| Steve Bodin | ||||
| Galaxies:
M99 / NGC 4298 / NGC 4302 / NGC 4262
Date & Time: 2 and 3 June 2003 11 PM to 3 am Sky darkness: 6 <Limiting magnitude> Transparency: fair to good Seeing: <1 worst - 10 best> Location of site: Silverdale WA, USA 47N 123W Conditions: temp 45-50 F, dry Site classification: suburb-rural Telescope: 17.5 DOB, Bigdog Eyepieces: not used Magnification: app. 200x integrated 2 sec exposures |
Looked at M99 before, as
many of you have done, but never the 3 neighbors. M99 is the classic 'Pinwheel'
galaxy, but the arms are too faint for most scopes. On the video screen
the arms were suggested, but not distinct. Post process of 45 video frames
brought out the arms well, not Palomar perfect, but close enough for backyard
work. The two companions to the east are really close and completely different
too, one a long streak with a central dust lane and the other an inclined
spiral with a small central nuclear point. The northern galaxy is hard
to identify, very star like and almost no fuzziness to it. Maybe
the outer parts are just too dim as it is listed as an SBb type.
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