This will be my last post under this forum with La Palma highlights.
I have already written about the great Sculptor galaxies as well as M31 and M33. Also there has been a post about galaxy groups. Here I'm going to tell about our observations of other galaxies (possibly also touch objects already mentioned).
Already the first evening we observed NGC891 in Andromeda. Normally we find it necessary to use high magnification in order to see its equatorial dust band. From La Palma it was very easy to see with direct vision at 63x magnification. This was another object where the view through the eyepiece was very similar to photos.
We also saw obscuring bands in M31 and several of the Sculptor galaxies - most notable perhaps in NGC55.
Spiral structure was detectable in quite a few galaxies. We have already mentioned the greatest of them, M33.
Early in the evening we had access to both M51 and M101. Even though they were low in the sky, they appeared at least as detailed as we see them from home.
We have also already mentioned NGC1365 in Sculptor. This is one of the finest spirals in the sky within range for amateur telescopes. Those who have seen photos of it may be surprised by its small size. It is comparable in size with M61 and M99 in the Virgo cluster, but its central bar and spiral arms are easier to see.
Further north, in Eridanus is another barred spiral where we could see its arms. NGC1300 is just slightly smaller than 1365, but a bit fainter. Still its structure is well enough defined to be seen under superb conditions like those we experienced. A third barred spiral, NGC7479 in Pegasus also showed its structure quite well. This galaxy is less symmetrical as the previous two, but is still a facinating view through the telescope.
During our previous trip to La Palma I suspected that I could see the spiral arms of NGC6946 in Cepheus. This time (observing under less hostile conditions) we could confirm that this was the case. With some attention three spiral arms could be made out. I found 115x to be optimal for viewing the details of the galaxy.
NGC2403 in Camelopardalis is a much neglected object in spite of the fact that it is one of the brightest galaxies of the northern sky. This is another galaxy with spiral structure detectable in amateur telescopes. I find it a bit difficult due to some rather bright foreground stars. However, it was much easier from La Palma even though we didn't get it very high in the sky during our stay.
We observed a second galaxy in Camelopardalis, IC342. From home it is hardly possible to see more than the core of it, but now we could make out a large round halo. Dmitri claimed to see at least one spiral arm there. Looking at photos afterwards I can confirm that one of its arms are more prominent than the others. The visual detection of spiral structure in IC342 was quite surprising - it is after all considered to be a rather challenging object to see - almost regardless of aperture.
I may have skipped some of the galaxies with interesting features in this post. Maybe Dmitri has something to add.
In solidarity to observers who never have the chance to observe under conditions like those we had down there I took out my scope under very lousy suburban conditions the other day. During an hour or so of observation the sky got more and more overcast. There was a lot of disturbing light around, and the humidity was so high that the Telrad became useless almost at once. Two local astromomy novices joined me during the observation where we had a look at objects like M13, M57, M27, M31 and the double cluster. The enthusiasm of the two guys, however, approached the level we had under the dark, clear La Palma skies.
Inge S
I have already written about the great Sculptor galaxies as well as M31 and M33. Also there has been a post about galaxy groups. Here I'm going to tell about our observations of other galaxies (possibly also touch objects already mentioned).
Already the first evening we observed NGC891 in Andromeda. Normally we find it necessary to use high magnification in order to see its equatorial dust band. From La Palma it was very easy to see with direct vision at 63x magnification. This was another object where the view through the eyepiece was very similar to photos.
We also saw obscuring bands in M31 and several of the Sculptor galaxies - most notable perhaps in NGC55.
Spiral structure was detectable in quite a few galaxies. We have already mentioned the greatest of them, M33.
Early in the evening we had access to both M51 and M101. Even though they were low in the sky, they appeared at least as detailed as we see them from home.
We have also already mentioned NGC1365 in Sculptor. This is one of the finest spirals in the sky within range for amateur telescopes. Those who have seen photos of it may be surprised by its small size. It is comparable in size with M61 and M99 in the Virgo cluster, but its central bar and spiral arms are easier to see.
Further north, in Eridanus is another barred spiral where we could see its arms. NGC1300 is just slightly smaller than 1365, but a bit fainter. Still its structure is well enough defined to be seen under superb conditions like those we experienced. A third barred spiral, NGC7479 in Pegasus also showed its structure quite well. This galaxy is less symmetrical as the previous two, but is still a facinating view through the telescope.
During our previous trip to La Palma I suspected that I could see the spiral arms of NGC6946 in Cepheus. This time (observing under less hostile conditions) we could confirm that this was the case. With some attention three spiral arms could be made out. I found 115x to be optimal for viewing the details of the galaxy.
NGC2403 in Camelopardalis is a much neglected object in spite of the fact that it is one of the brightest galaxies of the northern sky. This is another galaxy with spiral structure detectable in amateur telescopes. I find it a bit difficult due to some rather bright foreground stars. However, it was much easier from La Palma even though we didn't get it very high in the sky during our stay.
We observed a second galaxy in Camelopardalis, IC342. From home it is hardly possible to see more than the core of it, but now we could make out a large round halo. Dmitri claimed to see at least one spiral arm there. Looking at photos afterwards I can confirm that one of its arms are more prominent than the others. The visual detection of spiral structure in IC342 was quite surprising - it is after all considered to be a rather challenging object to see - almost regardless of aperture.
I may have skipped some of the galaxies with interesting features in this post. Maybe Dmitri has something to add.
In solidarity to observers who never have the chance to observe under conditions like those we had down there I took out my scope under very lousy suburban conditions the other day. During an hour or so of observation the sky got more and more overcast. There was a lot of disturbing light around, and the humidity was so high that the Telrad became useless almost at once. Two local astromomy novices joined me during the observation where we had a look at objects like M13, M57, M27, M31 and the double cluster. The enthusiasm of the two guys, however, approached the level we had under the dark, clear La Palma skies.
Inge S
