25 replies to this topic

[asaint]

Small Wonders: Coma Berenices

[half meter]

A grand tour of this part of the sky, Tom!

I see you commented on a few of my favorite targets (globular clusters) this month. I especially liked the part of the grand tour when it passed NGC 4147... "stand[ing] like a sentinel guarding the depths of interstellar space. From here on out, everything else is extragalactic." Great stuff!

[desertstars]

If ever there was a part of the spring sky in need of better coverage, this is it. Nicely done!

[Blues]

Great job, Tom. I've been loitering in that area recently.

[ForgottenMObject]

Very nice article. This area of the sky is definately interesting and often overlooked, particularly Mel 111. It looks nice in binoculars, but it is pretty even in a telescope, though at such powers it is less of a cluster and more of a region with scattered bright stars. There are several doubles floating around, as well as stars with nice colors in Mel 111.

[jdickson]

Just in time. I spent several hours in this area last night but still need to do most of these objects. Had a difficult time with M91. Faint little bugger...

Once again well done!

Thanks

[Andy S.]

Another Great "Small Wonders" Article.
I look vorward to those more than anything else on CN
Just wondering, is there a chance to get it on PDF form again?? Makes printing out a lot nicer.
Thanks and keep up the good work.

[desertstars]

There's a note under the author's name saying a .pdf will be added soon.

[Tom T]

Thanks guys, as always I'm gratified you enjoy them.

Yup, Tom's right, a PDF will be coming soon. I like to make sure everything is correct before I create the PDF. I've also been extremely busy lately (this real work thing kinda intrudes on playtime - on occasion ) and just not had a chance to get it out - yet.

[Jeff Morgan]

Well done Tom. Reminiscent of Walter Scott Houston.

[tishovlin]

Lovely article!
I had my first viewing experience at a dark-sky sight during April's new moon. As everyone was finishing setup of the scopes, evening twilight was fading to dark. Someone blurted out, "Look at the Coma". Up in the east you could see a gentle sprinkle of stars set apart from the more obvious constellations. But they were very distinct, and a very nice sight. The first time I had seen them that way naked-eye.

[MikeS]

Again, thank you for a great article.

Mike

[Stefan Rostyne]

Very nice article, Tom, thank you for it! You asked for impression of NGC5053 -the Ghost Globular- . Well, I saw it. It is a while ago,some 3 years, in the Southern French Alps, under a mag 6.5 - 7 sky and very transparant air (altitude 1200 m elevation). I saw it with my 12.5" dob at some 100 -120x or around that. It was the one and only time I saw it : a very loose cluster of very faint stars, I wonder if any one of them is brighter than mag 13. I find it difficult to interpret it as a globular. It is not thàt far from M53,and easily located, but here in Belgium, I 've never seen it at all (lightpollution, but I think you got that one before). Looks like one of them Terzans or Palomar globs (whitch I still have to see my first of them, too).

[ScottW]

Well I got my first look ever at Coma Berenices a couple of weeks ago, my sky conditions aren't all that great! Took a quick tour with my Ranger, impressive enough to want to go back with this guide.

Scott

[Chris Schroeder]

Thank you thank you Tom!

[Steed]

thank you, Tom! What a great article again!
I spent several nights on Coma-Virgo super cluster a few months before. But in my urban sky, I missed M98 and M91, while M100 and M99 is pretty easy. I'll try them again in dark sky!

[RichNH]

I'm pretty new at this and never realized there was so much to see up there. Don't have much in the way of equipoment yet but now I'm definately going to study this one area a lot more the next time the sky clears up! Thanks so much for a great article (can't wait for the PDF). And one of the photos in it was taken with the Meade 10" LXD75 SN, which I'm thinking about buying as a first scope so I'm even more inspired now. This is gonna be a great hobby!

RichNH

[Jacques]

This is the first time in my slowly blooming "career" that I'm really paying attention to this constellation's treasures. Man, this part of the sky turns out to be really great. Excellent timing Tom, once again a *BLEEEP* of job

[Tom T]

Thanks folks.

Just an FYI - I'm still working on the PDF. Things have been - busy - lately.



T

[boatstar]

Great article about a great area of sky. Is there a better galaxy than ngc4565? I don't think so, but I'll keep looking.

Boat

[Jim Nelson]

I observed 5053 last summer with a 6-inch dob, under good skies from a mag 6-ish site. My notes say "I had to draw the field stars to confirm. Decent sized, but exceedingly dim. No resolution at all. "

It was a tough one as I recall, having passed it over at least once before noticing it. I'll try it again next clear night.

These difficult objects very close to brighter easier objects are a great way to improve your observing skills - there's no doubt you're in the right area, so just keep looking...I've been racking up a lot of faint galaxies that way this spring.

[Iwi]

Tom, you also asked about m53.
From my light light polluted skies here in Belgium my 9x50 finder left me with no doubt where to look for this object. Similarly, my 10x50 binoculars showed them. It looked like a small, gray patch (don't all dso's in binoculars do?) not unlike m56 when viewed through a telescope.
It's way easier to see than any galaxy in it's surroundings (and dead easy to find thanks to the vincinity of a naked-eye star) and quite nice to boot.

[V.A.]

Hi! I'm posting for the first time,i'm not sure how to use the forum very well or anything computer related ,so I'll need some time to fiqure out how to post pics. etc. Anyway I see something a little novel in Coma B. If you ignore the bottom star 42alpha in Coma Bernices the rest of the constellation to me has always resembled a magic wand with Mel111 being the "magic dust" from the wand ,much like in "Cinderella" I know this is unsual but i just had to mention it. :o
Always fascinating to go thru ComaB ,even in magn. 5-5.5 skies i saw a few galaxies with my little 90mm binoscope.

[Tom T]

V.A.

Excellent imagery - I really like it! Thank you for sharing.

IWI - I too have recently picked it up in bino's

Jim, a 6"? I'm impressed! I had a tough time with it in my 18" Good catch!

and BTW folks, the PDF has been added.

Thanks all!

Tom T.

[V.A.]

wait until i tell you what i see in the Pleaides next time there's an article with it! even more unusual