31 replies to this topic

[mdowns]

 Autumn is fast approaching as are the stars of the fall sky. With that in mind, our drawing thread will continue moving E to SE. For September let's share drawings from these constellations, Andromeda, Pegasus, Aquarius, Triangulum. Pisces, Cetus,Capricornus, and Aries. With the current rerun of the constellation thread, we have chosen to include wider swaths of the sky. Our hope has been that with the larger targeted area, more of the forum's members will have the opportunity to share more of their observations. From classic favorites to obscure fuzzies or lesser-knowns, please share them here. Even if you just posted a rendering as a stand-alone thread or intend to, you can share it in this thread as well. Also, a tip of the hat and high five to all who shared so many fine observations and pieces in the August thread. You're the ones who make it so much fun for the rest of us!

[bphaneuf]

Delighted that the thread has found new life!  Great idea to include more sky per month - hopefully lots more entries that way.  Heading for bed, but I can post an old favorite M77.  M77/Cetus A is the prototype Type 2 Seyfert galaxy with a one of the brightest AGNs observed.  The outer reaches of the galaxy pale in comparison to the bright nucleus and inner halo.

 

 

-b

[mdowns]

I'll add these two. Ngc 7217 from Pegasus as drawn several years ago with the c11 and M30,drawn very recently while using the equinox(EAA).M30 has been an exception for me and the equinox.Though the EAA reveals far more stars than what I'm accustomed to seeing,in this instance,I'm not a big fan.I think the view through a common 10-14" scope is more attractive.Far fewer stars but the dual chains of stars emanating from the cluster out into the fov  always seemed unique to this cluster.Those chains are lost,overwhelmed by all the additional members when viewed with the equinox.

 

 

[frank5817]

Blue Snowball NGC 7662 Andromeda

Sketching and Equipment:
This sketch was made in several parts: First the stars were plotted on paper
Then the brightness and position of the stars were replotted and adjusted using higher magnification
Lastly the inverse colors were added with color pencils using high power on the nebula.
The sketch was then inverted.
White sketching paper, 2B graphite pencil, color pencils, White Pearl eraser, clipboard, clip on red light
16” f/4.41 Dobsonian telescope 9mm eyepiece 199x, equatorial drive
Seeing average, transparency, average, humidity 20%, Temperature: 18ᵒC ( 65ᵒF) light winds

 

Frank McCabe

 

[Raul Leon]

Ngc 520 is actually two colliding spiral galaxies in the constellation Pisces ; aka the flying ghost, at magnitude: 11.4 it is fairly bright but amorphous object, with wispy plumes at both ends. I observed an irregular dust lane with several bright zones. I used a 8mm Ethos at 240x with my 14.5 StarStructure f/4.3

Attached Thumbnails

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[TomC]

Two sketches of galaxies in Aquarius that really stand out in beauty and appearance. 

 

NGC 7727: compact face-on galaxy with subtle curved details near the center

 

NGC 7606: quite bright elongated glow in a nice star field; averted vision gives hint of one spiral arm.

[frank5817]

Color pencil and India ink sketch of a total lunar eclipse  from the summer of 1989.

 

Frank

 

 

 

 

 

[bphaneuf]

Here are two Abell groups in Andromeda that, along with Abell 426 - The Perseus Cluster, make up the three main clusters of the Perseus-Pisces Supercluster. This truly massive structure stretches over 40 degrees of the northern sky.  Bordering the Taurus Void, it is itself part of the Perseus-Pegasus filament that is roughly 1 billion ly in length.  Abells 262 and 347 are roughly 225 million ly distant and 240 million ly distant, respectively. 

 

Most of 262's members are spiral galaxies, unusual for a large cluster.  Its most prominent and central member, NGC 708 is an elliptical, however. The galaxies observed are 703, 704, 705, 708, 709, 710 and 714.

 

       

 

 

347 is not a highly populated cluster in the Abell catalogue, but also hosts an unusual percentage of spirals.  That characteristic hints at these two being relatively young for galactic clusters as not enough galaxy mergers have taken place to form ellipticals, the more normal members of galaxy clusters.  Members observed in 347 are the large elliptical NGC 910, along with 906, 911, UGC 1866 and PGC 9108.  I'll have to revisit this one to pick up some members I should have detected but didn't - 909, 912, 914 and 923

 

       

 

-b

Edited by bphaneuf, 02 September 2023 - 06:28 PM.

[mdowns]

Rats,you beat me by a day Butch .....again   Nice captures!

[bphaneuf]

Bet you saw some the ones I missed, though!

[mdowns]

I have not looked at ngc 210 in Cetus for maybe 6 years.I know by looking at this c11 drawing it was when I spent little time actually drawing the surrounding fov. Prior to switching to the equinox I had not viewed ngc 660 for about as long.In my first post of targets this month I explained how I  preferred the traditional scope view over  the eaa view when it came to m30. 660 on the other hand, exemplifies why I love the enhanced view.When viewing ngc 660 with the c11 outback the galaxy looked like an oddly shaped,essentially featureless blob.I was really stunned when I targeted 660 with the equinox because I was unaware of the intersecting dark lanes.It is like a completely different object.

 

 

[Nightowl99]

NGC 7293, the Helix Nebula is a large planetary nebula in Aquarius. At around 655 light years away and covering 16' in diameter it may be the closest planetary nebula to Earth and one of the largest in apparent size, more than half the size of the full moon.

 

 

 

 

NGC 7293
98x magnification
14” Dobstuff ETT coma corrected to f/5.5
Stellarvue Optimus 20mm
Lumicon gen 3 Oiii
11/19/22, Amboy Crater, CA
Seeing 2/5, Transparency 4/5

[bphaneuf]

Thanks Andrew!  Just saw the Helix for the first time last night, and your sketch very much confirms what I saw, particularly the brighter sides and the incomplete look and extensions at the east-west ends.  The extensions into the center as well.  It's an object that rewards patience for sure.   Delicate work as always. 

-b

[bphaneuf]

This just in from Pegasus.  NGC 7332 and 7339 - two gravitationally bound galaxies presenting edge on.  Also posted here.

 

 

-b

[mdowns]

Two more from the region. Ngc 949 is in Triangulum while the glob,ngc 7492 is in Aquarius.Both drawn from observations outback.949, years ago with the 11 and 7492 recently with the equinox.

 

 

[bphaneuf]

Hickson 88 in Aquarius from this week and NGC 507 group/Arp 229 in Pisces from last year:

 

         

 

 

-b

[mdowns]

Two more old and new drawings from this region.M 15 drawn about 5 years ago with the c11 and IC 239 from this past August with the equinox.

 

 

[nof]

You folks are prolific. What a treasury of sketches.

I finally got a few good hours last night and I tried for a galaxy that I thought I had a chance to see from my B6 skies at home. Conditions after 1am were better than usual, so I went for M77 in Cetus and to my delight it looked good. 

 

I have studied the sketch Butch made (in the thread above) and have no explanation why I was seeing luminosity all the way from the core of the galaxy to the magnitude 10 foreground star, but that is what I saw. It was very faint but it was there. I really can't believe I was seeing the extended galaxy. I was using my 12" Skywatcher and I started with the 12mm ES92 eyepiece. I then put a Baader UHCL broadband filter on that eyepiece, pulled a black cloth over my head and stared for quite a while and moved the scope around a bit to see if that luminosity remained, as if I was seeing more than the core of the galaxy. I might have said that I was seeing the humidity in the atmosphere, but other stars were crystal clear points, without any kind of halo.

 

To make the sketch, I switched to the Ethos 6mm. It was all very pleasing, the viewing and the sketching. Now we will have clouds for most of the week, but I had a few nights in a row of moderate + seeing and it was nice. So here's my contribution to this thread from Cetus.

[bphaneuf]

Congrats on seeing the extended galaxy nof! I’ve not seen it extend from the core like that, only a partial ring of haziness as it were further out. (I think that’s in the sketch - out at the bright star above and at about 4-5 o’clock below). The black hood is a great idea. I’ve tried it here but we’re so humid it’s no time at all before everything fogs up. Your observation is a great example of patience and persistence paying off. Well done, sir.

Edited by bphaneuf, 10 September 2023 - 08:25 AM.

[bphaneuf]

A couple spiral galaxies I found interesting last year for their differing aspects: 

 

NGC 1042 in Cetus for its face-on orientation over time revealing a nice arm structure.

 

         

 

 

NGC 891 in Andromeda, the Silver Sliver - and edge-on that despite its ghostly appearance that night still revealed a sinuous dust lane.

 

 

-b

[Nightowl99]

NGC 404 is an isolated lenticular dwarf galaxy located just outside the Local Group, about 10 million light years away in Andromeda. It’s fairly bright at 11th magnitude but very small, hiding just outside the diffraction spikes of 2nd magnitude star Mirach, earning the moniker Mirach’s Ghost.

 

 

NGC 404, Mirach's Ghost
290x magnification
10” GSO Dob coma corrected to f/5.4
APM XWA 5 mm
9/23/22, Mt Pinos, CA
Seeing 4/5, Transparency 4/5

[mdowns]

This is an excellent rendition of the fov Andrew!

[mdowns]

I drew Triangulum's NGC 890 5 or 6 years ago with the c11 outback, while Abell 262(Andromeda) is another equinox(eaa) drawing from this summer.

 

 

 

 

 

[nof]

I like to see those spiral arms in that galaxy. Would love to see them myself! Nice work

A couple spiral galaxies I found interesting last year for their differing aspects: 

 

NGC 1042 in Cetus for its face-on orientation over time revealing a nice arm structure.

 

NGC 1042.jpg          NGC 1042 cropped.jpg

 

 

NGC 891 in Andromeda, the Silver Sliver - and edge-on that despite its ghostly appearance that night still revealed a sinuous dust lane.

 

NGC 891 the Silver Sliver.jpg

 

-b

[bphaneuf]

I like to see those spiral arms in that galaxy. Would love to see them myself! Nice work

Thanks nof.  They're more subtle than the sketch shows.