back to: |
back to: |
|
Observing Notes of
Hickson Compact Galaxy Groups
Jump directly to notes on Hickson Groups:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 |
| 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 |
| 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 |
| 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 100 |
The Observers--An Introduction
The following, as the title suggests, is a compilation of notes from various observers:
Steve Gottlieb uses a 17.5 f/4.4 reflector
I, Ray Cash, observes with a 17.5 f/4.5 Newt on an Equatorial Platform.
Tom Osypowski uses a 22-inch F/4.2 on one of his Equatorial Platforms
Rich Jakiel uses a 20-inch F/5.
Bill Ferris uses a 10-inch F/4.5.
Jeff Medkeff observes with a 4.5" and a 10" F/4.5
Randy Muller's scope was a 10" F/5.6 and now--most recently--an 18" f/4.3
Matt Orsie has a 24" F/4.5 reflector.
Michael Geldorp observes with an 8" F/6 Dobsonian.
Michael Gille's scope is a 13.1" F/4.5 reflector. (see his introductory notes below). Michael is the first on this page--perhaps the world?-- to observe at least one component in all 100 Hickson Groups! Congratulations, Michael!
Please submit your observations (and sketches!) to me--I will add them here, and you will get your own color! I am particularly interested in observations from smaller instruments. My complete notes--along with RA, Dec, as well as the time of year I observed these--and observing conditions--can be found on another sub-page of this site.
You may notice the highly technical style of Steve's notes; these are not all done at the eyepiece! Steve spends a lot of time researching, identifying, and otherwise refining his notes at his leisure. I doubt his notes are ever as plebian as my own, however (my favorite descriptive word is "nice"!).
An introductory note from Michael Gille, one of the latest--1/21/00--contributers to these pages:
All observations made with a 13.1 inch f/4.5 Dobsonian : 32mm Plossl (47X ), 6mm Radian (250X)
Some generalizations-
I approached this project wondering just how much I would actually be able to see. I have been pleasantly surprised to find out what I can do from my backyard. Trying to find these groups has caused me to hone my observing skills, not just looking more carefully, but taking steps to properly dark adapt ahead of time. I have had much better results in the early morning hours when I awake in darkness, preparing by red light only. I have also realized the importance of high magnification to darken the skyfield. But the most important thing for me has been to just take the time to carefully observe everything in the field.
For each observation, I prepared a finder chart, a low power eyepiece field chart, and a DSS photo from the Web (15’ of arc square) for high power comparison.
HICKSON 1 At 220x Hickson 1 appears as a faint, fairly small glow, ~40"x20" (probably the interacting "A" and "B" component are merged). At 280x, the cores of "A" and "B" were possibly resolved at moments. A distinctive asterism of four stars is superimposed on the group. The "C" component was barely visible 2.8' due W and was just glimpsed several times as a virtually stellar 16th magnitude object collinear with mag 12 stars 1.0' NE and 2.5' NE. (Steve Gottlieb)
VERY tough! Easy to locate field, however, with aid of distinctive asterisms. Only "A" glimpsed occasionally. As tough an object as Hickson 89 was to see. (Ray Cash)
10/22/00 1030pm Distinctive star patterns make it easy to orient field. 1 faint patch seen …from looking at the picture I am assuming that I am looking at the A and B components combined. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 2 The brightest member of Hickson 2
appeared faint, fairly small, elongated
2:1 N-S. It's nearly collinear with three mag 13-13.5 stars to the W
including a mag 13.5 star 1.4' NW. Also three mag 12-13 stars are on a
line to the N beginning with a mag 12.5 star 2.7' N. Hickson 2A is
situated just 1.4' WNW and appeared faint, very small, round, increasing to
very small bright core. The "B" component has a higher surface brightness
than Hickson 2A. (Steve Gottlieb)
"A" and "B" seen. I thought I glimpsed "C" once. "A" larger but about the same mag as "B." Orion-like belt asterism makes these easy to locate in eyepiece. (Ray Cash)
10/22/00 1045pm A good star field in the high power eyepiece. A and B seen faint but distinct. The C component seen intermittently to their South. (Michael Gille)
UGC 312 Medium sized fairly bright oval extended 2 to 1 with a slightly brighter flattened core. 16th mag star is detected about 15sec W of the center. Averted so more size and it diffuses out away from the core. Brightest member of the Hickson 2 group. Closest companion is Pgc 1914 1min W. PA = 40. Other Names: PGC 1921,MCG 1-2-19,CGCG 409-28,HICK 2A
PGC 1914 Fairly bright oval elongated 1 1/4 to 1 with a very bright core. Diffuse looking. 14th mag star sits 1min NE. A nice string of 13th mag stars sit 4min, 6min, and 8min N respectively. Looks like a miniture Orion's belt. Part of the Hickson 2 group. Closest companion is Ugc 312 1min E. PA = 70. Other Names: MCG 1-2-18,CGCG 409-26,IRAS 00287+0811,HICK 2B,A0028+08,MK 552
UGC 314 Very diffuse, slightly oblong galaxy with an ever so slightly brighter core. Very low surface brightness. Averted shows more size and helps to hold it. A pair of 15th mag stars is 2min N. Part of the Hickson 2 group. Closest companion is Ugc 315 2min E. PA = 50. Other Names: PGC 1927,MCG 1-2-20,CGCG 409-30,HICK 2C
UGC 315 Dim, slight oval that looks like a patch. Extended 1 1/4 to 1 with an ever so slightly brighter core. Averted is needed to hold it. Part of the Hickson 2 group. Closest companion is Ugc 314 2min W. PA = 140. Other Names: PGC 1934,HICK 2D (Matt Orsie)
HICKSON 3 Starhopped to field, but failed to see any "faint fuzzies." Skunked, in otherwords. Along the way rediscovered Ngc 157; a nice 10th mag spiral. (Ray Cash)
PGC 2045 Very very diffuse patch with an ever so slightly brighter core. Averted shows a little more size and an even surface brightness. Part of the Hickson 3 group. Closest companion is Pgc 2043 4min S. PA = 125. Other Names: HICK 3A
PGC 2064 Very very small and dim. Rather bright with a stellar core or it's right next to a 14th mag star (the latter is confirmed). Might be an oval elongated 1 1/4 to 1. 14th mag star lies 3min E. Averted helps to see a glow around the central area. Part of the Hickson 3 group. Closest companion is Pgc 2059 1min W. PA = 130. Other Names: HICK 3B
PGC 2059 Very vary very small dim patch. A glow that comes and goes. Averted helps to see it better. Even surface brightness. Part of the Hickson 3 group. Closest companion is Pgc 2064 1min E.
Other Names: MCG -1-2-32,IRAS 00318-0752,HICK 3C
PGC 2043 Very very very small oval elongated 1 1/4 to 1 with a bright stellar core. Averted shows a haze around the center. Part of the Hickson 3 group. Closest companion is Pgc 2059 4min E. PA = 15. Other Names: HICK 3D (Matt Orsie)
11/17/00 731pm This group took 2 attempts and an extra map. It
has been one of the most difficult groups for me so far. The field stars are faint and
sparsely distributed, and the components are spread out as well. I could only pick out 2
components with certainty. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 4 Hickson 4A appears faint, fairly small, round, 35" diameter. Increases to a small, bright core and stellar nucleus with direct vision. On a couple of moments an extremely faint spot (Hickson 4c) was suspected 1.3' NNE. This sighting was verified at 280x, although still required averted vision to glimpse as a 16th magnitude 10" knot. (Steve Gottlieb)
Featureless "blotch" ("A"). (Nice SB spiral in photo). NOTHING else in field--confirmed sighting with an asterism just outside the field. (Ray Cash)
PGC 2047 Medium sized and very bright oval extended 1 1/4 to 1 with a very bright stellar core. Diffuses out away from the center. Averted does not help. Brightest member of the Hickson 4 group. Closest companion is Pgc 2040 1min W. PA = 115. Other Names: ESO 540-1,MCG -4-2-18,IRAS 00317-2142,HICK 4A
PGC 2046 Very very small oval elongated 1 1/2 to 1 with an ever so slightly brighter core. Very diffuse looking. Part of the Hickson 4 group. Closest companion is Pgc 2057 30sec SE. PA = 135. Other Names: ESO 540-2,MCG -4-2-19,HICK 4B
PGC 2051 Very very small but rather bright round glow. Seems to have a star embedded in the center. Part of the Hickson 4 group. Closest companion is Pgc 2047 2min S. Other Names: HICK 4C
PGC 2057 Very very small, diffuse patch. Averted shows a little more size and helps to hold it. Part of the Hickson 4 group. Closest companion is Pgc 2046 30sec NW. Other Names: HICK 4D
PGC 2040 Very very very small, dim patch. May be an oval. Has an ever so slightly brighter core. Comes and goes with averted. Part of the Hickson 4 group. Closest companion is Pgc 2047 1min E. PA = 40. Other Names: HICK 4E (Matt Orsie)
11/20/00 936pm The star field was a little difficult to match
up at first. At high power I could just detect the brightest component (a pretty spiral in
the DSS photo) as a small oval patch with averted vision. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 5 Hickson 5A is the brighter member of a very
close double system. It
appears faint, small, elongated SSW-NNE, irregular appearance. A very
small companion is just visible at the S edge (Hickson 5B). (Steve Gottlieb)
Looked like one mag 13 spiral gal. Could not "bust apart" . A very tight group, indeed. (Ray Cash)
10/22/00 1056pm I could find only 1 fairly faint round patch in the field. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 6 Only the "A" component was viewed and appeared very faint, small, elongated 3:2 NW-SE, 30"x20", low even surface brightness. Viewed at 220x and 280x (the "b" and "c" components are within 1' preceding). Located 37' N of NGC 191. (Steve Gottlieb)
Very, VERY faint--only a dim glow with averted vision--and only then if you know exactly where to look. (Ray Cash)
11/17/00 715pm A triangular pattern of faint stars in the center of the high power field helps you zoom in. The group is seen as a faint elongated patch. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 7 All four members of the quartet viewed. The brightest (NGC 192) is
moderately bright, fairly small, very elongated NNW-SSE, bright core.
Hickson 7B (N196) lies 3' N and appears fairly faint, very small, round,
with a small bright core. Forms a very close pair with Hickson 7D (NGC
197) just 1' SSE which is just an extremely faint and small knot. The
largest member is Hickson 7C (NGC 201) which appears faint, moderately
large, with a fairly low even surface brightness, slightly elongated NW-SE. (Steve
Gottlieb)
Nice, widely spaced group. Three out of four seen: Three different sizes; one eliptical, one 3/4 edge-on, one large face-on. All have Ngc #'s (which tells you they are bright for a Hickson Group). (Ray Cash)
10/22/00 1113pm Wow! After seeing a few of the really faint ones it is nice to run across this nice group. 3 components seen directly. The 4th component (the small elliptical) seen intermittently. The face-on spiral I thought would have a low surface brightness judging from the DSS photo but I observed it fairly easily. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 8 The brightest member of Hickson 8 was picked up at 220x 2.1' NW of a mag 13.5 star. Appears very faint, fairly small, irregular, ~0.8' in diameter. There is a "clumpiness" to the image, which gives impression that one or more faint nearby companions may be just below visibility. At 280x, slightly elongated, low even surface brightness. Or two extremely faint companions (b or c) were highly suspected off the N side. (Steve Gottlieb)
10/22/00 1124pm I observed the group as a "clumpy" faint patch. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 9 The "A" component of Hickson 9 was viewed at 220x and appeared very faint, very small, round, 20"-25" diameter, no concentration. A mag 14.5 star is close preceding [30" from center]. There are four mag 10-11 stars in the field including a mag 11 star 1.4' SW. No other members seen. (Steve Gottlieb)
11/20/00 1003pm Initally it took a little longer than normal to orient, then it was a snap. There is a triangle of stars towards the middle of the low power field to lead you in. the 3 components in the middle of the high power field appear as 1 elongated patch, and one small round patch N of the first. There is a relatively bright edge-on over to the NE. Nice group, even if it is faint. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 10 One of the brighter Hickson groups. Hickson
10A (NGC 536) is moderately
bright, slightly elongated WSW-ENE. A mag 13 star is involved at the N
edge. Hickson 10B (NGC 529) located 8.5' W is also moderately bright,
fairly small, with a bright core. Hickson 10C (NGC 531) is faint, fairly
small, oval SW-NE, fairly small. A mag 12 star is just off the NE end 1.0'
from center. Forms a 3' pair with Hickson 10D (N542) which is also faint,
diffuse, slightly elongated. (Steve Gottlieb)
Nice group. All four seen. "A, B and C" fill up 7 Nag field--"D" too; averted vision required for this one, though. (Ray Cash)
12-29-99 8:30pm
A really pretty starfield at low power. At 250X, I found NGC 529 and 536 right away.
Eventually I got the last two. NGC 542 was the toughest. (Michael Gille).
Hickson 10, Andromeda, 01 26.4 +34.7
At 87x, this is a spectacular group of 4 galaxies! NGC 542 was
difficult at this magnification.
NGC 536: At 226x, very bright, relatively large, oval, concentrated
center. There seems to be a stellar feature a few arcseconds N of the
central condensation. Thinking it might be a supernova, I later
checked out a Digital Sky Survey image of this object, and saw that
the star is indeed there.
NGC 531: Less oval than 536, less bright and more diffuse.
NGC 529: Fairly bright, round, very concentrated center.
NGC 542: Extremely faint, intermittent ghostly presence. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 11 The brightest member of Hickson 11 was easily picked up at 220x. Appeared faint, moderately large, elongated 4:3 ~N-S, 1.2'x0.9', broad concentration with no well-defined core. Located at the midpoint of a mag 12.5 star 1.4' N and mag 13.5 star 1.3' S. No other members of Hickson 11 were seen. (Steve Gottlieb)
Very difficult. Only "A" seen with certainty--though I thought I glimpsed "B" once or twice. Faint oval glow ("A") located between two stars. (Ray Cash)
11/20/00 1027pm Easy to orient field. A face-on spiral seen as a very dim round patch with direct vision. A 2nd component seen with averted vision to the South. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 12 M-01-04-052 = Hickson 12a. very faint, small, slightly elongated, ~20" diameter, very small brighter core. Nearly collinear with two mag 11/13 stars 6' SW and 3' SW, respectively. This galaxy is the brightest and only one picked up in Hickson 12. Best viewed at 280x. While searching for this galaxy I picked up M-01-04-040 and its two very faint companions (Steve Gottlieb)
11/17/00 745pm A bright pair of stars in the center of the field makes ID fast. The brightest component is seen directly, 1 other is seen N of the first with averted vision. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 13 M-01-05-002 = Hickson 13a. the brightest member of Hickson 13 was not seen with confidence at 220x (exact position examined). At 280x, this object momentarily popped into view 1.0' SSE of a mag 15.5 star (not in GSC) and 2' NW of a mag 12.5 star. Appeared too faint to note any details or elongation but the detection was repeated several times. (Steve Gottlieb)
Field finally found. With great difficulty, "A" finally glimpsed with averted vision. A small, very dim blur between stars in a triangle asterism. (Ray Cash)
11/15/00 755pm I found this one fast …the faint triangle in the middle of the field helps you to zero in. I could detect 2 faint elongated patches – 1 direct, 1 with averted vision. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 14 M-01-06-020 = Hickson 14a. the brightest of two galaxies viewed in Hickson 14 appears faint, fairly small, elongated 4:3 NNW-SSE, 0.7'x0.5', weak concentration. Easy to located as situated between two mag 8.5/9.5 stars 2.9' NNE and 3.6' S. Forms a pair with M-01-06-022 = Hickson 14b 1.7' SSE. IC 184 lies 13' N. M-01-06-022 = Hickson 14b. very faint, small, elongated 5:2 N-S, 0.6'x0.25'. Located 2' NNE of a mag 10 star which detracts from viewing.
"A, B, C" seen with progressive difficulty. Between two stars. All were invisible until I relaxed my eyes; then they began to pop into view, one by one. Cool. (Ray Cash)
11/15/00 814pm A bright pair of stars in the center of the field made this one a snap too. 3 components seen, 2 big, 1 small, all faint and seen with averted vision. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 15 Five of the six members of Hickson 15 were visible at 280x. The "A" component was faint, elongated 3:2 NW-SE, 35"x25", weak concentration. Forms the N vertex of a triangle with two mag 13 stars 1.2' S and 1.8' SSW. Hickson 15B lies 5.7' SW and appeared faint, round, 30" diameter, weak even concentration to a faint, nearly stellar nucleus. Interestingly, the "C" component was probably the brightest of five viewed although this object was still a faint, small spot of 40" diameter. Hickson 15D was a difficult object appearing extremely faint, round, 20" diameter and situated 25" SE of a mag 14.5-15 star. This was the faintest of five viewed and it lies 1.9' NNW of Hickson 15c (brightest component?). The final member, 15E, was very faint, round, 20" diameter and the second faintest in the quintet. Located 1.0' NE of a mag 13.5 star. (Steve Gottlieb)
Five of six seen. "A" only a little brighter than the rest. "D" definitely second in brightness. (Ray Cash)
10/22/00 1143pm A difficult but cool group. 5 components seen – a chain of faint stars and some faint doubles helped to pick them out. All seen as small faint round patches, 2 seen with averted vision steadily and the other 3 seen intermittently. (Michael Gille)
Hickson 15, Cetus, 02 07.9 +02.2
At 87x, this 6 member group shows as a lumpy uneveness and elusive
glow. At higher power, I was able to see 5 of these, and while they
make a nice group, they are very dim and unimpressive.
UGC 1624: At 226x, oval, fairly dim and small, diffuse, no stellar
center
UGC 1620: Slightly dimmer, more concentrated than UGC 1624
UGC 1617: Somewhat fainter, less concentrated center, oval
MCG +00-06-033: Very faint diffuse blob
UGC 1618: Very faint oval mass (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 16 This bright quartet consists of Hickson 16A
(NGC 835), a moderately bright,
small, round galaxy with a bright core. Forms a close pair with NGC 833
(Hickson 16B) 1.0' W which is a moderately bright edge-on oriented ~E-W
with a bright core. The "D" component (NGC 839) is also a moderately
bright edge-on oriented ~E-W and has a similar appearance to NGC 833.
Finally, Hickson 16C (NGC 838) is fairly faint, slightly elongated, with a
very small bright core and possibly a stellar nucleus. (Steve Gottlieb)
Bright gals! Four of them. Brighter centers in all. Nice group. (Ray Cash)
12/29/99 7:30pm
A little tough, more skyglow then I’d like. Saw all 4 components distinctly. NGC 839
was the most difficult for me. (Michael Gille).
Hickson 16, Cetus, 02 09.4 -10.1
At 87x, this 4 member group is gorgeous! The bright galaxies are
arrayed in a semicircle around a mag 9.5 double star (HJ 2116),
although I did not notice the duplicity. This is a very nice, bright
group. It should be relatively easy in a 10" scope, and NGC 835 is
probably even visible from my backyard.
NGC 835: At 226x, it was oval with a strong central concentration.
NGC 833: Almost touching NGC 835, much fainter, but still very
bright. Much less concentrated in center.
NGC 838: About the same brightness as NGC 833, slightly fainter, but
more concentrated in center than NGC 833.
NGC 839: Bigger, but fainter and more diffuse than NGC 838. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 17 11/20/00 1050pm I could detect in the center of the high power
field an extremely faint patch with averted vision, difficult. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 18 Great difficulty finding field; even greater difficulty glimpsing "A." Very tough. (Ray Cash)
HCG 18 in Aries is also known as Arp 258, VV 143 and UGC
2140. Arp
classified this object as an "Irregular clump" and the photographic
appearance is a chaotic chain of length 1.5' consisting of several
interacting galaxies (HCG 18b, c and d). All I could detect of this chain
was an extremely low surface brightness, elongated glow. Interestingly,
the brightest member in the group is a single galaxy (infrared source)
about 1.5' SE of the chain and is probably a background object based on its
radial velocity (10,000 km/sec). This object also required averted vision
to glimpse as a 30"x20" oval, oriented NW-SE in the direction of a mag 13
star close SE. (Steve Gottlieb)
10/22/00 1159pm A good triangular star pattern to orient with. 2 faint components seen quite close to a bright field star, the furthest from the star being elongated. These two were seen with averted vision. The 3rd and brightest component was near the edge of the high power field and to the NW of the other 2. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 19 "A" seen. "C" seen with great difficulty--no sign of B or D. (Ray Cash)
After dropping 30 degrees in declination, next up was HCG
19 in Cetus which
consists of a 14th magnitude elliptical and three fainter distorted
spirals. The brightest member was easily picked at 100x as a hazy mag 13.5
"star" and 220x easily showed a 20" high surface brightness core surrounded
by a 50"x30" halo elongated SW-NE. Much more difficult was HCG 19b which
appeared using averted vision as a tiny streak, ~25"x10", elongated in the
direction of HCG 19a. (Steve Gottlieb)
11/20/00 1114pm This is a nice group, easy to orient and find.
3 components seen, two of them close together and seen as an elongated patch, seen as
separate intermittently. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 20 11/20/00 1103pm The field is easy to orient. There is a extremely faint patch visible in the high power field with averted vision, very difficult. It is seen close to and just East of the end of a chain of 3 faint stars. Once or twice I saw a brighter condensation in the patch. I am not sure if that was a partially resolved component or a faint field star superimposed on the patch. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 21 All five NGC galaxies in this group were
easily visible. Hickson 21A (NGC 1099) is faint, fairly small, very elongated 3:1 SSW-NNE,
1.5'x0.5', no
concentration. Hickson 21B (NGC 1100), located 4.5' ENE is also faint,
fairly small, elongated 5:2 WSW-ENE, weak concentration. A mag 14 star is
off the SE side 1.7' from the center and a mag 13 star is 2.3' NNE. About
9' N is pair of faint galaxies; NGC 1091 = Hickson 21E and NGC 1092 =
Hickson 21D. The "D" component is faint, small, round, 40" diameter,
increasing to a bright core. NGC 1091 is just 1.8' WNW and appears very
faint and small, elongated 4:3 WSW-ENE, 0.7'x0.5', no concentration. A mag
11.5 star is 2.4' NNW of center. Finally the most westerly member, NGC
1098 = Hickson 21C is fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2 E-W,
1.2'x0.8'. Contains a small bright core and a stellar nucleus with direct
vision. Located 5.2' SSW of mag 8.1 SAO 148582 (Steve Gottlieb)
All five seen easily; barely fit into 7 Nagler field. Mostly ellipticals, with one spiral. (Ray Cash)
NGC 1099 is a galaxy in Eridanus. It was observed from Summit Point, WV on Oct 24, 1998 at 01:06 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 12mm Nagler (24") + Paracorr = 262x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.0, pretty turbulent and extremely clear. NGC 1099 is a magnitude 13.0 object measuring 2.5 min across and is located at RA = 2h 45m 18s, DEC = -17° 43'. Rather small and bright oval with a 2 to 1 elongation. Has a slightly brighter core. PA = 10. Part of the Ngc 1098 group. Ngc 1098 is 6min W, Ngc 1100 is 4min E, Ngc 1092 is 10min N, and Ngc 1091 is 10min N. Hickson 21A. NGC 1100 is a galaxy in Eridanus. It was observed from Summit Point, WV on Oct 24, 1998 at 01:07 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 12mm Nagler (24") + Paracorr = 262x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.0, pretty turbulent and extremely clear. NGC 1100 is a magnitude 13.0 object located at RA 2h 45m 36s, DEC -17° 41'. Medium sized rather bright oval extended 3 to 1 with a slightly brighter core. 13th mag star is 3min NE. 14th mag is 2min SE. Averted vision shows more size. PA = 60. Part of the Ngc 1098 group. Ngc 1098 is 10min W, Ngc 1099 is 4min W, Ngc 1092 is 10min NNW, and Ngc 1091 is 10min NNW. Hickson 21B. NGC 1098 is a galaxy in Eridanus. It was observed from Summit Point, WV on Oct 24, 1998 at 01:06 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 12mm Nagler (24") + Paracorr = 262x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.0, pretty turbulent and extremely clear. NGC 1098 is a magnitude 14.0 object measuring 1.6 min across and is located at RA = 2h 44m 54s, DEC = -17° 38'. Medium sized rather bright oval elongated 1 1/2 to 1 with a brighter core. 10th mag star is 6min N. 13th mag star is 3min SE. 12th mag star is 4min W. PA = 50. Part of the Ngc 1098 group. Ngc 1099 is 6min E, Ngc 1100 is 10min E, Ngc 1092 is 10min NE, and Ngc 1091 is 10min NE. Hickson 21C. NGC 1092 is a galaxy in Eridanus. It was observed from Summit Point, WV on Oct 24, 1998 at 01:08 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 12mm Nagler (24") + Paracorr = 262x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.0, pretty turbulent and extremely clear. NGC 1092 is a magnitude 14.0 object measuring 1 min across and is located at RA = 2h 45m 42s, DEC = -17° 32'. Small bright oval elongated 1 1/2 to 1 with a much brighter core. Averted shows more size. PA = 60. Part of the Ngc 1098 group. Ngc 1098 is 10min SW, Ngc 1100 is 10min SSE, Ngc 1099 is 10min S, and Ngc 1091 is 2min W. Hickson 21D. NGC 1091 is a galaxy in Eridanus. It was observed from Summit Point, WV on Oct 24, 1998 at 01:08 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 12mm Nagler (24") + Paracorr = 262x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.0, pretty turbulent and extremely clear. NGC 1091 is a magnitude 14.1 object measuring 1.2 min across and is located at RA = 2h 45m 24s, DEC = -17° 33'. Small oval elongated 2 to 1 with a slightly brighter core. 6min WNW of a 9th mag star. PA = 70. Part of the Ngc 1098 group. Ngc 1098 is 10min SW, Ngc 1100 is 10min SE, Ngc 1092 is 2min E, and Ngc 1099 is 10min S. Hickson 21E. (Matt Orsie)
1/7/00 8:45pm
I had to work at it to get all 5 components. The DSS photos are indispensable. NGC
1098,1099,1100 seen easily. NGC 1091 and 1092 were tough, but I could just pull them out
from the sky background. I tend to get more skyglow in the NE and SW portions of the sky
making this one more difficult than it should have been. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 22 This group consists of one moderately bright
member (NGC 1199) and four
extremely faint members (NGC 1189 through 1192). The "A" component is
moderately bright, fairly small, oval oriented 4:3 SSW-NNE, broadly
concentrated halo with a small bright core. A mag 11 star lies 2.8' NE.
Nearby are NGC 1190 4.1' SW, NGC 1191 4.6' SSW, NGC 1189 3.4' W and NGC
1192 4.0' S. The four members of this quartet are generally featureless
spots with the exception of Hickson 22B which is elongated 2:1 E-W. (Steve Gottlieb)
"A" bright elliptical--seen quite easily. "B" very difficult; no others seen. (Ray Cash)
NGC 1199 is a galaxy in Eridanus. It was observed from Bear Branch Nature Ctr, Westminster on Feb 14, 1998 at 08:43 pm using the 24" f/4.5 with a 9mm Nagler (24") = 305x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 5.0, steady and clear. NGC 1199 is a magnitude 11.5 object measuring 2.2 min across and is located at RA = 3h 3m 36s, DEC = -15° 37'. Very bright medium sized with a gradual brightening towards the center. Slightly oval elongated 1 1/2 to 1 with a much brighter core. PA = 30. Centerpiece of the 1199 group. Ngc 1189 is 4min W, Ngc 1190 is 5min SW, Ngc 1191/1192 are 5min S and 1188 is 8min N in the same field. Hickson 22A. H800 NGC 1190 is a galaxy in Eridanus. It was observed from Michaux State Forest, PA on Feb 15, 1998 at 08:20 pm using the 24" f/4.5 with a 9mm Nagler (24") = 305x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 5.5, considerably steady and clear. NGC 1190 is a magnitude 15.0 object measuring 1.3 min across and is located at RA = 3h 3m 30s, DEC = -15° 39'. Small, faint oval elongated 2 to 1 with a slightly brighter core. PA = 90. Part of the Ngc 1199 group. Ngc 1191/1192 are 2min SE with Ngc 1189 2min N, Ngc 1199 4min NE, and Ngc 1188 11min NNE in the same field. Hickson 22B. NGC 1189 is a galaxy in Eridanus. It was observed from Summit Point, WV on Oct 24, 1998 at 01:40 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 9mm Nagler (24") + Paracorr = 349x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.0, pretty turbulent and extremely clear. NGC 1189 is a magnitude 14.0 object measuring 1.7 min across and is located at RA = 3h 3m 24s, DEC = -15° 37'. Rather faint oval elongated 2 to 1 with a diffuse look and an even surface brightness. Averted show a little more size. PA = 75. Part of the 1199 group. Ngc 1189 is 3min E, Ngc 1190 is 2min S, Ngc 1191/1192 are 4min SSE and 1188 is 9min NE in the same field. Hickson 22C. NGC 1191 is a galaxy in Eridanus. It was observed from Michaux State Forest, PA on Feb 15, 1998 at 08:21 pm using the 24" f/4.5 with a 9mm Nagler (24") = 305x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 5.5, considerably steady and clear. NGC 1191 is a magnitude 15.0 object located at RA 3h 3m 36s, DEC -15° 40'. Very small, slightly elongated oval with a slightly brighter middle. PA = 80. Part of the Ngc 1199 group. Ngc 1192 is 1min E, Ngc 1190 is 2min NW, Ngc 1189 is 4min NW, Ngc 1199 is 5min N, and Ngc 1188 is 12min N in the same field. Hickson 22D. NGC 1192 is a galaxy in Eridanus. It was observed from Michaux State Forest, PA on Feb 15, 1998 at 08:24 pm using the 24" f/4.5 with a 9mm Nagler (24") = 305x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 5.5, considerably steady and clear. NGC 1192 is a magnitude 15.0 object located at RA 3h 3m 42s, DEC -15° 40'. Very small, slightly elongated oval with a slightly brighter middle. PA = 95. Part of the Ngc 1199 group. Ngc 1191 is 1min W, Ngc 1190 is 2min NW, Ngc 1189 is 4min NW, Ngc 1199 is 4min N, and Ngc 1188 is 11min N in the same field. Hickson 22E. (Matt Orsie)
2/2/00 7:47pm The brightest component (NGC 1199) was easy and bright. The others looked like they would be easy as well. As it turned out I could only see NGC 1191. Lots of skyglow in the SW as usual. I will try this one again sometime from a darker sky site. I bet it looks real nice under the right conditions. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 23 This trio of spirals consists of NGC 1214
("A"), NGC 1215 ("B") and NGC
1216 ("C"). The "A" component appears faint, very small, elongated 2:1
SW-NE, small bright core, stellar nucleus. A mag 11 star is 2.7' N. The
"B" component lies 4' SE and appears faint, small, elongated 2:1 SW-NE with
a well defined small bright core and faint extensions. An additional 2' SE
is the faintest component "C" which was very faint, extremely small with a
stellar nucleus or faint star superimposed. The extensions of this edge-on
are oriented SW-NE and difficult to view. (Steve Gottlieb)
Lovely little group! Faint, though well spaced group. Counted 4 out of 5, I think. "A" was an edge-on; "B" was a 3/4 tilted spiral. (Ray Cash)
11/7/00 213am Found the field quickly. The brightest component was the larger edge-on. I saw two other components with averted vision, the 3 making a roughly equilateral triangle. (Michael Gille)
Hickson 23, Eridanus, 03 06.9 -09.5
This is a group of 5 galaxies, of which I was able to see 3.
NGC 1214: At 226x, round, fairly bright, smaller than nearby
non-member NGC 1208, very concentrated center.
NGC 1215: "Large" (comparitively), diffuse, stellar center.
NGC 1216: Very small, stellar center. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 24 10/29/00 255am A difficult star field…not many and all pretty faint. When I finally got things centered, I could detect one small very faint patch with averted vision. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 25 U02690 = Hickson 25a. At 220x the "A" component of Hickson 25 is located just 1.1'following a mag 12 star and is a bit more difficult to view than Hickson 25b which lies 4' NNE. Appears extremely faint, very small, elongated 3:2 or 2:1 NNW-SSE, ~25"x15". Both members of Hickson 25 were easier to view at 280x. U02691 = Hickson 25b. the "B" component of Hickson 25 was picked up first at 220x. Appeared very faint, small, slightly elongated N-S, 25"x20", no noticeable concentration. (Steve Gottlieb)
10/8/00 4:45am. I could discern two faint oval patches. One was slightly brighter than the other. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 26 11/20/00 1126pm I found the field pretty quickly. I saw the brightest component as a extremely elongated very faint patch. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 27 10/29/00 320am Starfield easy to orient, both low and high power fields. the components are very small on the DSS photo, almost stellar. I was able to see 2 of these intermittently with averted vision.
I referred to the Hickson list later and found that it said the brightest component was +15.7. Before I submit this observation I want to see if I can repeat it. (See below)
11/7/00 155am Hickson 27 (Confirming Observation)
I reobserved the field and in addition the my regular charts I added a magnitude comparison chart printed from Deep Space. I was able to again detect two small components in the same positions as the first observation by averted vision. I estimated the magnitudes as approximately +15.2, and +15.3 respectively. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 28 11/7/00 240am A small distinctive asterism towards the SE of the low power field made it easy to orient the field. The group was seen as a very dim irregular clump. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 29 At 280x, the brightest
member of HCG 29 was a marginal object glimpsed as an
extremely faint 10" knot just 20" NE of a mag 12.5 star. Located 8' ENE of
mag 8 SAO 195129. No other members were seen and although the sighting was
confirmed, this galaxy was only glimpsed for moments at a time. (Steve Gottlieb 12/30/99)
11/20/00 1135pm A naked eye star in Eridanus in the low power field zeroes you in immediately. The group is seen as a very faint elongated patch tailing off of the right star of a pair in the high power field. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 30 Hickson 30a appears fairly faint, elongated 5:3 NW-SE, 1.0’x0.6’, brighter core. Located 40" NW of a mag 11 star. Hickson 30b appears similar to 30a located 3.6’ NW (just slightly fainter and similar dimensions). Faint, elongated 5:3 SSW-NNE, 0.9’x0.5’. A mag 12 star lies 1.3’ S (nearly collinear with the major axis). An easy mag 13-14 triple staar (sep 15" and 28") lies 2’ following. Hickson 30c was a threshhold object at 220x. No details visible but appeared extremely round, 10" diameter. Hickson 30d was only suspected a couple of times 2’ NE of 30b. (Steve Gottlieb)
An easy star hop in Eridanus. Three very nice elongated Ngc galaxies en route (N 1618, 1622, 1625). A (mag 12.9) and B easily seen, C and D were only intermittingly glimpsed. (Ray Cash)
1/28/00 9:00pm It took more time than I had expected to work on this one. Skyglow was a problem due to snow cover. Also, the starfield is richer than groups I have found up to this point. It took more time to find distinct patterns to orient myself. Another addition to the learning process. Once I got there though the brightest 2 components were visible pretty much right away. The 4 galaxies are in a rectangular configuration with the 2 brightest on the southern side. The remaining 2 were picked out with some difficulty. Once or twice I was able to hold all 4 in sight at the same time. (Michael Gille)
Hickson 30, Eridanus, 04 36.3 -02.8
I was able to see 3 out of the 4 members of this group.
MCG +00-12-051: At 226x, a fairly bright oval with a concentrated
center, right next to a star.
MCG +00-12-054: Slightly dimmer than MCG +00-12-051, round and very
concentrated in the center.
PGC 15624: Extremely faint. Visible only intermittently. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 31 (NGC 1741) Brightest of three in Hickson 31 (merged with 31c). Fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 E-W after extrended viewing, bright core. Located 0.9’ NW of a mag 12 star. N1741 has an irregular appearance and is intermitttently resolved with a faint knot = 31c visible with concentration at the W end. IC 399 is 2.3’ SE but not a member of the group. At moments 31a seemed resolved at the W end. Located just 1’ NW of a mag 12 star. 31b was a threshhold object, visible with averted vision only 40" SW of N1741. No details visible and elongation not seen. ( Steve Gottlieb)
A very tight, small group. Some irregularity seen. Tried to bust apart with 7mm Nag and 4.8 mm Nag. The7mm (286x) gave the best view, but no clean separations. Mag: 12.5 (Ray Cash)
2/21/00 8:00pm The DSS photo looks pretty interesting on this one… however I got confused as to whether the central component is one or two objects. Oh well anyway the main object was distinct at high power as an irregularly shaped dim patch. second component seen SE of main component, with a star inbetween them. Third even fainter component seen only intermittently N of the first two. (Michael Gille)
Hickson 31, Eridanus, 05 01.6 -04.3
At 87x, this very tightly packed 4 member group blended into one glow
near a star. Ultimately, I was able to see only one member at high
power.
NGC 1741: At 301x, I still only viewed the combined light of NGC
1741a, 1741b and PGC 16573. It was a strange-looking irregular diffuse
glow. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 32 The brightest member of Hickson 32 appears extremely faint and small, round, 15" diameter. Located just 23" E of a mage 13.5 star. Visible about 40% of time with averted vision. (Steve Gottlieb)
Very tough. "A" (mag. 13.8) seen only, and then with averted vision. (Ray Cash)
2/29/00 7:30pm. The low power field was easier to orient than I first thought. It took me a long look to detect anything. Eventually, I could make out the brightest component and barely detected a second component flickering in and out of view. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 33 Skunked. Did not find star field. Brightest member is mag 15.4; may not be possible with my scope. (Ray Cash)
2/29/00 8:10pm. My first official skunking (for now). I thought I saw something in the expected position, however could not completely reconcile the DSS photo with the eyepiece field chart I made. I will try again after making a better chart.(SEE 3/3/00 NOTES) (Michael Gille)
3/3/00 8:15pm. I refined my eyepiece field chart and matched it up with the DSS photo. Went out tonight and there is a definite dim patch at the expected position. Unskunked. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 34 Hickson 34a is faint, very small, round, 20" diameter, very faint stellar nucleus. Located 1’ E of a mage 13.5 star. No other members of Hickson 34 seen. (Steve Gottlieb)
An easy star hop. Almost direct vision (mag 14.2). A round, even blur ( "A"). (Ray Cash)
2/29/00 7:50pm. A zigzag chain of 4 stars in the low power field made it easy to zero in on the field. I could see the main component faint but distinctly. No other components visible. (Michael Gille)
NGC 1875 is a galaxy in Orion. It was observed from Mt. Meadows, WVA on Nov 29, 1998 at 03:20 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 7mm Nagler (24") + Paracorr = 448x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.0, somewhat turbulent and very clear. NGC 1875 is a magnitude 15.0 object measuring 48 sec across and is located at RA = 5h 21m 48s, DEC = 6° 41'. Dim oval patch with an even surface brightness. Elongated 1 1/4 to 1. PA = 40. 13th mag star lies 1min W. Brightest of the Hickson 34 grouping. Companions 34C, 34B lie 1min SE. Hickson 34A. PGC 17176 is a galaxy in Orion. It was observed from Mt. Meadows, WVA on Nov 29, 1998 at 03:21 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 7mm Nagler (24") + Paracorr = 448x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.0, somewhat turbulent and very clear. PGC 17176 is a magnitude 17.5 object measuring 24 sec across and is located at RA = 5h 21m 50s, DEC = 6° 40' 36". Very small patch that is only seen with averted vision during times of steady seeing. It's companion Hickson 34C almost seems attached to the NW. 34A lies 1min NW. Hickson 34B. PGC 17175 is a galaxy in Orion. It was observed from Mt. Meadows, WVA on Nov 29, 1998 at 03:21 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 7mm Nagler (24") + Paracorr = 448x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.0, somewhat turbulent and very clear. PGC 17175 is a magnitude 17.3 object measuring 24 sec across and is located at RA = 5h 21m 49s, DEC = 6° 40' 55". Very small patch that is only seen with averted vision during times of steady seeing. It's companion Hickson 34B almost seems attached to the SE and is just as difficult to glimpse. 34A lies 1min NW. Hickson 34C. (Matt Orsie)
HICKSON 35 At first appearance using 220x, a single faint, round glow of about 20" diameter was noticed. With concentration two close galaxies were resolved oriented N-S [separation 42" between centers]. The southern galaxy (Hickson 35b) was the object picked up initially and is just S of a line connecting a mag 9.5 star 3.5' SW and a mag 10.5 star 5.5' NE. The fainter member (Hickson 35a) is very small, round and required averted vision. On Digitized Sky Survey, this galaxy is a thin edge-on oriented NNW-SSE, so only the core was viewed. It was difficult to hold both galaxies. (Steve Gottlieb)
Very tough! This one
skunked me last year (Feb, '97). Faint blur on the edge of averted
"imagination," once or twice busted two small cores (stellar-like) apart. Mag
15.1 (Ray Cash)
MCG +8-16-28 is a galaxy in Lynx.
2/29/00 8:30pm. I saw a dim patch in the expected position in the field. The patch was
uneven in brightness. (Michael Gille)
Only three brightest members were visible out of 6.
MCG+8-16-28 (HCG 35A)
PGC 24597 (HCG 35B)
PGC 24596 (HCG 35C)
All very ghostly, very diffuse, barely there. They form a small
curve. At 301x, could never hold all 3 at same time. They
would come and go in pairs. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 36 The only member of Hickson 36a viewed appeared faint, moderately large, elongated ~3:1 NNW-SSE, 1.4'x0.4'. Contains a brighter core with faint tapering extensions. View hampered by a mag 9 star (SAO 98393) just 1.8' NE. (Steve Gottlieb)
Skunked. Could not ID star field,
but this one SHOULD be possible; brightest member is IC 528 (Ray Cash)
2/2/00 8:30pm A pair of stars in the middle of the low power field made it easy to get to the high power field. The brightest component forms an equilateral triangle with this star pair, to the SW. I could see it faintly but distinctly. I could see one other component intermittently, sitting almost halfway between the "A" component and the brighter of the stars in the pair. (Michael Gille)
Only brightest member
was visible out of 4.
IC 528 (HCG 36A): 301x; Faint, but easy to see. Slightly concentrated
in center. Diffuse. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 37 N2783 (37a) is brightest of three galaxies visible. Fairly faint , fairly small, elongated 3:2 NNW-SSE, bright core. Two mag 9.5-10 stars lie 1.4’ SW and 2.2’ SSW. 37b (U04856) appears very faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 or 3:1 E-W (difficult to determine due to very low surface brightness arms). Only core noticed at first glance, extensions require averted vision to see well. Located 1.5’ WNW of 31a. 37c was at the threshhold of visibility and required averted vision to glimpse at moments. Appeared extremely faint, round, 10" diameter. Located just 0.6’ NW of 37a (in outer halo on photos) and 1’ following 37b. (Steve Gottlieb)
Nice group, though only A and B sighted, a possible D sighting, no C found. (Ray Cash)
2/13/00 3:49am Snow cover receding, the sky is noticeably darker than the last Hickson Group observation. Very easy to orient the low power starfield. The brightest component was seen immediately at high power. I expected the edge-on component to be easier to see.The central portion of it was the only part easily held in sight. The small component between these 2 was seen intermittently, the small component N of this grouping was glimpsed with great difficulty only once. There are 2 other galaxies on the DSS photo, neither one was seen.
The low power field also contains NGC 2789 towards the SE edge. (Michael Gille)
Hickson 37, Cancer, 09 13.7 +30.0
Only the brightest member of this group of 5 galaxies was obvious at
87x. Even using 226x, only two of the members were visible.
NGC 2783a: At 226x, easy to see. Very concentrated center, almost
stellar. Fairly bright and round.
NGC 2783b: Very faint and very elongated. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 38 Hickson 38a appears extremely faint, small, low surface brightness, 20" diameter (the central region). At moments extremely faint extensions are visible oriented NNW-SSE increasing the diameter to about 45". Located 2.5’ SW of the brighter interacting pair 39b/c (U05044). 35b appears as an unresolved pair with 39c, separation between centers only 15". 38c is the fainter eastern component. Both objects appear as a single faint glow. A mag 13 star is located 30" NW. Located 7’ SSE of mag 7.9 SAO 98580. Interestingly, 38a is a more difficult object. 38d was not seen. (Steve Gottlieb)
B and C merge, definitely brighter than the much harder to detect A. Mag. 14.8 A nice Ngc cluster nearby: N 2873, 2874, 2875. (Ray Cash)
3/3/00 8:40pm. 2 components seen as 1 faint but distinct elliptical patch. 3rd component barely there, flickering in and out of view. (Michael Gille)
At 301x, I saw the brightest 3 of the four members of this
group.
They form an isoceles triangle with a mag 14 star (GSC-0823-0499).
"C" was obviously a galaxy, "A" appeared that it could be a galaxy,
but was mostly stellar in appearance. "B" appeared like a star.
MCG+2-24-12 (HCG 38A; PGC 26831): Stellar, with hint of diffuse halo.
UGC 5044a (HCG 38B; PGC 26842): Stellar.
UGC 5044b (HCG 38C; PGC 26844): Faint, diffuse, diffuse, round. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 39 (Ugc 5057) Very, very faint. Only one sighted. My source says this is mag. 16.6! I doubt it is this dim, or I would not have been able to glimpse it. (Ray Cash)
12/2/00 438am A real easy star field to find but a very difficult group. This is the closest I have gotten to being skunked. You have to keep the one really bright star out of the field. I detected one small very faint elongated patch, with averted vision, twice during the observation. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 40 Hickson 40A is the brightest and first of four in the compact Hickson 40 = Arp 321 = VV 116 group. Very faint, very small, round. Also in group areHick 40D = M-01-25-012 55" NE, Hick 40B = M-01-25-010 1.1' SSE and Hick 40C = M-01-25-008 40" S. Hickson 40C is an elongated threshold object glimpsed intermittently just N of Hickson 40B. At first, this pair was not resolved and I was not sure if I was viewing a single compact or elongated gx, but was graduallyconvinced that two distinct galaxies were visible. Located just 40" S of the center of Hickson 40A and 30" NW of Hickson 40B.Hickson 40B appears very faint, extremely small, round. At times, appears elongated or a fainter companion system is attached at the N side (this is Hick 40C). Hickson 40D appears very faint, small, elongated 3:2 E-W. This is the second easiest (of 4) in an interesting tight group. A mag 14 star lies2.3' NW. (Steve Gottlieb)
Nice "clumpy" group. Three distinctly seen with 4.8 Nagler (417x) Glimpsed edge on structure of C. The POSS plates show a beautiful "zig-zaggy" group of elipticals and edge-ons...One of my finder booklets (which I made) has a photo of this beautiful cluster on the cover. Mag. 13.4 (Ray Cash)
1/15/00 2:52am
Observed this group as an irregularly shaped clump. I could make out 3 condensations
within the clump distinctly.(Michael Gille)
Only two out of five
members seen at 301x. The group, including
nonmember MCG-01-25-011 was sometimes difficult to separate.
MCG-1-25-9 (HCG 40A): Smaller and slightly fainter than the nearby
huge and bright MCG-01-25-011. Diffuse.
MCG-1-25-10 (HCG 40B): Fainter, diffuse. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 41 Hickson 41a appeared as a faint, fairly small edge-on, extended 5:1 SW-NE, about 1.2'x0.25', containing a well-defined brighter core. With concentration Hickson 41b = U05346 located just 2.0' NE was first glimpsed with averted vision and then with concentration could hold both edge-on galaxies. The fainter member appeared extremely faint, edge-on, elongated 4:1 SW-NE, 0.8'x0.2'. This galaxy has a low surface brightness and I could just hold it steadily with averted vision. (Steve Gottlieb)
This one skunked me last year... But this time, I bagged two of them: "A" fairly easy, "B" comes out eventually; both about 3/4 edge-ons. Mag.13.9 (Ray Cash)
2/29/00 9:00pm. This is one group I want to check out again from a truly dark sky site. A crooked "little Box"! I could make out 2 components faint but distinct, a 3rd blinking in and out. Very cool. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 42 Hickson 42A (NGC 3091) is one of the brightest
of the Hickson galaxies and
appears bright, moderately large with a very small bright core and a
slightly elongated halo NW-SE. A 14th magnitude "star" 1.3' NW is actually
the compact "C" component M-03-26-006. NGC 3096 is the "B" member and
appears faint with only a weak concentration. (Steve Gottlieb)
(Ngc 3091) At 11.7 mag, the second brightest of all Hickson's. A nice group, three easily seen. An easy star hop. (Ray Cash)
1/15/00 2:30am
One big elliptical (NGC 3091), 3 little ones (3096,3085,MCG-3-26-06). It looks like there
is another component in the field of the DSS photo, but I cannot make it out at the
eyepiece. (Michael Gille)
Hydra, 10 00.2 -19.6
I was able to observe
all four components, although the faintest one
was very tough.
NGC 3091: At 133x (A) is a very bright 3:2 oval with a stellar
center.
NGC 3096: At 226x (B) is very small with a stellar center with a
faint halo around it. The galaxy is situated between two stars.
MCG-3-26-6: At 226x component (C) looks like a very, very small
slightly diffuse dot with a non-stellar center. Medium faint, and not
difficult.
PGC 28926: At 226x (D) is extremely faint. Visible only about 30% of
the time. This difficult spot is larger than MCG-3-26-6 and diffuse
with a non-stellar center, and has even brightness. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 43 Skunked. Star poor field (no distinct asterisms). Mag. 15.1 (Ray Cash)
3/3/00 9:35pm. The brightest component seen as a very faint oval patch. 2 other components seen just intermittently. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 44 One of few Hickson groups that can viewed in
an 8" scope. Hickson 44A =
NGC 3190 is a fairly large, bright edge-on oriented NW-SE with a stellar
nucleus. Two bright stars are in the field; mag 7.8 SAO 81276 8.3' NNW and
mag 9.0 SAO 81279 6.5' NE. NGC 3187, the "D" component is 5' NW and appears as a
small, faint, edge-on oriented NW-SE. A mag 14 star is off the SW side 1.1' from center
and a
similar star is 1.3' SSE. Interestingly, the major axis is exactly
collinear with the brighter edge-on N3190 5' SE. To the NE of NGC 3190 is
NGC 3193 ("B") which is bright, small, round with a stellar nucleus. This
galaxy is located just 1.3' S of mag 9.0 SAO 81279. Finally to the SW of
NGC 3190 and collinear with NGC 3193 is NGC 3185 ("C") which appears fairly
faint, with a diffuse halo oriented NW-SE increasing to a brighter core. A
mag 14 star is just off the W edge 0.7' from center and a similar star is
1.4' SW of center. (Steve Gottlieb)
(Ngc 3190 "group"; Arp 316): At 11.5 mag, the brightest of all Hickson's, and a real treat! All four seen; barely fit in my 9 Nagler FOV (22min). An easy star hop in the middle of the "neck" of Leo. (Ray Cash)
CCD image by Ray Cash (C8 Fastar f/1.95; cropped)
I stumbled upon Hickson 44 by accident,
which I only identified later. I
was just looking for galaxies in Leo. I was using a 10" f/5.6 dobsonian:
Moving up Leo's mane, I hit NGCs 3185 & 3190 & 3193 (I did not see 3187 at
13.4, although I think now I *should* have seen it. This is a fantastic
little group of galaxies all in a row. I love galaxy groups, and I stumbled
upon a great one here. (Randy Muller)
NGC 3190 = H-44-II is a galaxy in Leo. It was observed from Michaux State Forest, PA on Feb 1, 1998 at 03:42 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 12mm Nagler (24") = 229x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 5.5, steady and clear. NGC 3190 = H-44-II is a magnitude 11.0 object measuring 4.6 min across and is located at RA = 10h 18m 6s, DEC = 21° 50'. Very bright and medium sized oval with a very bright elongated core. Hint of dust lane seen. 12mag star is 3min N. Part of the 3190 group. Ngc 3187 is at a right angles 5min to the NW. Ngc 3185 is 10min SW and Ngc 3193 is 5min NE. Hickson 44A. H400 NGC 3193 = H-45-II is a galaxy in Leo. It was observed from Michaux State Forest, PA on Feb 1, 1998 at 03:44 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 12mm Nagler (24") = 229x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 5.5, steady and clear. NGC 3193 = H-45-II is a magnitude 10.9 object measuring 2.8 min across and is located at RA = 10h 18m 24s, DEC = 21° 54'. Very bright and round with a much brighter core. 1min N is a 9th mag star. 4min NE is a 10th mag star. Part of the 3190 group. Ngc 3190 is 6min SW and Ngc 3187 is 8min WSW. Ngc 3185 lies 15min to the SW. Hickson 44B. H400 ARP 316 NGC 3185 is a galaxy in Leo. It was observed from Michaux State Forest, PA on Feb 1, 1998 at 03:40 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 12mm Nagler (24") = 229x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 5.5, steady and clear. NGC 3185 is a magnitude 12.2 object measuring 2.3 min across and is located at RA = 10h 17m 36s, DEC = 21° 41'. Rather large and bright. Diffuse with a brighter stellar core. A triangle of 10mag stars lie 5min, 7min, and 10min E, NE, and E respectively. 14th mag 1min SW. Part of the 3190 group. Ngc 3190 is 11min N, Ngc 3187 is 11min NNE, and Ngc 3193 is 15min NE. Hickson 44C NGC 3187 is a galaxy in Leo. It was observed from Michaux State Forest, PA on Feb 1, 1998 at 03:42 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 12mm Nagler (24") = 229x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 5.5, steady and clear. NGC 3187 is a magnitude 13.1 object measuring 3.3 min across and is located at RA = 10h 17m 48s, DEC = 21° 52'. Rather dim slash elongated 5 to 1. Slightly brighter core. 14th mag star 30sec SW of the core. A pair of 12th mag stars lie 3min W. Part of the 3190 group. Ngc 3190 is at right angles 5min SE, Ngc 3185 is 10min S and Ngc 3193 is 8min ENE. Hickson 44D. (Matt Orsie)
This is an
observation of Hickson 44 I made with an 8" F/6 Dobsonian from
moderately light polluted skies. I have also included a sketch I made at the
eyepiece with a 6mm ortho. (203X). (Michael Geldorp)
Great field with two galaxies visible at
98X and three at 203X within about 17'.
NGC 3185: Not well seen at 98X but more easily at 203X. Faintest of the three
this galaxy is an even smudge with no real brightening towards the nucleus.
NGC 3190: A very elongated galaxy shaped rather like a cigar. There seemed to
be some brightness differences in the middle of NGC 3190, seeming like two
nuclei with a somewhat fainter area in between. From the ends of the central
bulge gradually fading outwards toward the edges.
NGC 3193: A round galaxy with a bright nucleus and a faint halo of light
spreading almost to a star of mag. 9 about 40" to the north.
Also in this group is NGC 3187 but that galaxy was too faint to be seen in
my 8" Dob. (Michael Geldorp)
1/8/00 4:30am
Another bright group and a nice starfield. I had observed NGC 3190 and 3187 in the past
but hadn’t noticed the other 2 components before. All 4 observed plainly.
(Michael Gille)
HICKSON 45 The brightest member of the distant group Hickson 45 (45a = U5564) was not seen with any certainty at 220x. At 280x with concentration, the galaxy pops into view momentarily 15-20% of the time just W of a line connecting two nearby mag 13 stars [48" N and 55" SE]. Appears barely nonstellar which implies only the core of this edge-on was glimpsed. (Steve Gottlieb)
Skunked. Photo shows very small, faint gals. Another star-poor field. Mag. 15.2 (Ray Cash)
3/3/00 9:15pm. Distinctive star pattern made it easy to find the low power field. This was a tough view for me. Only the "A" component seen. (Michael Gille)
This group has 4
components, but I was only able to see the brightest one,
UGC 5564 (Hickson 45A), at photographic magnitude 15.9.
At 300x, UGC 5564 was barely visible only about 10% of the time, located
between a pair of mag 12 and 13 stars, slightly closer to the western
(dimmer) one. It was very diffuse and utterly shapeless. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 46 Two or three galaxies were seen in this challenging group, but curiously the "A" component was not visible. Hickson 46D = M+03-27-009 was extremely faint and small, requiring averted vision and just a 20" round spot 1.5' WSW of a mag 14 star. The "B/C" components form a contact pair just 22" between centers. A single faint glow was visible with averted, although momentarily it appeared resolved (the second component was stellar). (Steve Gottlieb)
Early in the evening: skunked. Not an encouraging way to start the evening! Much later in the evening, Steve Gottlieb managed to find this one; I went back and finally found this tortuous one too. Two very faint averted vision gals seen. Very star poor field.(Ray Cash)
12/2/00 448am This one was a snap compared to the previous one (Hickson 39)! Three pairs of stars in a triangular pattern help to orient you in the high power field. Three components were seen as two faint patches. I could hold them relatively steady with averted vision. (Michael Gille)
I saw 3 out of 4
components of this one at 226x (10mm plossl):
MCG+3-27-7 (HCG 46b): Small, stellar center. Very small halo. Nice
pair with 46c.
MCG+3-27-8 (HCG 46c): Small, stellar center.
MCG+3-27-9 (HCG 46d): Very faint. Only visible intermittently.
I was a bit surprised and disappointed that I could not see HCG 46a,
supposedly the brightest component. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 47 Two members were visible: the brighter (Hickson 47A = UGC 5644) appears faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2 ~N-S, 1.0'x0.6', with a brighter core. Hickson 47b forms a close pair just 0.9' NE of the center, although it is cleanly resolved at 220x. This faint galaxy was 0.4' diameter, irregularly round (slightly elongated E-W?), and contained a faint stellar nucleus with direct vision. (Steve Gottlieb)
Nice "clumpy" group. Breaks apart with averted vision. A and B seen. Mag. 14.6. (Ray Cash)
3/3/00 9:55pm. 3 components seen as 2 objects. The 2 clumped together as one was near the brightest star in the high power field on the northern side. (Michael Gille)
I found the field at
87x (26mm plossl), and saw an undifferentiated flow
in the right area. At 226x (10mm plossl), the glow separated into two
components, but the best view was at 301x (7.5mm plossl):
UGC 5644 (HCG 47a): Fairly large, brighter in center. Nearly stellar
center.
MCG+2-27-13 (HCG 47b): Diffuse, fainter than 47a. No detail visible.
Alvin could see a third component, but I could not see it. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 48 (IC 2597) A very nice one to search for: many other galaxies around, including groups. One of Hickson's criteria to include a galaxy cluster into his catalog, was to study only isolated groups; he certainly bent the rules on this one! Anyway, A and B easily seen. What is odd is that the photo shows A clearly brighter AND larger than B; however, B appears to be much larger, if indeed dimmer (using averted vision and visual purple here, rather than film emulsion). Mag. 13.2 (Ray Cash)
IC 2597 (HCG 48a) appeared moderately bright, elongated 3:2
N-S, 1.0'x0.7',
fairly sharp concentration with a small bright core. A mag 14 star is close
SE [40" from center]. This galaxy is the brightest member of HCG 48 with
much fainter HCG 48b 2.5' S and HCG 48c 2.0' NW. HCG 48 is actually a
subgroup of Abell 1060 whose core is located just 30' SSW.
HCG 48b, which is situated 2.4' S of HCG 48a, appeared very faint, fairly
small, 1.0' diameter, round, with a low even surface brightness. HCG 48c was
a marginal object, barely glimpsed 0.6' north of a mag 13 star. Visible for
moments only with averted vision and appeared very small, ~15"x10" oriented
N-S. (Steve Gottlieb 4/22/00)
12/9/00 0415am The initial orientation was confusing due to a couple of extra stars showing up on my chart that were not in the low power field. After that got cleared up, I could zero in on the high power field. I could see the 2 largest components faintly. This group is at a low altitude from my backyard. I could probably do better from another location. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 49 12/2/00 402am It was pretty easy to find the star field. I detected a very faint small patch, intermittently, with averted vision. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 50 12/2/00 418am The star field is real easy to find…it lies ~20’ away from M97 in the low power field. In the high power field a very faint patch was detected intermittently with averted vision. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 51 Hickson 51a (N3651) is the brightest member of the Hickson 51 quintet. Fairly faint, fairly small, slightly elongated N-S, 1.0'x0.8', small brighter core. Forms a small isosceles triangle with N3653 (51c) 1.4' SE and MCG +04-27-030 (51d) 1.0' E. IC 2759 (51B) lies 2.7' W. Hickson 51b (IC 2759) is very faint, fairly small, elongated 3:2 N-S, 0.9'x0.6', very weak concentration. Larger of close pair with M+04-27-027 1.0' N. This galaxy has a lower surface brightness than M+04-27-027. Hickson 51c (N3653) is faint, small, slightly elongated E-W, 30" diameter, stellar nucleus. Second brightest in Hickson 51 quintet. Hickson 51d is extremely faint, extremely small, 12" diameter. Faintest of 5 in Hickson 51. In a tight trio, located 1.0' E of N3651 and 1.2' N of N3653. Hickson 51e is faint, very small, round, 20" diameter, moderate surface brightness. Forms a close pair with IC 2759 1.0' S. A mag 13 star lies 2.0' NW. Located 3.2' NW of brightest member N3651. (Steve Gottlieb)
A very nice group. Five (rather easily) seen. E looks stellar, even in the photo; I made a note to try to find a better photo to see if this one is truly a galaxy or not. Mag. 13.9 (Ray Cash)
1/15/00 3:30am
At 250X, a total of 6 components seen. The 4 easterly ones seen as 3 objects (2 of them
clumped together) distinctly, the 2 to the west were fainter but still distinct. did not
see the 7th component. (Michael Gille)
Leo, 11 22.4 +24.3
3 out of the 7 components eluded me this night. I am certain they
would be visible on a darker night, and I will definitely be back to
revisit this one.
NGC 3651: At 226x (A) this medium bright galaxy is round with a
concentrated, but non-stellar center.
NGC 3653: At 226x (C) this one is somewhat fainter than 3651, but
also round with a concentrated center.
MCG+4-27-27: At 226x (E) small, fairly dim, diffuse and round
IC 2759: At 226x (B) Extremely faint, very small, diffuse. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 52 The brightest member, Hickson 52A = M+04-27-036 was visible and appeared very faint, very small, round, 15"-20" diameter. held continuously with averted vision. Located 2.4' SW of a mag 13 star. (Steve Gottlieb)
I spent a long time looking for this one early in the evening, to no avail. Steve Gottlieb did find A in his 17.5 much later in the evening. I confirmed in his scope--it was VERY faint. (Ray Cash)
3/5/00 12:05am. 2 components faint but distinct. The 3rd component (the edge-on one) next to the brightest component was not picked up. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 53 This trio consists of NGC 3697 ("A")
and two much smaller and fainter
components. The "A" galaxy appeared fairly faint, moderately large, very
elongated 3:1 E-W with a weak even concentration. A mag 11.5 star is 3.6'
W and a mag 13 star 1.8' SE. The mag 13 star is on a line midway to a pair
of close companions M+04-27-044 ("B") 4.0' SE and M+04-27-045 ("C")
3.3'
SE. The "B component is faint, very small, round, increasing to a very
small bright core. A mag 13 star is 2.3' NW on a line to N3697. This
galaxy forms a very close pair with the "C" member just 42" NW which
appears faint, extremely small and round with a low even surface brightness. (Steve
Gottlieb)
Good group, A quite large and evident; B and C easy to bust apart with averted vision. A, even in the photo, looks like it could be a foreground object--another instance where Hickson may have bent the rules a little to get his catalog to round out to 100! Mag. 12.9 (Ray Cash)
1/15/00 3:46am
This group was relatively easy, 3 components seen distinctly. (Michael Gille)
Leo, 11 28.8 +20.8
I got 3 out of four on this one. When I observed it, I failed to
notice that this group is only about 10 arc minutes from nearby
Hickson 54, which as a group, is only 25% as big as this one!
NGC 3697A: At 226x (A) Medium bright, fairly large, a 3:2 oval,
brighter in the center.
NGC 3697B: At 226x (C) Very faint, very small and diffuse.
NGC 3697C: At 226x (B) Very faint, very small, and somewhat brighter
than "C". (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 54 The brightest member, Hickson 54A = IC 700 was faint, fairly small, elongated 5:2 about E-W, 1.0'x0.4', low but irregular surface brightness. Amag 14 star lies 1' S. At a couple of moments there appeared to be an extremely faint "star" at the W end (this is probably Hickson 54b). Located 5' NE of a mag 10 star and ~15' SE of Hickson 53 in the same 220x field. (Steve Gottlieb)
Only a 22-min eyepiece field away from Hickson 53. Bright--well, ALMOST direct vision--oval patch. Steve Gottlieb, much later through his scope, could detect a little brightening on the edge--I confirmed, or is it conceeded? Mag.13.9 (Ray Cash)
1/15/00 3:55am
This group lies in the same low power field as Hickson 53. It was observed as a distinct
elongated clump. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 55 Hickson 55 is a tiny chain of 15th and 16th magnitude galaxies in Draco, also known as Arp 329 and Vorontsov-Vel’yaminov (VV) 172. (What a great name for a catalog!) Actually, it’s easy to find by starhopping. From the end star in the tail of Draco (Giausar) go 1.5 degrees north to NGC 3735, anice 12th magnitude edge-on. From there it’s just 25 arcminutes northwest to Hickson 55. Unless you have a monster telescope, you’ll need to pinpoint the exact location in order to spot Hickson 55. We used a 30 arcminute DSS image that included both NGC 3735 and the galaxy chain. At 222X we could just make out a tiny string, perhaps with one or two knots in it. We could hold it steadily after we knew exactly where to look. (Jim Shields)
At 220x Hickson 55 appears as an extremely faint, elongated string SSW-NNE about 1' in length. Faint enough to require averted vision but appears irregular. At 280x, a couple of individual components (A and either B or C) are sometimes resolved with the more obvious "knot" at the N end of the string (Hickson 55a) appearing barely nonstellar. This well known chain contains a discordant redshift (55e) and is located 25' NW of N3735. (Steve Gottlieb)
Very faint "clump", not on the meridian this time of year (Aug.'97), but easily starhopped to with the aid of a bright edge-on galaxy (NGC 3735) just one 9-Nag field SE. Use averted vision. (Ray Cash)
MCG +12-11-28A is a open cluster in Draco. It was observed from Mt. Meadows, WVA on Nov 28, 1998 at 03:36 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 7mm Nagler (24") + Paracorr = 448x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.0, very turbulent and very clear. MCG +12-11-28A is a magnitude 15.9 object measuring 12 sec across and is located at RA = 11h 32m 7s, DEC = 70° 48' 56". Very, very small patch and fairly bright. Round with an even surface brightness. The brightest in the grouping. Hickson 55D lies 20s N and 55B is 30s S. Hickson 55A. MCG +12-11-28B is a open cluster in Draco. It was observed from Mt. Meadows, WVA on Nov 28, 1998 at 03:38 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 7mm Nagler (24") + Paracorr = 448x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.0, very turbulent and very clear. MCG +12-11-28B is a magnitude 16.4 object measuring 12 sec across and is located at RA = 11h 32m 6s, DEC = 70° 48' 29". Very very tiny patch. Almost stellar with a slight haze surrounding it. Averted needed to see. Hickson 55A and 55D are 30s and 50s N respectively. Hickson 55B. MCG +12-11-28D is a open cluster in Draco. It was observed from Mt. Meadows, WVA on Nov 28, 1998 at 03:35 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 7mm Nagler (24") + Paracorr = 448x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.0, very turbulent and very clear. MCG +12-11-28D is a magnitude 17.1 object measuring 6 sec across and is located at RA = 11h 32m 7s, DEC = 70° 49' 13". Very, very, very small and round. Almost stellar but has that haze around it. Very bright. Northernmost galaxy in the Hickson 55 group. Others are in a straight line S. 55A and 55B are 20s and 50s S respectively. Hickson 55D. (Matt Orsie)
3/4/00 11:50pm. Relatively easy starfield to orient, saw group as a faint streak with averted vision. Detected one brighter condensation in it just once during observation. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 56 This group of 5 galaxies is very small and compact and lies only 7' south of NGC 3718. Three members, including the brightest component "B" form a faint , wispy strand of interacting galaxies about 1' by 15", and at P.A. of 80 degrees (nearly east-west). Component "B" was semi-detached, and elongated disk that was warped into a 20-degree arc pointed northwards. The core was sharp and nearly stellar. The faint components "c" and "d" appeared to be nearly stellar within the wispy strand. Tiny "e" was located SW of the strand, and was a very faint, stellar condensation. Component "a" was a very faint, edge-on, measuring ~ 20" by 5", and oriented nearly north-south. It was considerably more difficult to discern than the components associated with the strand. (Rich Jakiel)
This challenging group is worth the
extra time to resolve the components!
Hickson 56A (MCG +09-19-113) is a very difficult edge-on ~N-S following the
interconnected trio UGC 6257. Just glimpsed with averted several times
1.1' SE of Hickson 56B (the eastern "knot" in chain) but is the largest
individual galaxy in the group ~50"x10". (Steve Gottlieb)
One of my favorites. Seen before in July 96, but no notes taken. Just off the edge of the magnificent foreground barred spiral Ngc 3718 (Ngc 3729 is nearby, too), which dwarfs this cluster—nice perspective! Anyway, the real challenge is to see A; a detached member of this group, and an edge-on gal, to boot. Bagged it (A) but only with averted vision. Mag. 14.5 (Ray Cash)
CCD image by Ray Cash (C8 Fastar f/1.95; cropped)
1/15/00 3:05am
I made a chart for this group expecting to not see much, if at all. Started out looking at
the foreground galaxies NGC 3718 and 3729,a nice pair at low power. Switched to 250X, to
my surprise I saw Hickson 56 resolved as 3 components; the elliptical to one side, the
edge-on to the other side, and between them, the group of 3 merged as one object! Amazing.
Also a very cool perspective, sitting right next to 3718. (Michael Gille)
4 out of 5 components seen
MCG+9-19-113 (HCG 56a) - 301x; Very faint, very small, diffuse, barely
visible with averted vision.
UGC 6527 (HCG 56b) - 301x; Bright, stellar center, very small, very, very
small halo.
PGC 35618 (HCG 56c) - 301x; Diffuse, faint
PGC 35609 (HCG 56e) - 301x; Diffuse, extremely faint, stellar center? (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 57 Copeland's Septet is fully resolved with careful viewing. The
brightest
galaxy is NGC 3753 which appears very faint, very small, slightly elongated
WNW-ESE with a brighter core. A mag 12 star lies 1.3' N. The "A" component
is closely bracketed by N3750 ("C") 40" SW and virtually in contact with
N3754 ("D") just 20" NE of center which both appear as very faint knots.
To the northwest of NGC 3753 are a faint trio consisting of NGC 3746 ("B"),
NGC 3745 ("G") and NGC 3748 ("E"). The "B" component is a
very faint,
round "knot" with similar "E" component 1.6' NE and "G"
member just 0.7' N.
Finally, NGC 3751 ("F") located 2.7' S of NGC 3753 is another extremely
faint and small knot, ~20" diameter. (Steve Gottlieb)
(Copeland's Septet) Seven gals seen of approximate same mag; one of the seven seen was technically not part of the group. Very nice. Mag. 14.0 (Ray Cash)
NGC 3753 = COPELAND'S SEPTET is a galaxy in Leo. It was observed from Michaux State Forest, PA on Feb 1, 1998 at 04:15 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 12mm Nagler (24") = 229x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 5.5, steady and clear. NGC 3753 = COPELAND'S SEPTET is a magnitude 15.0 object measuring 2 min across and is located at RA = 11h 37m 54s, DEC = 21° 59'. Small, slightly oval elongated 2 to 1. Has a brighter core. The brightest of Copeland's septet. 12th mag star lies 2min N. PA = 100. Ngc 3751 is 1min to the S. Ngc 3750 is 30sec SW. Ngc 3754 is 30sec NE. Ngc's 3746/3745/3748 are 3min NW in the same field. PGC 36010 lies 2min NNW. Hickson 57A ARP 320 NGC 3746 = COPELAND'S SEPTET is a galaxy in Leo. It was observed from Michaux State Forest, PA on Feb 1, 1998 at 04:17 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 12mm Nagler (24") = 229x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 5.5, steady and clear. NGC 3746 = COPELAND'S SEPTET is a magnitude 15.0 object measuring 1.3 min across and is located at RA = 11h 37m 42s, DEC = 22°. Very small, round and faint with a brighter core. Part of Copeland's septet. 12th mag star is 3min E. Ngc's 3750/3753/3754 are 3min SE with Ngc 3751 5min SE. Ngc's 3745/3748 are 1min and 2min NE respectively in the same field. PGC 36010 lies 2min E. Hickson 57B ARP 320 NGC 3750 = COPELAND'S SEPTET is a galaxy in Leo. It was observed from Michaux State Forest, PA on Feb 1, 1998 at 04:15 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 12mm Nagler (24") = 229x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 5.5, steady and clear. NGC 3750 = COPELAND'S SEPTET measures 54 sec across and is located at RA 11h 37m 54s, DEC 21° 58'. Very small, round and faint. Part of Copeland's septet. 12th mag star lies 2min N. Ngc 3751 is 3min to the S. Ngc 3753/3754 are just 1min NE with Ngc's 3746/3745/3748 3min to the NW in the same field. PGC 36010 is 2min NNW. Hickson 57C ARP 320 NGC 3754 = COPELAND'S SEPTET is a galaxy in Leo. It was observed from Michaux State Forest, PA on Feb 1, 1998 at 04:17 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 12mm Nagler (24") = 229x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 5.5, steady and clear. NGC 3754 = COPELAND'S SEPTET measures 24 sec across and is located at RA 11h 37m 54s, DEC 21° 59'. Faint, very small and diffuse. Part of Copeland's septet. 12th mag star lies 1min N. Ngc 3751 is to the S. Ngc 3753/3750 are 30sec and 1min SW respectively with Ngc's 3746/3745/3748 3min NW in the same field. PGC 36010 is 2min NW. Hickson 57D ARP 320 NGC 3748 = COPELAND'S SEPTET is a galaxy in Leo. It was observed from Michaux State Forest, PA on Feb 1, 1998 at 04:20 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 12mm Nagler (24") = 229x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 5.5, steady and clear. NGC 3748 = COPELAND'S SEPTET measures 48 sec across and is located at RA 11h 37m 48s, DEC 22° 2'. Very small, round and faint with a brighter core. Part of Copeland's septet. 12th mag star lies 2min SE. Ngc's 3746/3745 are 2min and 1min SW respectively. Ngc's 3754/3753/3750 are 3min SSE with Ngc 3751 6min S in the same field. PGC 36010 lies 1min S. Hickson 57E ARP 320 NGC 3751 = COPELAND'S SEPTET is a galaxy in Leo. It was observed from Michaux State Forest, PA on Feb 1, 1998 at 04:15 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 12mm Nagler (24") = 229x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 5.5, steady and clear. NGC 3751 = COPELAND'S SEPTET is a magnitude 15.0 object measuring 24 sec across and is located at RA = 11h 37m 54s, DEC = 21° 56'. Very small and round with a slightly brighter core. The Southernmost galaxy of Copeland's septet. Ngc's 3750/3753/3754 are 3min NW with Ngc's 3746/3745/3748 and PGC 36010 further to the NW in the same field. Hickson 57F ARP 320 NGC 3745 = COPELAND'S SEPTET is a galaxy in Leo. It was observed from Michaux State Forest, PA on Feb 1, 1998 at 04:20 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 12mm Nagler (24") = 229x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 5.5, steady and clear. NGC 3745 = COPELAND'S SEPTET is a magnitude 16.2 object measuring 24 sec across and is located at RA = 11h 37m 42s, DEC = 22° 1'. Very small, round and faint with a brighter core. Averted helps this one. 12th mag star lies 3min ESE. Part of Copeland's septet. Ngc 3746 is 1min SSW. Ngc 3748 is 1min E. Ngc's 3754/3753/3750 are 4min to the SE with Ngc 3751 6min SSE in the same field. PGC 36010 is 2min ESE. Hickson 57G ARP 320 (Matt Orsie)
3/3/00 10:25pm. This group wasn’t as tough as I thought it would be. 6 dim patches seen in the high power field. 2 of these were more difficult than the other 4. (Michael Gille)
PGC 36010
Very, very small, round patch with an even surface brightness.
Pretty much holds steady with averted vision. The elusive 8th
member in Copeland's Septet. Lies 1min NW of a 12th mag star.
Companions Ngc 3748, Ngc 3745, and Ngc 3746 are 1min, 1.5min,
and 2min N, NW, and W respectively. Other companions Ngc 3754,
Ngc 3753, and Ngc 3750 are 2min S in a close sub grouping. Ngc
3751 is 5min S. Hickson 57H.
Other Names: HICK 57H (Matt Orsie)
I decided to go for
some Hicksonian eye candy, so I observed HCG 57,
also known as Copeland's Septet. "Eye candy" is a relative term, and
this only looks great after feasting on a steady diet of spare Hickson
groups.
In spite of its faintness and smallness, it is an amazing and
surprising configuration of 7 galaxies. This Hickson group actually
has 8 members, including a magnitude 17 PGC galaxy which neither I,
nor apparently Copeland saw.
The group was visible at 87x as I hopped to it, but, like so many of
the Hicksons, it was best view at the highest power available to me,
301x. The group is arrayed as two parallel lines of 3 galaxies each,
with a mag 11 star between them making a U formation. The seventh
member is somewhat outside this tight group of six galaxies.
NGC 3750 (HCG 57c): Oval, diffuse, less bright than 57a, medium size.
NGC 3753 (HCG 57a): Large, bright, elongated, diffuse.
NGC 3754 (HCG 57d): Small, diffuse, fairly bright.
NGC 3746 (HCG 57b): Big, medium bright, oval.
NGC 3745 (HCG 57g): Faint, almost stellar.
NGC 3748 (HCG 57e): Round, fairly bright.
NGC 3751 (HCG 57f): Large, faint, diffuse, stellar center. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 58 Except for NGC 3820 ("E"), this is a
pretty easy quintet on the Leo-Virgo
border. The brighter member, NGC 3822 is fairly faint, small, oval N-S,
with a brighter core. N3825 ("B") is situated 3.2' ESE and appears fairly
faint, very small, round, small bright core, stellar nucleus. Returning to
NGC 3822 and moving 5' WNW brings you to NGC 3817 ("C") which is also
fairly faint, fairly small, oval ~E-W, brighter core. A mag 11 star is
2.7' NNW of center.
To the north of NGC 3822 are a pair of galaxies NGC 3819 ("D") and NGC 3820
("E"). The "D" component is very faint, small, round, with a small
bright
core and stellar nucleus. Just 2' north is "E" which appears as an
extremely faint unconcentrated spot. (Steve Gottlieb)
Very nice group. Very well spaced; all five gals seen. Mag. 13.6 (Ray Cash)
3/3/00 10:15pm. Yow! After straining at the last few groups it is amazing how bright 13th magnitude galaxies are! All 5 components seen distinctly. A treat. (Michael Gille)
Nice group of 4 out of 5 seen at 142x in
same field in my 10" dob.
NGC 3822 (HCG 58a; UGC 6661) - Slightly fainter than HCG 58b, non-stellar
center.
NGC 3825 (HCG 58b; UGC 6668) - Small, faint, stellar center, diffuse halo
NGC 3817 (HCG 58c) - Small, diffuse, fainter than NGC 3822.
NGC 3819 (HCG 58d) - Very small, faint, diffuse. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 59 A pair of galaxies were visible oriented WSW-ENE. The preceding object (IC 736 = Hickson 59b) is slightly fainter and located 1.9' WSW of IC 737 = Hickson 59a (the IC identifications are incorrectly given in modern catalogues). IC 736 appears very faint, small, round, 20" diameter. With averted vision, the halo is closer to 30" (similar to IC 736) but the surface brightness is slightly lower. IC 737 is slightly brighter, elongated 4:3 about WNW-ESE (difficult to pin down orientation). A mag 13.5star follows by 1.3'. (Steve Gottlieb)
A and B seen quite easily. Mag. 14.4 (Ray Cash)
3/5/00 11:10pm. A pretty tough one. The brightest one (elliptical) and the one next door (edge-on) both faint but visible with averted vision. No others in the group detected. (Michael Gille)
3 out of 5 components seen. Observed
at 301x.
IC 736 (HCG 59a = PGC 36861) - Fairly bright, stellar center. Near a
star. Diffuse halo. Medium size.
MCG+2-30-37 (HCG 59b = PGC 36853) - Very, very faint and diffuse.
Small.
MCG+2-30-41 (HCG 59c = PGC 36871) - Very faint, small. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 60 The brightest member of Hickson 60 (M+09-20-071) appears very
faint, very
small, round, requiring averted vision. At moments an extremely faint
companion was suspected on the following side (possibly "C" or "D")
but
could not be confirmed. (Steve Gottlieb)
3/5/00 11:58pm. I found the field quickly. 1 dim patch seen, brighter than the last one though. I could see it with direct vision. Nice starfield too. (Michael Gille)
2 out of 4 components seen.
MCG+9-20-71 (HCG 60a) - Faint, round, diffuse. Forms 4th corner of 3 star
asterism.
PGC 38053 (HCG 60b) - Fainter than 60a, smaller, round, diffuse. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 61 (The Box) One of the best viewed so far! You’ve got three
edge-ons (two in a line, one a right angle to the others) and a spiral on the other
"corner." Mag.12.6 (Ray Cash)
1/8/00 4:10am
Hickson 61 (The Box) What a sight! Easy to find, beautiful pattern. I wonder why it is not
more well known. All 4 components plainly visible. My favorite so far. (Michael Gille)
All four components seen. Very,
very nice group!! They form the four
corners of a rectangular galaxy asterism. Observed best at 226x.
NGC 4169 (HCG 61a) - Bright, oval, concentrated oval center, fainter
halo.
NGC 4175 (HCG 61c) - Second brightest visually. Very elongated,
diffuse, slightly concentrated in center. Somewhat longer but much
narrower than 4169.
NGC 4174 (HCG 61d) - Elongated, pointing at NGC 4175. Very bright,
stellar center, very faint halo.
NGC 4173 (HCG 61b) - Enormous, completely diffuse, very, very
elongated. Very faint and ghostly. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 62 Hickson 62 "A" (NGC 4759se = NGC
4778) and "B" (NGC 4759nw = NGC 4776) is
an interacting double system with just 28" separation between centers. The
NW member ("B") appears faint, very small, slightly elongated N-S with
bright core. The slightly larger and brighter companion "A" is attached at
the SE end and appears faint, small, slightly elongated E-W, bright core.
This pair is located 2' N of mag 9.1 SAO 139019. NGC 4761 ("C") is just 1'
ENE and appears very faint, very small, elongated 3:2 N-S, 25"x15".
Finally, NGC 4764 ("D") is located 3.5' S of the main double system and 2'
S of mag 9.1 SAO 139019. "D" appears extremely faint and small, round,
requires averted but once located can hold at least 50% of time. (Steve Gottlieb)
Nice tight little cluster. Three (A, B, C) seen; one slightly detached. (Ray Cash)
2/17/00 5:08am A distinctive pattern of stars in the low power field make this one a snap to find.
At 250X, the 2 brightest components are seen as 1 clump with barely discernable separate condensations. The 3rd component distinctly visible right next door to the east. The 4th and faintest component seen to the south of the other 3 with a star almost directly inbetween. This is a really nice grouping. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 63 (13 02, -32 46) Very difficult. Glimpsed "A." Very southern object--needs lower lattitude! Nice photo, though. Mag. 13.3 (Ray Cash)
2/19/01 0405am Three faint components were seen in the high power field. The edge-on was the most prominent. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 64 (13 25, -3 52) Only viewed one component which
appeared very faint, very small, round, 15"
diameter, no details visible and only the brighter core region was seen.
Requires averted vision to view but can hold ~3/4 of time with
concentration. A mag 14 star lies 30" S. (Steve Gottlieb)
Very difficult. Glimpsed one, very, very faint gal. Mag.14.7 (Ray Cash)
3/15/00 4:11am The 2 components in the center of the DSS photo were seen as an elongated faint smear with 2 slightly brighter areas, one in the center, one to the north side. The third component was off to the north, and was condensed. Actually it was easier for me to see. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 65 17.5": at 220x the brightest member of HCG 65 appeared
very faint, small,
irregular, ~30" diameter. A mag 13-14 star is 1' SW of center. Easier to
view at 280x and nearly continuous with averted vision. With concentration,
HCG 65B popped in and out of visibility a few times just south of a mag 14.5
star. Located in the core of Abell 3559. (Steve Gottlieb 5/28/00)
2/19/01 350am The group was seen as one single faint patch and one double-lobed faint patch. They were faint but distinct. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 66 (13:38 +57 18): Very, very faint!...and small. (Ray Cash)
3/5/00 11:47pm. Took awhile to orient the field. 1 dim patch seen with averted vision. (Michael Gille)
17.5": HCG 66 appears as a very faint, small, irregular
glow. I had some
difficulty "locking on" to this object, but once identified it could almost
be seen continuously with averted vision and concentration. At moments,
there was an impression of two objects in contact but could not resolve with
any certainty. (Steve Gottlieb 5/28/00)
1 out of 4 components possibly seen.
Observed at 301x.
MCG+10-19-104 (HCG 66a = PGC 48226) - Very faint, diffuse, no detail.
Makes an isoscoles triangle with two faint stars. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 67 (Ngc 5306) (13 49, -7 12) Two unequal members
viewed with NGC 5306 ("A") appearing moderately bright,
fairly small, round, 1.0' diameter, well concentrated with a 20" bright
core. A mag 13 star is 0.8' NW of center. Extremely faint M-01-35-013
("B") is situated 3.4' NW and appears as an extremely faint, moderately
large streak, elongated 6:1 SSW-NNE with dimensions 2.0'x0.3'. Very low
even surface brightness and requires averted vision to glimpse (cannot hold
steadily with averted vision). A couple of times "D" was highly suspected
off the south edge (35" from center). (Steve Gottlieb)
I stumbled upon notes taken for this one last year (6-7-97)! I don't know how typing them up escaped me! My notes: "A, B, C" hard, but possible to break apart with 7 Nagler. "B" an edge-on, extremely difficult. Mag.12.7 (Ray Cash)
3/15/00 3:55am The main part of this group was bright and easy to find. It was seen as 1 patch with 2 condensations within, one on each side (total of 3 components). The edge-on component was fainter but distinct. There were some other galaxies on the perimeter of the DSS photo that I could not pick up. Too bad this one doesn’t pass overhead…I bet it would look pretty interesting. (Michael Gille)
I could see two of the
four members of this group. At 301x:
NGC 5306 (HCG 67a): Fairly bright, concentrated center, oval.
MCG-1-35-13 (HCG 67b): HUGE, extremely elongated, very faint. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 68 (13:53 +40 19): Excellent group! All five visible. (Ray Cash)
On May 21, 1998 10pm, I was observing with my 10" in my
backyard (suburban
light pollution). After an arduous starhop from Cor Caroli via 23 Canum, I
arrived at a small row of three stars with a small fuzzy patch near them at
my limit of detectibility at 55x. I increased magnification to 142x and the
fuzzy patch separated into two extremely close galaxies, NGCs 5353 and 5354.
5354 was slightly dimmer. A short distance away lay NGC 5350.
I've never seen galaxies so close to one another as 5353 and 5354. It
reminds me of just one more of the many reasons I love galaxies so much:
They are all different sizes and scales. No one magnification works well for
all galaxies. Each galaxy is unique, demanding its own personal
magnification for the best appreciation. (Randy Muller)
1/8/00 4:45am
Yet another good grouping; all 5 components easily visible, even the 2 small ones. I think
I’m starting to get the hang of this. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 69 The brightest member of Hickson 69 group appears very faint, small, elongated 2:1 E-W, very low even surface brightness. Requires averted vision and concentration to see elongation clearly. The "b" component lies 1.5' S and is an extremely faint spot about 15" diameter. It's situated just following the midpoint of a line connecting two mag 15 stars 0.8' S and 0.9' NW. The "c" member is just a 10" knot glimpsed with averted vision 0.8' following Hickson 69a. Surrounded by a cluster of faint IC galaxies and viewed IC's 4342, 4343, 4344, 4345, 4346, 4348, 4349. (Steve Gottlieb)
Skunked. Found finder field; looked for a long time to ID eyepiece field--no luck; no fuzzies, either. Mag.14.9 (Ray Cash)
3/8/00 3:10am. The high power field is star poor. A slightly lower magnification probably would have helped. 2 dim patches seen with averted vision. (Michael Gille)
3 out of 4 components seen. Observed
at 301x.
IC 4345 (HCG 69b = PGC 49507) - Very faint, round, diffuse, situated
between double star and N of a single star.
MCG+4-33-28 (HCG 69c = PGC 49505) - Brighter than IC 4345, stellar
center, diffuse halo.
MCG+4-33-27 (HCG 69a = PGC 49502) - Very, very faint. Diffuse. Very
difficult. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 70 Three galaxies were viewed in this group and a fourth suspected. The
modern
catalogues have misidentified two IC galaxies in this group - IC 4370 and
IC 4371 - which were discovered by Javelle. Curiously, Javelle missed the
"A" component close south of IC 4370 = "D". The "A"
component UGC 8990
appears faint, very small, slightly elongated NW-SE, 20"x10", fairly high
surface brightness. I probably only viewed the core of this edge-on.
Forms a close pair with IC 4370 = "D" just 30" north. This object was just
glimpsed as an extremely faint "star" with averted vision. The brightest
and largest member IC 4371 ("B") lies 2' south and appears faint, fairly
small, elongated 3:2 SW-NE, 40"x25". Situated midway between the A/D pair
2' north and a mag 10-11 2' south. Finally the "C" component
(M+06-31-065:) was only suspected on a couple of occasions but could not
confirm sighting with confidence. (Steve Gottlieb)
(IC 4371) (14 04, +33 20) Actually the only Hickson
viewed the week before (4-18-98) between "sucker holes" around 2 AM. Glimpsed it
earlier in the evening through Steve's scope. It takes a nice photo--seven gals! In my
scope, I could only make out one faint, small gal ("A"). Mag.14.5 (Ray Cash)
3/8/00 3:35am. Once I finally found the field, found this to be a nice group, although faint. I saw 4 components dim but distinct, with 2 seen as 1 clump. Averted vision needed for all but one. (Michael Gille)
4 of 7 members seen. Observed at 301x.
IC 4369 (HCG 70b = PGC 50140) - Bright, highly concentrated, almost
stellar.
IC 4370 (HCG 70a = PGC 50139) - Bright, stellar center, diffuse halo,
elongated. The published magnitude appears to be about a magnitude
too high. This is very easy to see.
MCG+6-31-60 (HCG 70d = PGC 50138) - Faint, diffuse, small, round.
IC 4371 (HCG 70c = PGC 50159) - Diffuse, very faint. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 71 IC 4381 is the brightest member of Hickson 71 in a trio with IC 4382 = Hickson 71b 1.8' NE and Hickson 71c 2.0' SE. IC 4381 appears faint, round, 0.8' diameter, almost even surface brightness. Located 1.5' N of a mag 10 star. Hickson 71b appears to have a higher surface brightness than 71a and is elongated nearly 3:1 N-S, 0.8'x0.3'. The "c" component is another 15" knot forming a near equilateral triangle 2.3' SSE of IC 4382 and 2.0' ESE of IC 4381. It's possible that Hickson 71d was also momentarily glimpsed but not verified with any confidence. (Steve Gottlieb)
Nice--difficult, more difficult, most difficult. "A": large face-on (no detail seen). "B" small edge-on. "C" very difficult; had to know exactly where to look--or not to look--small smudge--averted vision, only. Mag.13.8 (Ray Cash)
3/8/00 3:55am. This one is a real beauty, the nicest one of the night so far. The components form a distinctive pattern with a triplet of stars. Face-on spiral faint but distinct. Edge-on condensed, smaller, more distinct. third component faintest but all seen at once eventually. (Michael Gille)
IC 4381 (Hickson 71a) -
226x, oval, relatively large and diffuse.
Difficult. (This is mis-identified as NGC 5008 in Sky Map 7)
IC 4382 (Hickson 71b) - 226x, Very small, but with a higher surface
brightness than 5008. It has a stellar center. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 72 (Arp 328) (14 47; +19 05) Nice string of gals. Eye picks up pretty quickly, but very hard to bust apart... thought I counted four once, but usually these gals look like the Milky Way to our unaided eyes--unresolved, that is. Mag.13.9 (Ray Cash)
3/8/00 3:35am. Easy field with bright star. Group seen as a faint clump with a detatched component to its north. (Michael Gille)
17.5": at 280x the brightest member of the HCG 72 =
U09532 chain = VV 165
appeared very faint and small, round, ~15" diameter (extensions not seen).
This group is very challenging as the tight pair HCG 72B/D is just 1' SSE and
a mag 14.5 star is a similar distance NW. At 280x HCG 72B appeared extremely
faint, very small, round. A mag 13.5 star lies 1.6' due east At moments it
appeared double (HCG 72D probably glimpsed) although difficult to confirm.
Similarly, HCG 72C seemed to pop into view on a couple of occasions although
sighting uncertain. This faint chain is located 5' following mag 7.5 SAO
101216 which detracts from viewing (keep out of field). (Steve Gottlieb 5/28/00)
4 of 6 members seen. A difficult
group. All observations were made
at 301x.
MCG+3-38-20 (HCG 72b) - A very small, diffuse blob that is barely
separable from MCG+3-38-21.
MCG+3-38-21 (HCG 72d) - A very small, diffuse blob that is barely
separable from MCG+3-38-20. Together, they make a nice pair.
MCG+3-38-22 (HCG 72c) - Diffuse, but possessing a stellar center.
MCG+3-38-17 (HCG 72a) - Diffuse and fairly difficult to see.
The position of MCG+3-38-17 is plotted wrong in the Principal Galaxy
Catalog (PGC 52844), as used by Sky Map Pro 7. The position is plotted
right on top of a mag 13 star. The galaxy is actually about 35
arcseconds to the northwest. Because of this confusion, I made a
sketch, and my sketch was verified the very next night when observing
with Steve Gottlieb, who had a photo and was observing the same
group. My sketch matched the photo. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 73 (Ngc 5829, Arp 42) (15 03; +2320) NGC 5829
("A") is fairly faint, slightly elongated 4:3 E-W, 1.2'x0.9', very
weak concentration, irregular or mottled surface brightness. Located
between a mag 11.5 star just off the W edge 1.2' from center and a mag 13.5
star 1.3' ESE of center. This was the only member of the group seen with
certainty. (Steve Gottlieb)
Large amorphous glow ("A"). Looked for "B"; at first, no dice... then it started popping in and out of view--almost star-like. Enroute to this Hickson, I bumped into old Izar (an eyepiece field away), a famous and beautiful double in Bootes. Mag. 13.3 (Ray Cash)
NGC 5829 is a galaxy in Bootes. It was observed from Merrit Reservoir, Nebraska on Jul 22, 1998 at 11:05 pm using the 24" f/4.5 with a 12mm Nagler (24") + Paracorr = 262x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.0, extremely steady and somewhat hazy. NGC 5829 is a magnitude 15.0 object measuring 1.9 min across and is located at RA = 15h 2m 42s, DEC = 23° 20'. Small and rather bright oval elongated 2 to 1 with a slightly brighter, diffuse, large, elongated core.. The whole galaxy is diffuse looking and gradually dimming from the core. Averted shows more size. 12th mag star is 2min W. 14th mag star is 3min SE. PA = 120. Companion IC 4526 is 2min NW. Hickson 73C (PGC 53720) is 2.5min NE. The D and E members where not seen. Hickson 73A. ARP 42 IC 4526 is a galaxy in Bootes. It was observed from Merrit Reservoir, Nebraska on Jul 22, 1998 at 11:05 pm using the 24" f/4.5 with a 12mm Nagler (24") + Paracorr = 262x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.0, extremely steady and somewhat hazy. IC 4526 is a magnitude 16.6 object measuring 24 sec across and is located at RA = 15h 2m 36s, DEC = 23° 22'. Very small, faint and slightly oval extended 1 1/4 to 1. Core is slightly brighter. Averted needed to hold steady. PA = 150. Companion Ngc 5829 is 2min SE and Hickson 73C (PGC 53720) is 3min E. Hickson 73B. The D and E members were not seen. ARP 42 PGC 53720 is a galaxy in Bootes. It was observed from Merrit Reservoir, Nebraska on Jul 22, 1998 at 11:07 pm using the 24" f/4.5 with a 12mm Nagler (24") + Paracorr = 262x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.0, extremely steady and somewhat hazy. PGC 53720 is a magnitude 16.9 object measuring 18 sec across and is located at RA = 15h 2m 49s, DEC = 23° 21' 34". Very very small, round and very faint with an ever so slightly brighter core. Companion Ngc 5829 lies 2min SW and IC 4526 is 3min W in the same field. Hickson 73C. The D and E members were not seen. (Matt Orsie)3/8/00 4:35am. Tough to find, passing clouds don’t help. Eventually, 1 component seen. (Michael Gille)
Only one member seen.
NGC 5829 (HCG 73a) - 226x - Round, fairly big, diffuse, somewhat
concentrated in center. Non-stellar center. Next to mag 12 star. (Randy
Muller)
HICKSON 74 (Ngc 5910) (15 19; +20 54) The "A"
component of Hickson 74 (NGC 5910) is fairly faint, small, round,
30" diameter, weak concentration. Observation confused by the close
companion "B" attached at the SSW end 20" between centers which pops into
view with averted vision and looks like a knot at the edge. A faint mag
14/14 double star close west is collinear and a mag 13 star is 3' WSW. UGC
9813 lies 8.0' SW. (Steve Gottlieb)
Nice direct vision glow with "notch" on North edge--actually another semi-detached gal ("B"). Mag. 14.1 (Ray Cash)
3/8/00 4:50am. Dawn is getting ready to commence,working fast on this one. The components are seen as a faint but distinct clump making a right triangle with 2 stars in the high power field. Another galaxy on the edge of the field to the SW, I figure it is not a member of the group. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 75 Hickson 75a is the brightest of 3 or 4 visible in the faint Hickson 75 group. It appeared faint, fairly small, irregularly round. Hickson 75b is attached on the N side (edge-on) and was not seen with any certainty, although the galaxy seemed irregular or double on a couple of moments. Located 1.0' SW of a mag 12 star. The remaining members were all difficult - The "d" member is located 1.7' ESE of Hickson 75a and was just a 15" knot requiring averted vision and concentration. Even fainter was the "e" member which was just glimpsed on occasion 1' N of a mag 15 star and 1' SE of Hickson 75a. Hickson 75c was also possibly seen but the observation was confused with nearby 75d. (Steve Gottlieb)
Just a half a degree to the N/E from Hickson 74 lies this cluster of six gals--at least that's what the photo shows! I saw only two gals, both direct vision, but both were "merging": a bright elliptical and an edge-on ("A" and "B"). Mag. 14.9 (Ray Cash)
3/15/00 4:25am The brightest portion of this group was the 2 galaxies seen to be merging on the DSS photo. It was seen as 1 clump. 2 other components to the SE were barely detected, flashing in and out of visibility. A triangular formation of stars in the high power field aided in orientation. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 76 (Ngc 5944) (15 32; +07 19) This rectangular
quartet consists of three NGC galaxies, although NGC 5941
and NGC 5942 (discovered by Lewis Swift) have been misidentified in nearly
all modern catalogues. I felt the brightest member visually was NGC 5941
("B") which appeared faint, fairly small, elongated 4:3 SW-NE, 0.7'x0.5',
weak concentration to a brighter core, faint stellar nucleus. NGC 5944
("A") situated 2.6' SE is very faint, round, 30" diameter, weak
concentration with a slightly brighter core. NGC 5942 ("C") is very faint,
very small, round, 20" diameter with a stellar nucleus at moments. A mag
14.5 star is off the NW side 45" from center. This is the third brightest
in the group. The faintest member MCG +01-40-002 ("D") is 2.0' SE and
appears extremely faint, very small, 15" diameter, low even surface
brightness. A mag 15 star is 1.1' SE. (Steve Gottlieb)
Badly positioned (in Serpens) but did see all four gals, with difficulty... could not distinguish "types." Mag 14.4 (Ray Cash)
4 brightest members fairly easy (Tom Osypowski)
3/15/00 5:05am Dawn is breaking. I could make out 2 dim patches with averted vision. I should come back to it another time with darker skies. Looking at the DSS photo, I think that I could do better on this one.(Michael Gille)
HICKSON 77 Hickson 77a = U10049 and 77b appear as an extremely faint, elongated glow measuring 30"x15" in a N-S orientation. A mag 15 star is 1' SE and a slightly fainter star 1.3' E. For moments only, resolved into two components (77a and 77b have a total length of 0.5') although extremely difficult to view these simultaneously. (Steve Gottlieb)
Small, faint, "quasi-stellar." Tough. Thought "A" and "B" busted apart once or twice. Mag. 15.2 (Ray Cash)
Saw the group as a blur because of faintness and poor seeing. (Tom Osypowski) Hickson 77 was reobserved. "saw two brighter members as separate." (Tom)
3/15/00 4:45am Difficult field. Only one faint patch seen. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 78 Hickson 78a = U10057 appears very faint, elongated 3:1 E-W, 1.0'x0.3' with an even surface brightness. Forms a close double with Hickson 78b 1.2' SW which at first glance appeared roundish and ~30" diameter but with a higher surface brightness than 78a. With averted vision, very faint extensions are intermittently visible oriented SSW-NNE. (Steve Gottlieb)
Very faint, only "A" seen; elongated. Mag.14.4 (Ray Cash)
3/8/00 2:45am. Easy field. 2 very faint but distinct at averted vision in center of field sitting at a little more than a right angle to each other. Very pretty. An elliptical sitting at the edge of the high power field to the south. I assumed it was not a member of the group. (Michael Gille)
UGC 10057 Small and fairly bright oval elongated 3 to 1 with a slightly brighter core. Diffuse looking. Averted shows more size. A 16th mag star is detected in the core or just E of the core at times. 13th mag star is 3min SE. Brightest member of the Hickson 78 group. Companion Pgc 56067 lies 2min SW. PA = 90. Other Names: PGC 56079,MCG 11-19-17,CGCG 319-25,IRAS 15480+6822,HICK 78A
PGC 56067 Very small but rather bright oval extended 3 to 1 with a very bright stellar core. Averted shows a little more size. 13th mag star lies 3min ESE. Part of the Hickson 78 group. UGC 10057 is 2min NE. PA = 40. Other Names: MCG 11-19-16,CGCG 319-24,HICK 78B (Matt Orsie)
HICKSON 79 Seyfert's Sextet is a challenging group and
requires high power to resolve
into three components with the brightest component ("B") appearing faint,
small, elongated ~E-W. Extremely close are Hickson 79A = NGC 6027A just
36" SSW and Hickson 79C = N6027B just 22" W of center. A mag 14.5 star is
1.1' ESE and other faint stars are near confusing the observation. The
three galaxies are just resolved at 220x. (Steve Gottlieb)
(Seyfert's Sextet) (Ngc 6027) (15 59; +20 45) Actually started the evening with this one. Clumpy, fairly bright group. Very difficult to bust apart, however: no luck with a 7mm Nagler, for example. Looked like two irregular gals joined at the hip. Photo shows very tight group. Mag. 13.8 (Ray Cash)
Saw the three brightest members fairly easy (Tom Osypowski) Hickson 79 was reobserved. 3 members easy; other two suspected. (again: Tom)
2/17/00 4:45am I found the field quickly. This is an object that I expected to see more detail in. On the DSS photo the galaxies appear pretty condensed. Although it was distinctly visible at high power, I could only make it out as 1 triangular clump with no condensations. I will have to attempt this another time with a darker sky. (Michael Gille)
6 of 5 members seen!
This was a very nice, but very, very tiny and difficult group. Two
bright galaxies (NGC 6027a and NGC 6027e) were visible immediately.
With some study, NGC 6027 appeared, forming a very small V, with the
vertex being 6027. After much longer study, NGC 6027c appeared
intermittently, followed by NGC 6027b (not a member of the Hickson
group). After a very long time studying the group, NGC 6027d appeared
only during the briefest moments of steady seeing.
NGC 6027a (HCG 79a) - 226x - Bright, diffuse, concentrated in center.
Very small.
NGC 6027e (HCG 79b) - 226x - Equally as bright as 6027a, about the
same size.
NGC 6027 (HCG 79c) - 226x - Small, somewhat dimmer than 6027a and
6027e.
NGC 6027c (HCG 79d) - 226x - Extremely faint, very elongated, elusive,
diffuse, only intermittently visible at end of south arm of V.
NGC 6027d (HCG 79e) - 301x - Most difficult and elusive of the three
"hard ones". Saw it only a couple of times in between the arms of the
V.
Not a member of the Hickson group, but obviously a member of the
Sextet:
NGC 6027b - 226x - Extremely faint, very, very intermittent. Much
more difficult than 6027c. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 80 The brightest member of Hickson 80 (CGCG 319-38) is very faint, elongated 5:2 SW-NE, about 40"x15" with a low even surface brightness. In a tight trio with Hickson 80b just 38" S and Hickson 80c 1.2' W. The "b" component is an extremely faint knot about 10" diameter which is sandwiched between 80a close N and two mag 15 stars 1.2' and 1.8' S. The "c" component is a threshold object at 220x requiring averted vision to glimpse but possibly elongated. Situated 1.2' W of Hickson 80a. (Steve Gottlieb)
Very faint; elongated; looks like one galaxy. (Ray Cash)
4/8/00 315am The edge-on component was seen with averted vision. The second component was seen next to it on the south only intermittently. (Michael Gille)
PGC 56588 Small dim oval or slash extended 4 to 1 with an ever so slightly brighter core. Diffuse looking. Brightest member of the Hickson 80 group. Companions Pgc 56572, Pgc 56577 and Pgc 56590 lie 1min W, 1min SW, and 1min S respectively. PA = 75. Other Names: CGCG 319-38,HICK 80A
PGC 56590 Very very small and dim. I detect an oval shape and a brighter core that may have a star in the center (confirmed). Averted holds it steady. 14th mag star is 1min S. Part of the Hickson 80 group. Companions Pgc 56588, Pgc 56572 and Pgc 56577 lie 1min N, 2min NW, and 1min W respectively. PA = 90. Other Names: HICK 80B
PGC 56577 Very very very small and very very faint glow. Comes and goes. Seen best with averted vision. May be a slight oval. Companions Pgc 56590, Pgc 56588 and Pgc 56572 lie 1min E, 2min NE, and 1min N respectively. Other Names: HICK 80C
PGC 56572 Very small faint glow extended 1 1/2 to 1 with an ever so slightly brighter core. Averted needed to rellay hold it. Part of the Hickson 80 group. Companions Pgc 56577, Pgc 56590 and Pgc 56588 lie 1min S, 2min SE, and 1min E respectively. PA = 90. Other Names: HICK 80D (Matt Orsie)
Back to Top
HICKSON 81 Just a v. faint nebulous patch, no separation (Tom Osypowski)
The Hickson 81 chain (UGC 10319) is
one of the more difficult Hickson
groups and either the "A" component or probably the combined glow of two or
more galaxies was just visible as an extremely faint glow, no more than 20"
diameter. At moments it appeared elongated or possibly double, though the
observation was difficult in fairly windy conditions. This "glow" formed
the south vertex of an equilateral triangle with two mag 12.5 stars 2.7' N
and 2.7' NW. (Steve Gottlieb)
3/28/01 0404am The low power field was very easy to orient due to an V-shaped asterism to the SE. One faint patch was detected in the high power field. (Michael Gille).
HICKSON
82 A trio of NGC galaxies and one anonymous
member with NGC 6162 ("A") the
brightest in the very compact group. This galaxy appears faint, small,
slightly elongated, ~30" diameter, slightly brighter core, very faint
stellar nucleus. The second brightest member NGC 6163 ("B") just 1.2' E is
very faint, small, slightly elongated, ~30" diameter. More weakly
concentrated and slightly fainter than N6162 but a similar size. Moving
about 2' S is NGC 6161 ("C") which appears very faint, very small,
elongated 2:1 ~N-S, slightly brighter core. The faintest member "D" is
located just 50" WNW of "C" and required averted to glimpse a small, round
spot, just 5"-10" diameter. (Steve Gottlieb)
All four easy, nice group (Tom Osypowski)
Averted vision; all four seen, nicely separated. Nice group! (Ray Cash)
4/8/00 325am Real easy to find the field. The two main components are bright and seen directly. The other two are seen as 1 elongated clump. (Michael Gille)
NGC 6162 Small bright oval elongated 1 1/2 to 1 with a very bright stellar core. Diffuses out away from the center. Part of the Hickson 82 group. Closest companion is Ngc 6163 2min E. PA = 30. Other Names: PGC 58238,UGC 10403,MCG 6-36-47,CGCG 168-14,KUG 1626+329C,HICK 82A
NGC 6163 Small fairly bright oval elongated 1 1/2 to 1 with a brighter core. Diffuse looking and averted shows a little more size. Part of the Hickson 82 group. Cloest companion is Ngc 6162 2min W. PA = 70. Other Names: PGC 58250,MCG 6-36-48,CGCG 168-15,KUG 1626+329D,HICK 82B
NGC 6161 Very small, dim with an oval shape extended 2 to 1 . Diffuse looking with a 16th mag star on the SE corner. Averted helps to hold it. Part of the Hickson 82 group. Closest companion is Pgc 58231 1min W. PA = 150. Other Names: PGC 58235,MCG 6-36-46,CGCG 168-13,IRAS 16264+3255,KUG 1626+329B,HICK 82C
PGC 58231 Very, very small and faint oval with a brighter core. Diffuse looking. Direct vision can see it but averted shows more size. Part of the Hickson 82 group. Closest companion is Ngc 6161 1min E. PA = 135. Other Names: HICK 82D (Matt Orsie)
Of the four components, I could see three: NGC 6162 (Hickson 82A); fairly bright, stellar center, diffuse halo. NGC 6163 (Hickson 82B); dimmer than A, otherwise very similar appearance. NGC 6161 (Hickson 82C); Very dim, completely diffuse, shapeless. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 83 Just two brightest members visible. (Tom Osypowski)
3/28/01 0429am The low power field was found quickly. The high power field was difficult. Eventually 2 faint stars in the center of the field were matched with stars in the DSS photo. One component was detected as a small faint patch making a small equilateral triangle with these two stars. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 84 Hickson 84a = CGCG 355-20 appears very faint, slightly elongated N-S, about 30"x25". Located 2.1' SE of a mag 11 star and forms the northern vertex of a small isosceles triangle with two mag 15 stars 0.7 WSW and SSE. Hickson 84b lies 1.3' NNW and is a marginal object at 280x, glimpsed for moments 1.2' E of a mag 11 star and 1.3' NNW of 84a. Appears extremely small, possibly elongated NW-SE but view may be confused by an extremely faint star attached at the NW end. (Steve Gottlieb)
Very faint.
"B" was tough; 3 total seen. (Ray Cash)
A+B fairly easy, glimpses of C next to its
star. But no hints of the others. (Tom Osypowski)
4/8/00 240am A distinctive triangular pattern of stars leads you to the field. I could detect 2 faint patches with averted vision. (Michael Gille)
PGC 58877 Very small and fairly bright oval elongated 2 to 1 with a brighter core. 15th mag star is 40sec W. Brightest member of the Hickson 84 group. Closest companions are Pgc 58881, 10sec E and Pgc 58884 is 1min S. PA = 15. Other Names: CGCG 355-20,HICK 84A
PGC 58873 Small faint elongated oval in a 3 to 1 ratio with a slightly brighter core. 12th mag star is 1min W. Part of the Hickson 84 group. Closest companion is Pgc 58861 20sec W. PA = 150 Other Names: HICK 84B
PGC 58884 Very very small and rather faint oval extended 1 1/2 to 1 with a slightly brighter core. 12th mag star lies 2min E. A 15th mag star sits 10sec W. Part of the Hickson 84 group. Closest companions are Pgc 58887 and Pgc 58881 both 1min NW. PA = 85. Other Names: HICK 84C
PGC 58861 Every once in a while I see this very,very,very small and very very faint, round galaxy with direct vision. Averted helps to hold. Part of the Hickson 84 group. 12th mag star is 30sec W. Closest companion is Pgc 58873 20sec E. Other Names: HICK 84D
PGC 58881 Glimpsed occasionally with averted vision. Looks to be 10sec E of Pgc 58877 (the HICK 84A member). Very,very small and very,very faint round patch. Other Names: HICK 84E
PGC 58856 Very, very small and very very faint round glow. Part of the Hickson 84 group. 12th mag star is 1min N. Averted needed to hold. Closest companion is Pgc 58861 1min NE. Other Names: HICK 84F (Matt Orsie)
HICKSON 85 (18:50 +73 21):The brightest member of Hickson
85 (CGCG 341-010) appears very faint, very
small, slightly elongated SW-NE, 0.4'x0.3', very slightly brighter core.
An extremely faint mag 16 star is very close SW. The galaxy is collinear
with a 40" pair of mag 13.5-14 stars about 2' NW. Forms a close pair with
"B" ~1' SE which appears extremely faint, very small, round, ~15" diameter,
very low even surface brightness although visible without difficulty. (Steve Gottlieb)
"A" & "B" no problem; quite dim. (Ray Cash)
A+B were easy, glimpses of C, but no on D. (Tom Osypowski)
4/8/00 255am With averted vision I could make out a
faint elongated patch. It appeared from comparing it to the DSS photo that I was seeing
the 2 brightest components unresolved. There was another galaxy on the west edge of the
photo that was observed as well with direct vision. (Michael Gille)
PGC 62476 Very very small, slightly flattened, fairly bright glow with a brighter core. Patchy looking. 13th mag star is 2min E. Brightest member of the Hickson 85 group. Pgc's 62477, Pgc 62484, and Pgc 62478 are 1min E, 1.5min E, and 1min NE respectively. Other Names: CGCG 341-10,HICK 85A,KAZA 215,7ZW 846
PGC 62477 Very very small, slightly flattened, fairly bright glow with a brighter core. Patchy looking. 13th mag star is 1min E. Part of the Hickson 85 group. Pgc's 62476, Pgc 62484, and Pgc 62478 are 1min WNW, 30sec E, and 1min N respectively. Other Names: HICK 85B
PGC 62478 Very very very small, very very faint round glow. Averted helps hold it. Diffuse patch. 13th mag star is 1min ESE. Part of the Hickson 85 group. Pgc's 62476, Pgc 62477, and Pgc 62484 are 1min SW, 30sec S, and 30sec SE respectively. Other Names: HICK 85C
PGC 62484 Stellar looking galaxy. Very very very small and faint round glow. Averted shows a haze around it. 13th mag star is 30sec E. Part of the Hickson 85 group. Pgc's 62476, Pgc 62477, and Pgc 62478 are 1min W, 30sec W, and 30sec NW respectively. Other Names: HICK 85D (Matt Orsie)
HICKSON 86 This nice quartet is located in Sagittarius!
The brightest member ESO
461-007 ("A") is faint, small, elongated 3:2 SW-NE, 45"x30", slightly
brighter core. A very faint star is close off the W side. Collinear to
the west in a 4' chain are M-05-47-003 = "B" and M-05-47-001 = "D".
The
"B" member is very faint, very small, round, 25" diameter. A faint star is
visible off the W side. The "D" component further west was not noticed
initially and required averted vision to glimpse. Appears extremely faint,
very small and within 1' following a mag 12 star (which has a wide 14th
magnitude companion). Finally the "C" member on the south side of the
group is extremely faint, very small, slightly elongated, 15" diameter. (Steve
Gottlieb)
All four members were seen (Tom Osypowski)
Easy finder star-hop from M55. Very nice triangular group. (Ray Cash)
10/19/00 820pm This one I think should have been easier. I should revisit it in more winterlike conditions. The starfield was easy to orient. I could see 3 components but very dim and only one at a time. If it came up higher in the sky I bet it would be a pretty sight. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 87 The
brighter of a close pair visible in Hickson 89 (E597-036) appears very
faint, fairly small, elongated 3:1 SW-NE, 0.9'x0.3', very low even surface
brightness. A mag 14/15 double star is ~1' NW. Hickson 87B = M-03-53-003
is collinear with the major axis close off the SW end and appears extremely
faint and small, round, ~15" diameter, requires averted vision and
concentration but clearly seen for extended periods. Nearly collinear with
the major axis of Hickson 87a and just off the SW tip. (Steve Gottlieb)
Saw a+b but only suspected c because of light pollution (Tom Osypowski)
Struck out on 8/9-10/96... Succeeded on 8/15-16/96. Very tough! "A" and "B" detached, "C" glimpsed once (maybe). Double star in field confused eye. (Ray Cash)
10/19/00 845pm The group appeared as 2 faint elongated patches sitting at a 45 degree angle to each other, seen with averted vision. There is a nice face on galaxy sitting off to the SW of the field as well. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON
88 This group has a linear trio of NGC galaxies
and a very faint edge-on
("D"). The brightest member NGC 6978 appeared fairly faint, fairly small,
bright core, elongated 2:1 NW-SE. Farthest NE of three on a line with
N6977 2.5' SW ("B") and N6976 ("C") 4.3' SW. The "B" member
is very faint,
fairly small, round, diffuse with an even surface brightness. The faintest
NGC member "C" is extremely faint, very small, round, very diffuse. the
"D" component was glimpsed in Ray's scope. (Steve Gottlieb)
Saw all four. Fine group. (Tom Osypowski)
Easy star-hop. Excellent group!
Some detail in "B" seen (clumpy, barred spiral?) Three seen; did not see
"D"; Steve did however. (Ray Cash)
NGC 6978 Medium sized bright oval extended 2 to 1 with a bright elongated core. Averted shows more size. 14th mag star is 3min N. Brightest member of the Hickson 88 group. Companions Ngc 6977, Ngc 6976 are 1min and 2mins SW respectively. PA = 160. Other Names: PGC 65631,MCG -1-53-17,IRAS 20499-0554,HICK 88A
NGC 6977 Fairly bright oval extended 1 1/2 to 1 with a brighter core. Diffuse looking. Seems to be a face on (confirmed with DSS). Averted shows more size. 14th mag star is 3min N. Part of the Hickson 88 group. Closest companions Ngc 6978, Ngc 6976 are 1min NE and 1min SW respectively. PA = 85. Other Names: PGC 65625,MCG -1-53-16,IRAS 20499-0555,HICK 88B
NGC 6976 Rather dim, small oval elongated 1 1/4 to 1 with a slightly brighter core. Diffuse looking. Averted shows it much better. 4min S is a nice pair of 12th mag stars. Part of the Hickson 88 group. Closest companions Ngc 6977, Ngc 6975 are 2min NE and 4min WSW respectively. PA = 40. Other Names: PGC 65620,MCG -1-53-15,HICK 88C
NGC 6975 Rather faint slash extended 2 1/2 to 1 with an ever so slightly brighter core. Comes and goes with averted vision. 14th mag star 1min S and 12th mag star 3min W. Part of the Hickson 88 group. Closest companion is Ngc 6976 4min ENE. PA = 80. Other Names: PGC 65612,MCG -1-53-14,HICK 88D (Matt Orsie)
10/20/00 905pm A real nice star field and one that made it
easy to orient to. Three components in a line with the middle one being most prominent.
Intermittently I detected the edgeon component a short distance away in the high power
field to the SW. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 89 The brightest member of this very difficult
group is MCG -01-54-012 which
appeared extremely faint, small, slightly elongated. Requires averted
vision due to low even surface brightness. There are two mag 14/15 stars
1.1' SE and 1.9' SE. Situated on a line between two mag 10/11 stars 4' SW
and 5.5' NE. Hickson 89B lies 4.8' NE and is only a threshold object,
probably glimpsed on several occasions although not with complete
certainty. Located 1.3' S of a mag 12 star which interferes with viewing. (Steve Gottlieb)
This one skunked Steve and I last month. With great
difficulty, I FINALLY found the (star-poor) field. Only "A" was glimpsed, and
with GREAT difficulty. Compared the view with Ken Archuleta's 20": "A"
slightly brighter. (Ray Cash)
A+b visible, b with difficulty. Did not see c or d at all. (Tom Osypowski)
PGC 66570 Rather faint oval extended 2 to 1 with a slightly brighter core. Averted holds it much easier. 10th mag star is 6min SW. Very diffuse looking. Brightest member of the Hickson 89 group. Pgc 65575, and Pgc 65580 are 2min E and 6min E respectively. PA = 70. Other Names: MCG -1-54-12,IRAS 21175-0407,HICK 89A
PGC 66580 Very dim diffuse patch. Oval extended 1 1/2 to 1. Averted needed to see it at all. 12th mag star is 2min N. Part of the Hickson 89 group. Pgc 65570, and Pgc 65575 are 2min W and 6min W respectively. PA = 170. Other Names: HICK 89B
PGC 66575 Very faint slash extended 2 to 1. Diffuse looking. Averted needed to hold it. Part of the Hickson 89 group. Pgc 65570, and Pgc 65580 are 2min W and 3min E respectively. Not able to get a read on the PA. Other Names: HICK 89C (Matt Orsie)
10/19/00 917pm When I came back in with my notes on this group I was surprised how my impressions of it were so different from others observations. I found the field easy to orient…2 stars in the middle of the field helped me to find the main component. It was a faint patch using averted vision. Using the DSS photo I kept catching glimpses of what I thought was a second component to the E of the first, near one of the 2 stars I used to ID the field. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 90 Easy group, though poor seeing made separating b and d difficult. (Tom Osypowski)
Excellent, bright group. All four easily seen. Quite south. (Ray Cash)
11/17/00 640pm It took 2 nights and 2 tries to get this one…besides being low, my charting software inserted a extra bright star in the field, which caused temporary confusion. The group is fairly bright, saw the 3 components (NGC 7173,7174,7176) in the center of the DSS photo as a double-lobed patch. 1 more (NGC 7172) seen at the N edge of the high power field. On the way out, observed NGC 7163 on the W edge of the low power field. (Michael Gille)
NGC 7172 Small to medium sized diffuse oval elongated 1 1/2 to 1 with a slightly brighter core. Detect a star is the central region that comes and goes. 12th mag star lies 3min SE. 15th mag star is 30sec S. Averted shows much more size. Part of the Hickson 90 group. PA = 65. Other Names: PGC 67874,ESO 466-38,MCG -5-52-7,IRAS 21591-3206,HICK 90A
NGC 7176 Small, bright oval extended 1 1/2 to 1 with a very bright stellar round core. Partially superimposed on Ngc 7174 on the SW edge. Part of the Hickson 90 group. PA = 0. Other Names: PGC 67883,ESO 466-41,MCG -5-52-11,UGCA 423,HICK 90B,VV 698
NGC 7173 Small, bright oval extended 1 1/2 to 1 with a very bright core that is slightly flattened. Diffuse looking. Part of the Hickson 90 group. Closest companion is Ngc's 7174 and Ngc 7176 1min SE. PA = 10. Other Names: PGC 67878,ESO 466-39,MCG -5-52-8,UGCA 422,HICK 90C,VV 698
NGC 7174
Small, rather bright oval elongated 2 1/2 to 1 with a slightly
brighter core. Diffuse with an even surface brightness.
Companion Ngc 7176 is superimposed on the NE edge. Part of the
Hickson 90 group. PA = 80.
Other Names:
PGC 67881,ESO 466-40,MCG -5-52-10,IRAS 21592-3214,HICK 90D,VV
698
(Matt Orsie)
HICKSON 91 (22:09 -27 46):This quartet consists of NGC
7214 ("A") and three very faint companions. "A" appears fairly faint,
very small, slightly elongated, very small very
bright core. A mag 13 star is just off SW end 1.1' from center. A nearly
stellar companion ESO 467-013 ("D") is 30" NNE. ESO 467-015 ("B")
located
5.1' NNE is an extremely faint edge-on oriented NNW-SSE, and can just be
held steadily with averted. Finally, ESO 467-013 ("C"), situated 2.1' NE
of NGC 7214 is also extremely faint, small, slightly elongated, with a very
low surface brightness. (Steve Gottlieb)
"A" bright, "C" averted, "B" not seen--went behind tree! ...try later/another night. (Ray Cash)
NGC 7214 Medium sized bright oval elongated 1 1/4 to 1 with a bright stellar core. Pair of 13th mag stars are 2min SW. Part of the Hickson 91 group. Closest companion is Pgc 68155 30sec NE. PA = 20. Other Names: PGC 68152,ESO 467-12,MCG -5-52-34,IRAS 22062-2803,HICK 91A,VV 700
PGC 68164 Small, rather dim slask extended 4 to 1 with an ever so slightly brighter core. Diffuses out away from the center. Part of the Hickson 91 group. Closest companion is Pgc 68160 4min S. PA = 170. Other Names: ESO 467-15,MCG -5-52-39,IRAS 22064-2758,HICK 91B
PGC 68160 Small and rahter dim oval elongated 2 to 1 with an ever so slightly brighter core. Averted helps to hold. Part of the Hickson 91 group. Closest companion is Ngc 7214/Pgc 68155 about 3min SW. PA = 150. Other Names: ESO 467-13,MCG -5-52-36,HICK 91C,VV 700
PGC 68155 Very very small and rather bright with a bright stellar core. Diffuses out away from the center. Part of the Hickson 91 group. Closest companion is Ngc 7214 30sec SW. Other Names: MCG -5-52-35,HICK 91D,VV 700 (Matt Orsie)
11/15/00 749pm 2 large, faint, but distinct components seen with averted vision. The other two edge-ons seen only intermittently,also with averted vision. I bet this one is a beauty if I could see it a lot higher in the sky. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 92 Always fun to look at Stephan's! In the 22" all five members are easy on decent nights. The challenge is the 6th outlying galaxy, 7320C. On the best nights it is there. (Tom Osypowski)
Stephan's
Quintet. Nice group to end the evening. Not as bright, or as big, as I remembered it
though; especially compared to Hickson 90. 7331 and companions looked nice too. (Ray Cash)
Sluing to the south [of NGC 7331], I found the "Spout"
asterism, a group of four stars pouring into the region harboring Stephen's Quintet. Two
members of the quintet, NGCs 7319 and 7320, were visible. Neither showed as anything more
than a small, delicate patch of nebulosity. NGC 7319 is listed at magnitude 13.1 and NGC
7320 at magnitude 12.6 in the DSFG. (Bill Ferris)
3 out of 5 viewed, at 142x in
my 10".
NGC 7320 (HCG 92a) - Very faint
NGC 7318b (HCG 92b)
NGC 7319 (HCG 92c)
All 5 viewed at 226x in my 18".
NGC 7320 (HCG 92a) - Reasonably bright
NGC 7319 (HCG 92c) - Faint
NGC 7317 (HCG 92e) - Reasonably bright, near a star.
NGC 7318a (HCG 92d) - Easy to distinguish, bright
NGC 7318b (HCG 92b) - (see above) (Randy Muller)
(Sketch, as well as following notes, by Jeff Medkeff)
Stephan's Quintet=Hickson 92=NGC7318+
Aug 29 ~1:40am MST
10" f/4.5 Newt
Seeing 3/10, very soft seeing; NELM=6.7
Finding the Quintet
is trivial, being very near the bright 'signpost'
galaxy NGC 7331 which is interesting in its own right due to its numerous
companions and field galaxies. Four of the closer companion galaxies are
easily visible from a dark site with a 10", with a few more popping out
from time to time or at least making the observer suspicious of their
presence at times. Ranging out as far as a half degree from 7331 reveals
many more faint galaxies, especially in a large scope; but more to the
point if the direction is south and slightly westwards, one comes upon
Hickson 92 = Stephan's Quintet.
The Quintet is one of the more famous of deep sky objects, which means of
course that as a planetary observer I had never carefully observed it
before. This object proved to be easily seen in the 10", and was quite
visible in the 4.5" Newt as well, though obviously its morphology was quite
resistant to vision in the smaller scope. I quickly abandoned the small
instrument in favor of making a sketch in the larger one.
Stephan's Quintet pays large dividends to the observer who spends a lot of
time looking for the details. Initially, the group appeared to consist of
only a few evenly-illuminated whisps of light among a smattering of stars.
The thrill of observing such an object is, it seems to me, solely in the
detection. But I have never been one to settle on what is first shown to
me, so I persisted in observing the galaxy cluster in the hopes that
different magnifications or the employment of more advanced techniques or
tricks might reveal more to me.
Quite a bit of time was needed to sort out what was visible, and I finally
concluded that a group of five small galaxies arranged in the boundaries of
a parallelogram were apparent. (Later checks of SkyMap revealed the
galaxies seen were 7317, 7318a+b, 7319, and 7320.) Separating 7318 into
its two components was very problematic and never really achieved; I never
succeded in seeing them as anything but a sort of overlapping, barbel shape
with brighter, fatter areas extended roughly east-west, and a fainter area
in the middle.
As I observed the Quintet longer and longer, though, it became apparent
that all of the galaxies were, to differing degrees, slightly brighter in
the middle, and not quite evenly-illuminated after all. After some time
looking specifically for brightening, I decided that all of them showed
very subtle condensations in their centers. None of them sported stellar
nuclei, but the seeing was very soft and such were likely to be missed even
if present.
After about 30 minutes carefully looking at the field, I began to sketch.
Unfortunately, as seems to inevitably happen, the contrast in my sketch is
greatly exaggerated, but does get across the gist of what I observed.
Filling in the galaxies themselves was simple, having been amply prepared
by about a half hour of careful looking prior to picking up a pencil. I've
been working on my smearing technique after some admonitions by Brian
Skiff, and with some additional teutelage by another advanced Arizona
observer, Rik Hill, I think things are improving in this area quite a bit.
After depicting the barely-visible brightness gradients and smearing out
the outer regions of the galaxies, I turned toward the larger field to
provide some context.
The problem with sketching the surrounding stars is that as you look for
them, more and more pop into view. When I started looking, I never would
have suspected that Pegasus was a place where I would find rich starfields,
but if faint stars count as a contribution to richness, then I guess
Stephan's Quintet is in a rich starfield. I eventually abandoned the task
of recording all the stars, and instead settled on depicting the brighter
ones, and the ones in interesting positions relative to the galaxy cluster.
As I sketched the surrounding starfield, a noticed that one star repeatedly
appeared to be a little fuzzier than the others. After about ten minutes of
struggling to see this faint "star" for what it was, I decided to plot it
as another fuzzy patch, on the grounds that my eyes deserved the benefit of
the doubt. This proved fortuitous: this is plotted as NGC 7320C in SkyMap
Pro, and appears quite clearly in photographs of the Quintet, as I
discovered later. It must be a vanishingly faint galaxy, as it is definitly
on the limit for my 10", at least for last night, perhaps being visible
only 20% of the time, and visible as fuzzy even less than that.
As the observation wore on, the seeing got worse and worse, and instead of
continuing to plonk around with deep sky objects I decided to pack it in.
An observation of Jupiter or Saturn would have been futile under the
circumstances, as brief parting glances at each showed.
This afternoon, I scanned my sketch (which made the boosted-contrast
problem even worse) and attempted to smooth it a little to better
approximate the original (mostly, that was a futile effort). Comparison
with the DSS is quite favorable, which was a welcome result as earlier this
year I rather screwed up a sketch of Hickson 79, putting a bright component
galaxy in completely the wrong orientation. (Jeff Medkeff)
11/25/99 7:00pm Hickson 92(Stephan’s Quintet)
My first attempt at a Hickson group. Starhopped from NGC 7331,a really nice sight in
itself. It took about 15 minutes of staring at the high power field, then at the DSS
photo, and one by one the components popped into view. A real thrill. I saw all 5
components eventually but 2 of them (B and D) were seen as one object. (Michael
Gille)
HICKSON 93 All 5 seen! Nice, well-spaced group. A, B, C, quite easy; D, E, quite difficult. (Ray Cash)
All five visible and not too difficult. Great group! (Tom Osypowski)
NGC 7550 is a galaxy in Pegasus. It was observed from Mt. Meadows, WVA on Jul 25, 1998 at 01:43 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 9mm Nagler (24") + Paracorr = 349x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.0, steady and clear. NGC 7550 is a magnitude 14.0 object measuring 1.7 min across and is located at RA = 23h 15m 18s, DEC = 18° 57'. Very bright medium sized, diffuse looking oval elongated 1 1/2 to 1 with a very bright extended core. Averted shows more size. PA = 140. Part of the 7550 group. Ngc 7547 is 3min W, 7549 is 5min N, 7558 is 6min ESE, and Hickson 93D (CGCG 454-15) is 7min NE. Hickson 93A. ARP 99 NGC 7549 is a galaxy in Pegasus. It was observed from Mt. Meadows, WVA on Jul 25, 1998 at 01:44 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 9mm Nagler (24") + Paracorr = 349x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.0, steady and clear. NGC 7549 is a magnitude 14.0 object measuring 2.9 min across and is located at RA = 23h 15m 18s, DEC = 19° 2'. Rather large oval extended 2 to 1 with a very large extended, slightly brighter core. Averted vision shows more size and a hint of mottling. 11th mag star is 2min W. PA = 0. Part of the 7550 group. Ngc 7550 is 5min S, 7547 is 5min SW, 7558 is 9min SE, and Hickson 93D (CGCG 454-15) is 4min E. Hickson 93B. ARP 99 NGC 7547 is a galaxy in Pegasus. It was observed from Mt. Meadows, WVA on Jul 25, 1998 at 01:43 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 9mm Nagler (24") + Paracorr = 349x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.0, steady and clear. NGC 7547 is a magnitude 15.0 object measuring 1.3 min across and is located at RA = 23h 15m, DEC = 18° 58'. Rather bright oval elongated 1 1/4 to 1. Has an even surface brightness. The core is small but very bright. PA = 90. Part of the 7550 group. Ngc 7550 is 3min E, 7549 is 5min NE, 7558 is 9min ESE, and Hickson 93D (CGCG 454-15) is 8min NE. Hickson 93C. ARP 99 PGC 70842 is a galaxy in Pegasus. It was observed from Mt. Meadows, WVA on Jul 25, 1998 at 01:44 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 9mm Nagler (24") + Paracorr = 349x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.0, steady and clear. PGC 70842 is a magnitude 15.7 object measuring 30 sec across and is located at RA = 23h 15m 52s, DEC = 18° 51' 32". Very, very small but bright. A slight oval elongated 1 1/4 to 1 with a very bright core. Averted shows more size. PA = 20. Part of the 7550 group. Ngc 7550 is 7min SW, 7549 is 4min W, 7558 is 8min SSE, and 7547 is 9min SW. Also known as CGCG 454-15. Hickson 93D. NGC 7558 is a galaxy in Pegasus. It was observed from Mt. Meadows, WVA on Jul 25, 1998 at 01:45 am using the 24" f/4.5 with a 9mm Nagler (24") + Paracorr = 349x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.0, steady and clear. NGC 7558 is a magnitude 16.0 object located at RA 23h 15m 36s, DEC 18° 55'. Very, very small faint oval extended 1 1/4 to 1 with a slightly brighter core. 16th mag star is detected on the W side. Averted shows a little more size. Pair of 14th mag stars are 3min S. PA = 160. Part of the 7550 group. Ngc 7550 is 6min W, 7549 is 8min NW, 7547 is 9min W, and Hickson 93D (CGCG 454-15) is 8min NNW. Hickson 93E. (Matt Orsie)
10/19/00 900pm This was a nice prominent group, found in the field easily. Three of the components (NGC 7547,7550,7549) make a nice triangular pattern in the high power field. The fourth component (NGC 7558) I could detect intermittently with averted vision. (Michael Gille)
Hickson 93 Pegasus, 23 15.3 +19.0
This is a very nice, big, interesting group with 5 members. All the
members together were visible only at 226x. This was a great group to
start with.
NGC 7550: At 87x (26mm plossl), this was fairly small, fairly bright,
diffuse halo and stellar core. Forms neat and obvious right triangle
with NGCs 7547 and 7549.
NGC 7547: At 133x (17mm plossl), a bit fainter, round, non-stellar
center.
NGC 7549: Big, more diffuse and somewhat fainter than 7550 and 7547.
Seems round. Whoops! A mag 15 satellite just went through the field!
NGC 7553: At 226x, (10mm plossl), very faint, somewhat concentrated
in the center.
NGC 7558: Extremely faint, diffuse halo, concentrated in the center. (Randy Muller)
HICKSON 94 Very nice COMPACT group. Small galaxies, but bright--used 4.8 Nag (417x) At least 4 seen. Stellar-like cores? (Ray Cash)
All four visible, even the extremely faint "D" (Tom Osypowski)
10/20/00 920pm The group appeared as a faint "C" shaped clump with 3 condensations detected within it. (Michael Gille)
Hickson 94, Pegasus, 23 17.2 +18.7
This extremely compact group has 7 members, but I was able to observe
only three of them. Located only 32 arc minutes SE of Hickson 93,
they appeared as a large, irregular glow within a triangle of stars at
87x. At 226x, the glow appeared elongated and irregular. At 301x, I
was able to separate the glow into two components.
NGC 7578a: At 301x (7.5mm plossl), very faint, diffuse.
NGC 7578b: Seems brighter than 7578a. Appears to have a stellar
center, but the galaxy as a whole is much smaller than 7578a.
PGC 70943: Extremely faint-at limit of vision. Very elusive glow (Randy Muller)
NGC 7578B Very small and fairly bright oval extended 1 1/4 to 1 with a brighter core. Averted shows a little more size and diffuse edges. 14th mag star is 30sec W. Part of the Hickson 94 group. Closest members are Ngc 7578A 1min SW and Pgc 70936 30sec ENE. PA = 135. Other Names: PGC 70934,NGC 7578,UGC 12478,MCG 3-59-25,CGCG 454-24,HICK 94A,ARP 170,VV 181
NGC 7578A Very small and bright galaxy. Slight hint of an oval. Diffuse with a brighter core. Averted shows a little more size. Brightest member of the Hickson 94 group. Closest member is Ngc 7578B 1min NE. PA = 115. Other Names: PGC 70933,NGC 7578,UGC 12477,MCG 3-59-24,CGCG 454-22,HICK 94B,ARP 170,VV 181
PGC 70943 Very small dim glow extended 3 to 1 with a slightly brighter core. Averted shows more size. Part of the Hickson 94 group. Closest members are Pgc 70939 30sec NW and Pgc 70936 3min SW. PA = 160. Other Names: HICK 94C
PGC 70936 Very very very small, round and faint patch that brightens towards the center. Looks almost stellar except averted shows a haze around the edges. Part of the Hickson 94 group. Closest members are Ngc 7578B 30sec WSW and Pgc 70943 3min NE. Other Names: HICK 94D
PGC 70937 Very very small, extremely faint slash extended 3 to 1. Diffuse with an even surface brightness. Only glimpsed with averted vision. Most difficult component to see in the grouping. Part of the Hickson 94 group. Closest companion is Pgc 70936 1min S. PA = 40. Other Names: HICK 94E
PGC 70939 Round diffuse glow that is only seen once every minute or so with averted vision. Very, very small and almost stellar. Sits 30sec W of Pgc 70943. Part of the Hickson 94 group. Other Names: HICK 94F (Matt Orsie)
HICKSON 95 Large (well, relatively), diffuse glow with "clumpy" material. 3 galaxies; "D" not seen. A and C merge; hard to pick apart. (Ray Cash)
All four seen by myself, Chuck Dethloff
and Howard Banich. "A" and
"C" were tricky to separate. (Tom Osypowski)
10/22/00 1015pm The group was seen as an irregularly shaped very faint patch with no condensations. (Michael Gille)
Hickson 95, Pegasus, 23 19.5 +09.5
This small group has 4 members, of which I could only see 2, and one
of those was very intermittent. At 226x (10mm plossl), the group was
visible only as a general glow.
NGC 7609: Using 301x, it appears very faint, relatively "large"
diffuse oval.
MCG +01-59-048: Extremely faint, visible only 20% of the time as
seeing varies. Very small. (Randy Muller)
NGC 7609 Rather bright small to medium size oval that looks like a face on. Has a much brighter stellar core. Very diffuse out from the edges. Averted shows a lot more size. 15th mag star is 2min S. Brightest member of the Hickson 95 group. Pgc 71074 lies 1min SW and Pgc 71080 is 2min SE. PA = 100. Other Names: PGC 71076,MCG 1-59-47,CGCG 406-65,HICK 95A,ARP 150,VV 20
PGC 71080 Faint, small slash elongated 3 to 1 with an ever so slightly brighter core. Averted helps to hold it. Part of the Hickson 95 group. Ngc 7609 is 2min NW and Pgc 71074 is 2min W. PA = 140. Other Names: MCG 1-59-48,CGCG 406-67,HICK 95B
PGC 71074 Very small faint slash extended 2 to 1 with an ever so slightly brighter core. Averted needed to even see it. Brightest member of the Hickson 95 group. NGC 7609 lies 1min NE and Pgc 71080 is 2min E. PA = 160. Other Names: MCG 1-59-46,HICK 95D (Matt Orsie)
HICKSON 96 Nice pair... but then "A" looks a little irregular, kind of like a mini M51, with attached companion galaxy ("C"). A, B, C seen. (Ray Cash)
"A" "B" and "C" were easy and fairly bright. "D" was just glimpsed. (Tom Osypowski)
NGC 7674 Small, fairly bright oval elongated 1 1/4 to 1 with a brighter core. Diffuse looking. Seems to be a face on. 14th mag star is 2min NW. Brightest member of the Hickson 96 group. Closest companion is Pgc 71505 1min NE. PA = 95. Other Names: PGC 71504,UGC 12608,MCG 1-59-80,CGCG 406-112,IRAS 23254+0830,KUG 2325+085,HICK 96A,ARP 182,VV 343,MK 533
NGC 7675 Very small but rather bright oval patch extended 1 1/2 to 1 with a brighter core. Part of the Hickson 96 group. Closest companion is Ngc 7674 4min W. PA = 45. Other Names: PGC 71518,MCG 1-59-83,HICK 96B
PGC 71505 Very, very small and rather dim. A slight oval with a bright stellar core. Part the Hickson 96 group. Closest companion is Ngc 7674 1min W. PA = 45. Other Names: MCG 1-59-81,CGCG 406-114,HICK 96C,ARP 182,VV 343
PGC 71507 Very very small and very very faint glow. Oval extended 1 1/2 to 1. Pops in and out with averted vision. Diffuse with an even surface brightness. Part of the Hickson 96 group. Closest companion is Ngc 7674 1min NW. PA = 30. Other Names: HICK 96D (Matt Orsie)
10/20/00 945pm This group was detected as 2 faint patches, seen directly. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 97 Another nice group! "A" and "C" obvious; "B" elongated, averted vision. "D" has foreground star attached, galaxy extends to n/e. (Ray Cash)
All five galaxies were seen. "B"
was seen as edge-on. "E" was
faint, but not really difficult. (Tom Osypowski)
IC 5357 Fairly bright, small oval elongated 2 1/2 to 1 with a brighter somewhat flattened core. Averted shows much more size. 11th mag star sits 3min ESE. Brightest member of the Hickson 97 group. Closest companion is Pgc 72404 2min SW. PA = 20. Other Names: PGC 72408,MCG -1-60-33,HICK 97A
PGC 72430 Very faint and small slash elongated 4 to 1 with an ever so slightly brighter core. Averted helps show a little more size. 11th mag star is 2min W. Part of the Hickson 97 group. Closest companion is IC 5357 5min W. PA = 150. Other Names: IC 5359,MCG -1-60-36,HICK 97B,FGC2535, DENISP_G_J2347377-021901,DENISP_G_J2347379-021901
PGC 72409 Small, slight oval extended 1 1/4 to 1 with a slightly brighter core. Diffuse looking. Averted shows a little more size. 15th mag star is 2min S. 11th mag star is 3min NE. Part of the Hickson 97 group. Closest companion is Pgc 72404 3min NW. PA = 65. Other Names: IC 5356,MCG -1-60-34,HICK 97C,DENISP_G_J2347237-022105
PGC 72404 Very small oval extended 1 1/2 to 1 to a stellar core that looks like a haze. 13th mag star is immediately on the S end. Part of the Hickson 97 group. Closest companion is IC 5357 2min NE. PA = 20. Other Names: IC 5351,MCG -1-60-32,HICK 97D
PGC 72405 Very faint, very very small oval extended 1 1/2 to 1 with an ever so slightly brighter stellar core. Averted needed to hold this one. Part of the Hickson 97 group. Closest companion is IC 5357 2min SE. PA = 40. Other Names: HICK 97E,DENISP_G_J2347197-021655 (Matt Orsie)
10/21/00 1000pm A real nice group to observe…the brightest to my eyes of the night’s observing. Easy ID, 4 components seen. 3 of them are faint but distinct ovals. The 4th component is an edge-on and was seen intermittently. (Michael Gille)
Back to Top
HICKSON 98 Looks like one elongated, smaller version of M82... Irregular patches of light. Nice little "hook" at s/e end ("B"). Mistook 17th mag? star for "C"; Steve corrected me a few minutes later with a peek through his 17.5, when both star and galaxy could be picked off--with difficulty, of course. (Ray Cash)
"A-B-C" easy. Could not detect "D" (and I really tried). (Tom Osypowski)
PGC 72803 Small but rather bright oval extended 1 1/2 with a much brighter core. 10th mag star lies 3min N. Brightest member of the Hickson 98 group. Closest companion is Pgc 72808 30sec SE. PA = 110. Other Names: NGC 7783,UGC 12837,UGC 12837A,MCG 0-60-58,CGCG 381-60, HICK 98A,ARP 323,KCPG 595A,VV 208
PGC 72808 Fairly bright flattened oval elongated 1 1/4 to 1 with a bright core. Part of the Hickson 98 group. Closest companion is NGC 7783 30sec NW. PA = 55. Other Names: NGC 7783,UGC 12837,UGC 12837B,MCG 0-60-59,CGCG 381-60,HICK 98B,ARP 323,KCPG 595B,VV 208
PGC 72810 Very very small diffuse, round glow with a brighter core. 15th mag star is 10sec W. Averted helps see more size. Part of the Hickson 98 group. Closest companion is Pgc 72808 2min N. Other Names: HICK 98C
PGC 72806 Very very and very very faint oval glow elongated 1 1/2 to 1. Even surface brightness. 10 mag star is 2min N. Diffuse looking. Only seen with averted vision. Comes and goes. Part of the Hickson 98 group. Closest companion is Ngc 7783 1min S. PA = 135. Other Names: UGC 12837,MCG 0-60-60,HICK 98D,ARP 323,VV 208 (Matt Orsie)
10/21/00 1015pm An easy star field to orient to. The group was
detected as an unusual curved structure next to a foreground star. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 99 Nice. "B" first seen; "A" has foreground star; "C" separated pair (with time) from "B." (Ray Cash)
"A-B-C" seen easily. "D" came through with averted vision only. (Tom Osypowski)
UGC 12897 is a galaxy in Pegasus. It was observed from Mt. Meadows, WVA on Nov 20, 1998 at 09:10 pm using the 24" f/4.5 with a 9mm Nagler (24") = 305x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.5, pretty steady and extremely clear. UGC 12897 is a magnitude 14.8 object measuring 1.1 min across and is located at RA = 0h 0m 38s, DEC = 28° 23' 4". Very small rather bright oval extended 2 to 1 with a slightly brighter core. Core appears to be stellar. Lies 20sec N of a 12th mag star. PA = 30. Westernmost and brightest of the grouping. MCG+5-1-22 (99C) and UGC 12899 (99B) are 2min NE while PGC 57 (99E) and PGC 60 (99D) lie 2min SE. Hickson 99A. UGC 12899 is a galaxy in Pegasus. It was observed from Mt. Meadows, WVA on Nov 20, 1998 at 09:11 pm using the 24" f/4.5 with a 9mm Nagler (24") = 305x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.5, pretty steady and extremely clear. UGC 12899 is a magnitude 14.7 object measuring 48 sec across and is located at RA = 0h 0m 47s, DEC = 28° 24' 7". Very small and fairly bright oval extended 2 to 1 with a very bright stellar core. Averted shows a little more size. PA = 60. MCG+5-1-22 (99C) is 30sec W. UGC 12897 (99A) is 2min SW while PGC 57 (99E) and PGC 60 (99D) lie 2min S. Hickson 99B. MCG +5-1-21 is a galaxy in Pegasus. It was observed from Mt. Meadows, WVA on Nov 20, 1998 at 09:10 pm using the 24" f/4.5 with a 9mm Nagler (24") = 305x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.5, pretty steady and extremely clear. MCG +5-1-21 is a magnitude 15.7 object measuring 42 sec across and is located at RA = 0h 0m 44s, DEC = 28° 24' 5". Very very small and rather faint oval extended 1 1/2 to 1 with a slightly brighter stellar looking core. Averted helps to hold the oval shape. PA = 90. UGC 129897 (99A) is 2min SW and UGC 12899 (99B) is 30sec E while PGC 57 (99E) and PGC 60 (99D) lie 2min S. Hickson 99C. PGC 60 is a galaxy in Pegasus. It was observed from Mt. Meadows, WVA on Nov 20, 1998 at 09:12 pm using the 24" f/4.5 with a 9mm Nagler (24") = 305x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.5, pretty steady and extremely clear. PGC 60 is a magnitude 17.2 object measuring 30 sec across and is located at RA = 0h 0m 45s, DEC = 28° 22' 18". Very very small patch that comes and goes with direct vision. Averted holds it better. Appears to be slightly oval elongated 1 1/4 to 1 with a slightly brighter core. MCG+5-1-22 (99C) and UGC 12899 (99B) are 2min N while PGC 57 (99E) is 30sec W and UGC 12897 (99A)is 2min NW. Hickson 99D. PGC 57 is a galaxy in Pegasus. It was observed from Mt. Meadows, WVA on Nov 20, 1998 at 09:13 pm using the 24" f/4.5 with a 9mm Nagler (24") = 305x eyepiece. Sky conditions were 6.5, pretty steady and extremely clear. PGC 57 is a magnitude 17.7 object measuring 18 sec across and is located at RA = 0h 0m 42s, DEC = 28° 22' 9". Very very small round glow, almost stellar. Need averted to see it at all. MCG+5-1-22 (99C) and UGC 12899 (99B) are 2min N while PGC 60 (99D) is 30sec E and UGC 12897 (99A) lies 2min NW. Hickson 99E. (Matt Orsie)
10/21/00 840pm This group was seen as 2 elongated faint patches set at almost a right angle to each other. The main component was right next to a fairly bright field star making it very difficult to see. (Michael Gille)
HICKSON 100 "A" and "B" easily seen. 15th mag stars near "C" and "D" seen, but no galaxies. (Ray Cash)
"A-B" very easy. "C"
seen with averted vision. "D" extremely difficult. (Tom Osypowski)
NGC 7803 Small to medium sized rather bright oval extended 2 to 1 that has a bright stellar core. Brightest member of the Hickson 100 group. Closest companion is Pgc 92 30sec W. PA = 75. Other Names: PGC 101,UGC 12906,MCG 2-1-11,CGCG 433-13,IRAS 23587+1249,HICK 100A
PGC 108 Small, diffuse oval elongated 1 1/2 to 1 with a slightly brighter core. Diffuses out away from the edges. 12th mag star is 1min E. Part of the Hickson 100 group. Closest companion is Ngc 7803 30sec W. PA = 150. Other Names: MCG 2-1-12,CGCG 433-14,KUG 2358+128B,HICK 100B,MK 934
PGC 89 Small, rather faint oval extended 1 1/2 to 1 with a slightly brighter core. Averted shows more size and helps to hold it. Diffuses out away from the center. 15th mag star sits 30sec S. Part of the Hickson 100 group. Closest companion is Pgc 92 2min S. PA = 60. Other Names: MCG 2-1-9,KUG 2358+128A,HICK 100C
PGC 92 Very very small, very very faint, diffuse patch. Averted helps to see it at all. Looks oval but it's hard to see the PA. Part of the Hickson 100 group. Closest companion is NGC 7803 30sec E. Two 14th mag stars are 30sec N. PA = 45. Other Names: MCG 2-1-10,HICK 100D (Matt Orsie)
10/21/00 940pm A nice pair of faint ovals in the high power field. The distinctive star pattern in the field made for easy identification. (Michael Gille)
back to: |
back to: |
Last Update: 5/28/99