For the last several years, I’ve been traveling to the same location for most observing sessions. Two friends and I decided to head about 15 minutes further NE away from city lights to a new dark sky site we’d been eyeing for some time. With the moon set to rise at 2am, we got set up around 10pm for a good couple hour session.
eat
If I could pick only one thing to have near every single dark site, it would be…a Casey’s General Store! Why would that be? Casey’s isn’t just a gas station and convenience store. They’re the 5th largest pizza chain in the U.S.! Lucky for us, both our regular site and tonight’s new dark sky site have one, as is very common in rural Missouri. My go-to is two slices of hot pizza, a fountain Dr. Pepper, and of course, Casey’s cookies! Tonight would be no different! If you haven’t had the pizza at Casey’s, you’ve really got to give it a try!
drink
As you can see here, we had a good selection with a bourbon, rye, and two scotches. I personally sampled the Frey Ranch 100, a stark contrast to the rest of the bunch. At 100 proof, it wasn’t too harsh, but a few drops of water really helped to bring out the flavors and tame down the proof a bit.
astronomy
What better to do with dark skies than to look at faint galaxies? That’s exactly what I did, taking my first shot at seeing all four of the Box Galaxies. While in the area, 3 other galaxies also popped out, notated below.
I found this grouping to be quite fun and spent a lot of time on it. While this view is quite zoomed out, I’ve also included a more magnified view of the main four themselves, below.
Box Galaxies
N4169 – Brightest of 4 neat galaxies, moderately sized, obvious brighter core, some structure seen.
N4174 – 2nd brightest and smallest of 4 galaxies, pinpoint stellar core, some NE to SW elongation seen.
N4175 – 3rd brightest and 2nd largest of the four galaxies, clearly elongated SE to NW, 6:1, no core visible.
N4173 – Largest and faintest of four galaxies, very elongated SE to NW, almost averted only, no core visible.
Friends
N4185 – Large, somewhat faint, low surface brightness, hints of N to S elongation, face on.
N4196 – Small, bright with a brighter core, round, nearby NGC 4185.
UGC 7190 – Faint, small, right next to a bright mag 14 star, hard to see with direct vision.
As can be clearly seen here, 4173 is very faint with no noticeable core. I also really loved the elongation in these four and the differences in amount of halo visible. If you have an 8″ scope or larger, give these a shot next time you’re under dark skies!
Winter observing is all about Auriga galaxies, right? Okay, okay, I’ll admit it, Auriga (or-EYE-gah) is far from the premier galaxy constellation. In fact, only two NGC galaxies (2208 & 2303) are found in the constellation, and both are nearly mag 13. Add to that the one IC galaxy (2190), which is nearly mag 14, and you quickly realize you have to go deep to see galaxies in Auriga. Fun fact; only one Northern Constellation (Sagitta) has less NGC galaxies at 0. That said, I am very much on board with the challenge that comes with winter observing in Auriga! As you can see in the graphic above, there are plenty to try for.
eat
A staple in our amateur astro group is Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels. They definitely didn’t last long on our Colorado trip! If you’ve never had them, I can’t recommend them enough. On this particular trip, Dot’s had just put out a new flavor, Cheese Curls. Since I only heard about these the night before I had planned to go out, I had to make a special trip to the local store to pick some up, and sure enough, they had plenty in stock. My expectations were tempered as their last attempt at the non-original flavor didn’t go well IMO with the Southwest flavor. Nevertheless, we gave these a try, and like the Southwest, they were a disappointment. That’s not to say they were terrible by any stretch, but they were more like Godfather III than Godfather II, much less the OG.
drink
The tasting was fantastic on this specific night. First up, we had the Balvenie Sampler, which consists of the Doublewood 12, Caribbean Cask 14, and Doublewood 17 scotches. At my local store, these go for $60, $70, and $150, respectively. Lucky for us, they also sell a very nice sampler that gives you 50ml bottles of each so you can try them. For me, I found lots of similarities between the 12 and 17, as expected, and with the little I had to taste, I didn’t find enough difference to make up the 2.5:1 price. I immediately went and picked up a full bottle of the 12 year and plan to share this with many more. As for the 14 year, we weren’t as impressed, and let’s just say, the 50ml bottle didn’t get finished. But hey, that doesn’t mean don’t give it a try!
While I’m more of a Scotch guy myself, I also tried a bottle a friend brought out, Early Times Bottled in Bond, and I was quite impressed. Being a 100 proof Bourbon, there was some heat, but given the outside temps were in the mid-30s, it went down well! If you haven’t had this and like Bourbon, definitely give it a try!
astronomy
Now for those faint Auriga galaxies. Over two sessions, I logged 9 in total, including 2 of the 3 brighter galaxies listed above. Did I mention that this was winter observing? Temps were in the mid-30s and later in the session, winds most definitely picked up! Here were my observations:
UGC 3871 – Faint, very low surface brightness, moderately sized, round.
This gives you a bit of an idea of what I was looking at for the rest of the objects. Some shape was seen, but these deep galaxies were FAINT! See the rest of my notes, below.
Appendix
PGC 19016 – Faint, held with averted, small, elongated SE to NW.
PGC 20515 – Extremely faint, just caught glimpses during moments of better seeing, very small, round.
UGC 3818 – Faint but held with averted, very elongated SE to NW, small.
UGC 3849 – Faint but held with direct vision, brighter core with hint of a faint star, some halo seen with averted, elongated roughly E to W.
PGC 21003 – Extremely faint, only caught glimpses during moments of better seeing, small, no shape seen, very close to bright mag 12 star.
IC 2190 – Somewhat faint, easily held with direct vision, no core seen, even surface brightness, makes the fourth corner of a square with 3 other stars.
Overall, the experience winter observing in Auriga was a success! Although I didn’t find nearly every galaxy I looked for, I was rewarded with some deep, faint galaxies in a constellation where most don’t look for them! If you have any questions about this report, please contact me!
I recently took a trip out to the Colorado Springs Astronomical Society’s dark sky site, also home to the annual Rocky Mountain Star Stare, where many were set up to camp and observe for about a week. The elevation at this site is nearly 7,700 feet with mountain ranges on both sides. The skies here are very dark! While I don’t plan on going into detail on all 101 galaxies (you’re welcome), I did want to touch on some of the highlights.
eat
The eat section for this blog is slightly different in that we were camping for several days with only what we brought. We generally plan on having 1 gallon of water per day per person, enough propane to cook up some really great meals (about 1 lb. per day per person) and plenty of food. Since I plan to be doing these trips often enough, I decided to pick up a good camp stove when it went on sale, the Camp Chef Explorer Double Burner Stove. It occasionally goes on sale at Cabela’s for $80, so not bad. Throughout the week I cooked up brats, bacon, eggs, hash browns, steak, pasta, and one of my camping favorites, Jiffy Pop Popcorn! Here’s a picture of a bacon, fried egg and cheese sandwich with my scope and the mountains in the background. Not bad eating!
drink
Being that we were in the mountains day and night for nearly a week, you can imagine there would be a wide variety in the drink section! During the afternoons, we’d have a couple beers and everyone swaps what they brought with everyone else to increase variety. I brought Boulevard Tank 7, one of my favorite beers, and one that’s easily swapped for almost anything. At night, we had several whiskies and scotches to choose from, including my all-time favorite, the Ardbeg 10 Year. Finally, on more than one cold night, hot chocolate with Rum Chata was served up and enjoyed very hot!
astronomy
When you get skies like these, you want to find a good mix of looking at the brightest, showpiece objects and the faintest ones that just aren’t visible in other places. On this particular trip, I spent most of my time in Virgo, one of the best constellations for galaxy hunters.
NGC 5044 – Bright, large, round, bright central core with very obvious halo around it, nice galaxy even at low altitude, shares field with 5 other visible galaxies, this being the brightest.
PGC 46108 – Faint, small round galaxy with no discernable core, 5th brightest of a group of 6 galaxies.
NGC 5047 – Bright, large edge on galaxy, very bright stellar core, elongated E to W 3:1, shares field with much brighter NGC 5044 and three others.
PGC 83870 – Extremely dim, moderately sized, only caught glimpses with extreme averted, faintest of the group.
NGC 5049 – Small, bright galaxy with a bright central core, round, not much structure visible, shares field with much brighter NGC 5044 and five others.
NGC 5046 – Somewhat bright stellar core, small, hint of structure with averted, round.
Ursa Major
I did decide to venture out into Ursa Major and check out M81/M82 for a while. Here’s what I saw:
These galaxies are simply beautiful when viewed at low power, or individually at high power for that matter. I personally think M82 is the showpiece here, with brighter M81 being made special due to proximity to M82.
M81 – Very large, very bright face on spiral, very bright core with still bright huge halo, near showpiece galaxy M82. Easily the brightest object I logged in all 101 galaxies!
M82 – Very large, very bright edge on spiral galaxy, striking view, noticeable core with a dark vertical lane just WSW of the core, bright lump just WSW of that gap, this could be actual core, elongated WSW to ENE 9:1.
NGC 3077 – Somewhat large, bright galaxy, roundish with a bright inner halo and dimmer outer halo.
Comet C/2017 T2 Panstarrs
Image Credit: Jon Greif via Sky & Telescope
Seeing comet C/2017 T2 Panstarrs was especially exciting since it counted toward the 2 In The View observing program for a friend of mine. One of the challenges is to get a comet with another DSO in view. In this case, we observed the comet and NGC 3027 in the same field. Here were my notes:
C/2017 T2 Panstarrs – Large, bright comet, no visible tail, big bright fuzzy halo with brighter central core.
NGC 3027 – Moderately sized, faint, even surface brightness, elongated NW to SE.
While these examples only make up about 10% of the 101 galaxies I saw, this gives you a good idea of a brighter, more well-know view was versus some fainter, lesser-known NGC/PGC galaxies. If you have any questions, please contact me!
Just last month, I wrote about kicking off my Virgo Galaxy Quest with this future post already in mind. Having never observed Markarian’s Chain, I couldn’t wait to follow the entire string, really dissecting it and pulling out as many details as I could. Members of Markarian’s Chain include:
Naturally, I went ahead and observed a few other galaxies in the vicinity that I was able to pull out, and I’ll mix those observations in as I move across the image below.
eat
The eat portion of our outings has taken the biggest hit with the ongoing pandemic. I’ve still continued to bring my famous roasted peanuts, soda for the drive home when I tend to get sleepy, and for this outing, cheese and crackers. If you want to try making your own roasted peanuts like I do, it’s easy!
1. Preheat oven or toaster oven to 275°. 2. Spread in-shell peanuts on a cookie sheet, 1-2 layers maximum. 3. Cook for 45 minutes. 4. Turn temp up to 300° and cook for 10-15 more minutes, testing for doneness. 5. Let cool, or enjoy hot!
A year or two back, I picked up a bottle of 21-year rum and let it sit in the cabinet for a few months before finding the right time to give it a try. Upon doing so, I was slightly turned off by the taste and put it away for probably a year. When I pulled it back out for a second tasting, I quickly learned a lesson; never give up on a bottle after only one tasting! This time, the rum was fantastic, and I don’t think it had anything to do with an additional year sitting in the cabinet. I’m talking about the Zafra 21, distilled in Panama at Las Cabras Distillery. This is a fantastic rum that I would now recommend to any rum drinkers, or just anyone who wants to try something a little different from what they’re used to.
astronomy
Markarian’s Chain zoomed out is just an awesome view; THAT many bright galaxies just lined up is just beautiful. Of course, I couldn’t see it this way, as the field below is just over 2 degrees wide! Regardless, it is no less impressive when viewed at higher power with a smaller field of view.
Messier 84 (NGC 4374) – I noted this galaxy was bright with a large outer halo, face on, smaller and brighter than M86.
NGC 4387 – For this galaxy between M86 and M84, I noted it as small, bright, elongated NW to SE with a nearly stellar core.
Messier 86 (NGC 4406) – For Messier 86, I logged it as having a very bright central core with a large dim outer halo, sharing the field with many galaxies. Cool view!
NGC 4388 – This galaxy is one of the best of the bunch, being that it was edge on. My notes describe it as bright, large, clearly elongated E to W 5:1, extended further on the Eastern side.
NGC 4413 – This small galaxy was only somewhat bright, elongated, with a brighter, nearly stellar core, and didn’t really stand out from the bunch.
IC 3303 – This galaxy is extremely faint as is obvious from the image above. It’s just to the right of the label for 3303 and shows up as a speck. I noted it as somewhat large with averted vision with hints of elongation visible.
NGC 4402 – Another edge on galaxy, which I just love. Large, somewhat bright, even surface brightness with no discernible core.
NGC 4425 – This was yet another bright galaxy that was clearly elongated and edge on with some brightening towards the center (core).
NGC 4435 – This was one of the ‘Eyes’ galaxies! I saw this as a moderately sized face-on spiral, which I am also a big fan of. Very bright, brighter and smaller than twin ‘eye’ with a bright core and extended halo.
NGC 4438 – The second of the ‘Eyes’ galaxies, this was one very large, bright with a stellar core, elongated SSW to NNE. What a great view these two made!
NGC 4461 – This galaxy was bright, moderately sized, larger and brighter than the galaxy it was paired with and clearly elongated SSW to NNE.
NGC 4458 – This galaxy was unlike most of the others in that it was small, round, bright, with an almost stellar core, smaller and dimmer than its pair.
Coma Berenices
NGC 4473 – Bright, large, edge on, with a very bright core and a halo that extends WAY out with averted vision!
N 4477 – Another bright, large galaxy, round, brighter core, larger and brighter than its paired galaxy (visually).
NGC 4479 – Small, somewhat dim, pinpoint at the center, seen only with averted vision, but fairly bright in the image (above).
This was a great night following Markarian’s Chain in detail, and something I will definitely do again one day. I hope you get a chance to view each of these with your own eyes at the scope one day!
With a clear night finally coming and falling on a Sunday night, I decided last minute to take a half day of vacation the following day to allow for a full night of observing. Not only was I longing for getting out under the stars, but I had been planning for months to start tackling galaxies in the Virgo constellation, a galaxy hunter like myself’s dream!
In preparation, I used SkySafari to create a list of magnitude 13 and brighter objects in the constellation, which came out to 278 total objects, all but 1 (NGC 5634, globular cluster) of those being a galaxy. This list also includes 11! Messier objects! While this list won’t be exactly what I’ll follow, I at least want to make sure I see all of these objects, as well as any detectable galaxies nearby to them, and will use it primarily as a guide on where to start each session.
Brad and I arrived at our normal spot North of Kansas City, setting up shortly after 10pm and waited for moon set at around 12:45am. The temp started out at 46°F and was a cool 36°F when we packed up around 5am.
eat
Since we still observed social distancing, we didn’t end up sharing food. I did, however, bring along a special treat that coincidentally would pair great with the drink; fresh homemade caramel popcorn! Absolutely delicious! While ours is a family recipe, here’s the closest one we could find for you to try at home — https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/24952/caramel-popcorn/
drink
As mentioned above, the drink of the night was a great match with caramel popcorn, Captain Morgan Private Stock. This rum is right between being a mixer and a sipper, but I prefer it neat to anything else. You can usually find a bottle for right at $23, making this a great budget rum. On this rather cold night, it was the perfect choice!
astronomy
I started out the night, as mentioned above, in Virgo and spend most of our best hours here before moving to Coma Berenices, Bootes, and Ursa Major for a few late-night observations. Our skies were clear and registered an outstanding 21.73 on the SQML!
NGC 4168 – This large galaxy was by far the brightest of the group, at ~mag 11, I described it as round with a brighter core, and bright overall.
NGC 4165 – This companion was faint at mag 13.5 but easily held with direct vision. I noted it as somewhat large and elongated SSE to NNW.
NGC 4164 – This is the smallest and faintest of the trio, only observed using averted vision. I noted it as extremely faint with no shape seen. I also noted a mag 15 star immediately nearby, (pictured above just above and to the right of the galaxy).
What an awesome group and treat this was, exactly the kind of thing Virgo is known for!
NGC 4216 – Obviously the showpiece galaxy of this group, I noted it as very large, bright (~mag 10) edge on spiral with a very bright core, elongated SSW to NNE 10:1. I documented that the light cuts off sharply on the E edge, indicating there’s a dust lane here (pictured above), and that a dim mag 14 star just off-center of the galaxy (pictured above). Wow!
PGC 39247 – I noted that this was a small, faint galaxy, almost held with direct vision. I calculated the magnitude of this galaxy to be ~14.46. Fun fact: NGC 4216 is approx. 45 million light years away, while this faint PGC galaxy is ~620 million light years distant!
NGC 4206 – I noted this galaxy to be a large, somewhat bright (~mag 12.2) edge on with arms extending N to S 6:1, with more arms seems to the N.
IC 771 – Small, very faint (calculated to be ~14.66), held with direct vision, no shape visible.
PGC 39331 – Extremely faint (calculated to be ~14.74), small, averted vision only.
NGC 4222 – Somewhat faint (~mag 13.3), moderately sized edge on galaxy, elongated WSW to ENE with even surface brightness across.
PGC 1431022 – Now this galaxy was FAINT! Calculated at mag 15.18, this was the fifth faintest galaxy I’ve ever recorded at the time of writing! I wrote that it was extremely faint, very small galaxy seen with averted vision only.
NGC 4267 – Very bright (~mag 11) galaxy with an extremely bright core, round, includes some visible halo.
IC 775 – Small, faint (calculated to ~13.43), easily held with direct vision.
PGC 39550 – Another top 5 faintest galaxy I’ve ever seen to date, this one was calculated to mag 15.22!! I noted it was small, extremely faint, only seen with averted vision in glimpses. Loving Virgo so far!
NGC 5888 – I noted this galaxy as somewhat bright (~mag 13.4), moderately sized, elongated SSE to NNW, brightest and largest in a trio of dim galaxies.
NGC 5886 – Very small, faint (~mag 14.1) galaxy, middle brightness in a trio, very nearby dim mag 15 star (pictured).
N 5889 – Extremely faint (~mag 15.4), very difficult to see, in and out with averted vision, roundish in shape, somewhat small. While the first two galaxies were 430 and 410 million light years distant, NGC 5889 was a whopping 630 million light years away!!
Ursa Major
I decided late in the night go head over and look at huge spiral galaxy M101. Nearby were two little known galaxies that I’d never logged, so I quickly hit both of them. Here’s what I saw:
NGC 5474 – Somewhat bright with low surface brightness, irregular, dim mag 14 star just to the NE of galaxy.
NGC 5477 – Moderately sized, faint face on spiral, better viewed with averted vision, elongated E to W, very close-by to M101.
