my lowest power (48x). That was from Bortle 5 skies with SQM reading around 21.1 at zenith and transparency far from good.
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Mike
10" truss dob just finished!, 8x42 & 7x50 binos, 70mm f/7 achro, 6" f/5 GSO eq newt
my sketching page - only in czech, but sketches don't need translation 
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sgottlieb
sage
Reged: 07/22/07
Posts: 339
Loc: SF Bay area
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I agree with you. I was just making the observation that in dark skies Barnard's Galaxy is even visible in hand-held binoculars.
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Steve Gottlieb
18" f/4.3 Starmaster
Adventures In Deep Space
7500+ NGC/IC Visual Descriptions
NGC/IC Project
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Frank
member
Reged: 01/18/09
Posts: 56
Loc: Netherlands
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Quote:
I agree with you. I was just making the observation that in dark skies Barnard's Galaxy is even visible in hand-held binoculars.
OK, but where? In Southern France, this Galaxy doesn't get high in the sky, unfortunately. In my home country, the Netherlands, it's even worse.
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Celestron CGE1400 XLT
C6 XLT
Vixen 6" F5.0 Newton
WO Zenithstar 80 FD
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sgottlieb
sage
Reged: 07/22/07
Posts: 339
Loc: SF Bay area
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Elevation can certainly make a huge difference -- particularly on detecting low surface brightness objects. My usual observing sites in California are between +36.5 and +40 latitude. At +40 latitude, Barnard's galaxy culminates at an elevation of 35 degrees, so it doesn't suffer too much in a good sky. What is the latitude in southern France?
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Steve Gottlieb
18" f/4.3 Starmaster
Adventures In Deep Space
7500+ NGC/IC Visual Descriptions
NGC/IC Project
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Frank
member
Reged: 01/18/09
Posts: 56
Loc: Netherlands
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In the particular area I observed, it is 44 North.
Next week, we're planning a session in Belgium - that's about 50 North - causing more troubles. At that time, I'll try with my CGE1400 - probably that will help. Let's wait & see.
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Celestron CGE1400 XLT
C6 XLT
Vixen 6" F5.0 Newton
WO Zenithstar 80 FD
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