FreeLists / az-observing / [AZ-Observing] Observing Highlights from LSP III

[billferris@xxxxxxx]

Well, it's taken a couple of days to polish my notes and finish the sketches. 
Below, please see my highlights from Lowell Star Party III, held Sept. 29 to 
Oct. 2 in Flagstaff, Arizona. They're organized night-by-night and I've 
included links to my sketches with each set of notes.
Regards,

Bill in Flagstaff
====================
Thurs., Sept. 29

Pease 1: http://members.aol.com/billferris/pease1.html

My observation combines 452X views with and without an OIII filter in my 
18-inch Obsession. The field width is only about 8 arcminutes across so, just 
the core of the globular is visible. Notice the trapezium grouping of four 
stars near the bottom of my
sketch. This grouping is west of the cluster center by about 2 arcminutes. If 
you scan east of the trapezium to an area just north of the brightest inner 
core region, you'll see a crooked line of four stars. Pease 1 resides about 
halfway between these four stars
and the center of M15. The planetary nebula is indicated by hash marks. It was 
seen with averted vision on consecutive nights (Thursday and Friday) at LSP 
III. Pease 1 appeared as the lone bright star in the area when viewed through 
the OIII filter. This observation was confirmed by several others in attendance 
at the star party.

NGC 7320C: http://members.aol.com/billferris/n7320.html

Looking 3'.5 to the east of NGC 7319 (Stephan's Quintet member), the faint 
galaxy NGC 7320C is teased from the night with averted vision. This 15.5 
magnitude spiral covers a scant 30" diameter patch of sky. No core or structure 
is seen, but just detecting this faint stellar metropolis is quite a catch. A 
14th magnitude GSC star is seen about 1' to the northeast. A fainter pair 
resides about half that distance to the west.

Fri., Sept. 30

NGC 7385 galaxy cluster: http://members.aol.com/billferris/n7385.html

There are few experiences in amateur astronomy as impressive as seeing a bunch 
of galaxies in one field of view. And that is what my drawing presents, seven 
galaxies in one eyepiece field. This galaxy cluster is located in western 
Pegasus about a degree southeast of 4.2 magnitude Xi (46) Pegasi. The cluster 
is anchored by NGC 7385. It's the 12.0 magnitude misty oval adjacent to the 
11th magnitude star near the center of my sketch, which captures 122X and 173X 
views in the big Obsession. NGC 7386 is the other bright galaxy. Its 2' by 1' 
form stands 5'.5 north of NGC 7385 and is aligned roughly
east to west. NGC 7386 is a 12.3 magnitude spiral-type galaxy. NGC 7387 is a 
30" diameter patch of haze, the brightest of three galaxies east of NGC 7385. 
This 14.0 magnitude transitional galaxy is framed by a close pair of stars, 
10.5 magnitude and 11.0 magnitude, 4' to the east-southeast. Another stellar 
pairing, this duo featuring 13th magnitude embers, resides about the same 
distance to the northeast.

Those are the first four members of this septet. Let's look at the remaining 
four. Two reside about 5' south of NGC 7387 Northernmost of this duo is 20" 
diameter NGC 7389. With a blue magnitude of 14.8, this barred spiral probably 
has a visual magnitude of about 14.0. That's not exactly in the bright column, 
but it's not nearly as intimidating as something closer to the 15.0 threshold. 
The 20" diameter smudge 2' to the southeast is NGC 7390. It has a blue 
magnitude of 15.1 and that's faint any way you slice it. The 9.4 magnitude star 
at the southeast field boundary is SAO 108210. The final two galaxies are 
stationed southwest of NGC 7385.
 
The first is NGC 7383, a 1' by 0'.5 nebulous haze with an east-west alignment. 
Two rows of three stars are lined up about 4' to the south. A 12th magnitude 
ember glows 3' to the northeast. And a somewhat fainter star is seen 2'.5 to 
the west-northwest.

That leaves just one galaxy in the cluster to explore. This would be LEDA 
95571. LEDA 95571 (aka GIN 664 and MAC 2249+1129) is seen intermittently with 
averted vision. It's the 10" diameter fuzzy spot 3'.5 west of NGC 7383. It's a 
tiny little galaxy but has a high enough surface brightness that it can be seen 
with substantial magnification in a large aperture scope. A faint star of 
unknown brightness is seen immediately to the southwest.

All seven galaxies have radial velocities in the 7100 to 8300 km per 
second/megaparsec with four of the group moving between 7700 to 7900 km per 
second/megaparsec. This suggest a distance of 360 to 400 million light-years. 
Imagine that, the light we see in our telescopes began its journey to Earth 
millions of years before humanity was even a glimmer in God's eye.

Sat., Oct. 1

Central Star, Ring Nebula: http://members.aol.com/billferris/m57.html

Here's an observation with the 18-inch Obsession at 399X (18-mm SWA w/ 3X 
Barlow and Paracorr). The trio of 14.7, 15.3 and 15.7 magnitude stars (along 
northwest edge of M57) is obvious in this aperture at high magnification. The 
double star positioned 1' north
of the Ring is also seen. Of greatest interest, the central star is held 
consistently with averted vision during extended periods of improved seeing. 
Several observers confirmed this detection of the central star. The Ring nebula 
also shows some interesting detail. The northern and southern arcs appear 
brighter than the lobes at either end of the planetary. These lobes look 
something like ears or handles on a Dutch oven.

Egg Nebula: http://members.aol.com/billferris/pk8061.html

The Egg nebula was first suggested to me as a target by David Sanders. David 
remarked on this object late on the second night of the star party. Saturday 
night, I made a point of tracking down PK 80-6.1. It's an interesting nebula. 
In the 18-inch Obsession at
520X, the Egg nebula appears elongated north-northeast to south-southwest in 
two sections.

The northern nebulous section appears both larger and brighter to the eye. It's 
12" by 10" in size. The southern section may be smaller but it is somewhat more 
interesting. The nebulous patch is just 10" wide at the base and tapers to a 
point about 10" to the
south. It looks like a flame licking at the night sky. A pair of faint stars, 
separated by 21", is seen west of this southern portion of the Egg Nebula. 
Among the 23 stars scattered throughout the field, the brightest is the 12th 
magnitude ember near the northern field boundary. It's just 2'.5 from the Egg.

NGC 7538 "Ghost Nebula": http://members.aol.com/billferris/n7538.html

When Jim Roberts asked if I'd ever seen the Ghost Nebula, I had to admit I'd 
never even heard of it. Roberts was referring to NGC 7538, an emission nebula 
in far eastern Cepheus; just over a degree west of the bright galactic cluster, 
M52. When I looked into the eyepiece of his 20-inch Obsession, I knew exactly 
why he calls this object the Ghost Nebula. And I hope my sketch, which renders 
a 199X view in my 18-inch, captures the experience.

NGC 7538 features two equal brightness, 11th magnitude stars embedded within 
the nebulosity. The separation is about 26" and, together, these glowing embers 
give the appearance of a ghostly set of eyes staring back at you through the 
telescope. The nebula covers roughly a 3'.5 by 2' area of sky with the Lumicon 
UHC filter in place. Megastar indicates a rangier object, a full 10' by 6' in 
extent. The western portion--where the eyes are--is brighter and appears 
somewhat detached from the eastern half. Where the two sections meet, the 
joining seems to be notched or obscured in the
foreground by dark clouds. It's really quite wonderful to view. A pair of faint 
stars combine with the eyes to create a parallelogram asterism. Among the 40 
stars peppering the field, the brightest are 9.7 magnitude and 10.2 magnitude 
sparklers to the northeast of the Ghost Nebula.

NGC 100: http://members.aol.com/billferris/n100.html

NGC 100 is a low surface brightness edge-on galaxy in Pisces. The nearest 
bright star is 2.8 magnitude Algenib, Gamma (88) Pegasi, some 3 degrees to the 
east-northeast. My drawing captures a 199X view in the 18-inch Obsession. NGC 
100 is the 5' by 0'.6 grey smudge near the center of the field. It runs 
northeast to southwest, a 15th magnitude star marking the southwest extreme and 
a couple of equally faint embers at the northeast tip. NGC 100 is somewhat 
fatter in the middle; evidence, perhaps, of a galactic buldge. With a visual 
magnitude of 13.3, this Scd-type spiral has a meager surface brightness of 23.4 
magnitudes per square arcsecond. It's a delicate, gauzy patch even in the big 
Dobsonian. Nineteen stars frame the view.


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