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<DIV>Fred, Roger</DIV>
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<DIV>Thanks for the effort placed into this document. It far exceeds my expectations from an effort and particularly a content perspective. This is meaningful and more importantly a useful document for all of us. What started as, in my mind, a novel concept has blossomed into a recurring endeavor that I will truly look forward to participating in. Thanks again on the extraordinary efforts you two guys have put forth on our behalf.</DIV>
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<DIV>Jim</DIV>
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<DIV>Jim Gianoulakis<BR>Manager Application Services Mobile<BR>702-876-7093<BR>702-253-7213 fax<BR><A href="mailto:jim.gianoulakis@swgas.com">jim.gianoulakis@swgas.com</A><BR><BR>>>> Fred Rayworth <rayworth1969@hotmail.com> 4/30/2009 6:36 PM >>><BR></DIV>
<P align=center><STRONG>MONTHLY OBSERVER'S CHALLENGE<BR>Compiled by:<BR>Roger Ivester, Boiling Springs, North Carolina (See <EM>Roger.jpg</EM>)<BR>&<BR> Fred Rayworth, Las Vegas, Nevada (See <EM>Fred.jpg</EM>)<BR>April - The Virgo Cluster (Markharian's Chain)</STRONG></P><STRONG>Introduction<BR></STRONG> The purpose of this observer's challenge it to encourage others to take up visual observing. It is open to everyone that is interested, and if you are able to contribute notes, drawings, or photographs, we will be happy to include them in our monthly summary. Observing is not only a pleasure, but an art. With the main focus of amateur astronomy on astrophotography, many times people tend to forget how it was in the old days before cameras, clock drives, and GOTO. Astronomy depended on what was seen through the eyepiece. Not only did it satisfy an innate curiosity, but it allowed the first astronomers to discover the beauty that is free for the taking.<BR><BR> Before photography, all observations depended on what the astronomer saw in the eyepiece and how they recorded their observations. This was done through notes and drawings and that is the tradition we are stressing here today. By combining our visual observations with our drawings, and sometimes, astrophotos (from those with the equipment and talent to do so), we get a unique understanding of what it is like to look through an eyepiece and to see what is really there. The hope is that you will read through these notes and become inspired to take more time at the eyepiece studying each object and looking for those subtle details that you might never have noticed before. Each new discovery increases one's appreciation of the skies above us. Please join us and learn how to get the most from peering into an eyepiece.<BR><BR><STRONG>Markharian's Chain</STRONG><BR><STRONG><BR></STRONG> For the visual observer, there is nothing more thrilling than to see the exceptional view. By that I don't necessarily mean the seeing conditions, but rather the object observed. There are many many, or to paraphrase Carl Sagan "billions and billions" of objects to choose from. Well, maybe not "billions" literally, but depending on the size of your scope, there should be more than enough stellar and non-stellar objects out there to keep one busy for a lifetime. That being said, there are the showpieces, or as I call them, the "tourist objects," such as many of the Messiers. Then there are the obscure faint fuzziest that are more observing goals than something that will blow you away. Finally, there are the downright unusual objects that most amateurs had no idea existed. Markharian's Chain is one example. Just for object count alone, this group of galaxies is a show-stopper. Instead of seeing just a couple of smudges, with a 12" or larger scope, you will gaze upon nine galaxies at once if the conditions are right. It may even be possible to see all 9 with a 10" scope. That's a lot of bang for the buck. The participants in this month's observing challenge were Roger Ivester from North Carolina, along with Fred Rayworth and Jim Gianoulakis from Las Vegas.<BR><BR><STRONG>Observations/Drawings/Photos</STRONG><BR><BR><STRONG>Roger Ivester:<BR></STRONG> He first found out about the Virgo cluster from Tom Lorenzin, author of <EM>1000+ The Amateur Astronomer's Field Guide to Deep-Sky Observing</EM>. Tom asked him if he'd ever viewed all nine galaxies within a 1° field of view centered on M-86. Roger had not, but was most anxious to give it a try. Using his 10" f/4.5 Meade DS-10A reflector with a 20mm University Optics 60° Erfle eyepiece (57x), he was able to view with an approximate 1° true field of view. He never saw three of the fainter galaxies with that arrangement.<BR><BR> He did a drawing of the six visible galaxies, then went to (160x) using the 20mm UO Erfle and a 2.8x UO Klee Barlow, and spotted the fainter ones. He then sketched the three faint galaxies in their appropriate positions and tried his best to draw them to scale based on a picture from Sky and Telescope magazine. See <EM>Rogers Chain </EM>and <EM>Rogers Chain Identification </EM>images. His notes are as follows:<BR><BR><STRONG>M-84:</STRONG> Bright, with a brighter more concentrated middle, and a mostly round shape.<BR><STRONG>M-86:</STRONG> Bright. Brighter middle, round, very similar to <STRONG>M-84 </STRONG>but not as well concentrated.<BR><STRONG>NGC-4387:</STRONG> A very faint mostly round blur. Difficult at best requiring averted vision.<BR><STRONG>NGC-4388:</STRONG> Low surface brightness, elongated slash with an E-W orientation.<BR><STRONG>NGC-4402:</STRONG> Very faint slash, low surface brightness.<BR><STRONG>NGC-4413:</STRONG> Very faint and dim, small, very diffuse with little concentration, mostly round.<BR><STRONG>NGC-4425:</STRONG> Very faint, elongated, axis NS, small and dim.<BR><STRONG>NGC-4435:</STRONG> Fairly bright, mostly round, stellar nucleus, smaller than <STRONG>NGC-4438</STRONG>.<BR><STRONG>NGC-4438:</STRONG> Bright, elongated, with a brighter middle.<BR> <BR><STRONG>Fred Rayworth:</STRONG><BR><BR> Over the years, he has seen eight of the galaxies individually, but never knew they were part of a specific group until Roger Ivester told him about it. On March 28, Virgo was high enough in the sky to take a crack at it, and with a little zap of his green laser finder, Fred had this group in the field of view. Using a 16" f/4.5 Meade LightBridge and an Orion Q-70 26mm 70° field eyepiece, he had no trouble seeing all nine galaxies at once. Because of this observing project, he saw that ninth galaxy for the first time, only because he knew it was supposed to be there.<BR><BR> That ninth galaxy, <STRONG>NGC-4387</STRONG>, is magnitude 13, and considering the night, it was by far the faintest galaxy he saw all night. If he hadn't known it was there, he would've missed that little smudge. In fact, several other people looked at the group and only counted 8 until he pointed out where it was.<BR><BR> Despite a fishbowl effect at the edges, he had no problem seeing even the galaxies at the edges through that Q-70 eyepiece. He moved the scope around to study each individual galaxy in the center of the field, but to satisfy the observing challenge, he DID see all 9 at once in the field.<BR><BR> All of the galaxies, even <STRONG>M-84 </STRONG>and <STRONG>M-86 </STRONG>were featureless. No mottling or any detail at all, but they were all definite faint fuzzies and had distinct shapes. The most visually striking of the group was <STRONG>NGC-4388</STRONG>, an edge-on spiral. It was a nice, though faint large streak, and out sized and outclassed the similar <STRONG>NGC-4402</STRONG>. See <EM>Freds Chain Drawing</EM>.<BR><BR> On April 25th, he tried again and saw all 9 galaxies right away with the Q-70 26mm eyepiece. A witness didn't see them all at first, but after he pointed out where to look, the guy did. Another individual with a 12.5" f/5 also saw them, but he had to use a 31mm Nagler to get them all in the field, and just barely. Though a bit dimmer, Fred saw all 9 galaxies through that 12.5". Back on his 16" LightBridge, he tried the Q-70 32mm and the galaxies fit into the field better, but the background just wasn't dark enough. They looked better with the 26mm.<BR> <BR><STRONG>Jim Gianoulakis:</STRONG><BR><BR>Jim didn't have any observational notes, but he took an excellent photo of the group. See <EM>Jims Chain </EM>Photo.<BR><BR><STRONG>References</STRONG><BR><BR> References for this month's objects are from Luginbuhl & Skiff's book, <EM>Observing Handbook and Catalogue of Deep-Sky Objects </EM>and are presented by Roger Ivester. This is our sole reference source for Markharian's Chain because it is the only catalogue that includes all 9 galaxies. The following descriptions are more scientific and detailed than the average observer is likely to include in their notes. They are presented here to give you a more detailed and scientific description to compare to what Roger and Fred saw. If you do not have this most comprehensive observing book, get it today. It will teach you how to observe and what to look for in over 2,000 deep-sky objects.<BR><BR><STRONG>Note:</STRONG> The objective or mirror diameters are metric, so here is a quick key to each size mentioned: 6cm = 2.6", 15cm = 6", 25cm = 10", 30cm = 12"<BR><BR><STRONG>M-84 </STRONG>dimen. 5'.0 x 4'.4 magnitude = 9.3<BR>Messier 84 is visible in 6 cm, appearing similar to nearby Messier 86 (cf.eg4406), but a little brighter. 15 cm shows a bright oval haze with an intense, broadly concentrated core. In 25 cm it is elongated ESE-WNW, reaching to about 2'.5 x 2', but fading so smoothly to the sky that the boundary is indefinite. The innermost regions, however, rise sharply in brightness toward a sub-stellar nucleus. With 30 cm the 4' x 3' halo has a strong, very even concentration, and the nucleus is clearly non-stellar. A mag. 14 star is involved 1`.25 WSW of center.<BR><BR><STRONG>M-86 </STRONG>dimen. 7'.4 x 5'.5 magnitude = 9.2<BR>Messier 86 is visible with 6 cm in the same low-power field with Messier 84 (eg 4374, q.v.) and appears as a slightly elongated spot with a bright center. In 15 cm the 2' x 1'.5 halo grows much brighter toward the center, but is otherwise featureless. The galaxy appears similar to M84 in 25 cm, fading very smoothly to the sky background. However, the 3'.5 x 3' halo, elongated ESE-WMW, is distinctly larger than that of M84, and seems more diffuse. The light is broadly brighter except at the very center, where a sharp nucleus is visible. With 30 cm it is more elongated and strongly concentrated than M84, though their brightnesses are similar. The 5' x 3' halo contains a condensed 10" core that occasionally shows a stellar nucleus.<BR><BR><STRONG>NGC-4387 </STRONG>dimen. 1'.9 x 1'.1 magnitude = 12.9<BR>This galaxy is quite faint in 15 cm. 25 cm shows it as a circular 30' patch with smooth, moderate concentration to a sharp center. A mag 13 star is visible 1'.5 NNW. 30 cm shows it much larger. 1'.8 x 0'.75, elongated SE-NW. The halo has a moderate, broad concentration to a small, faint nucleus.<BR><BR><STRONG>NGC-4388 </STRONG>dimen. 5'.1 x 1'.4 magnitude = 11.2<BR>An easy object for 15 cm. Spindle is elongated E-W and shows a slight central brightening. With 25 cm the small core lies W of center, stellar rings and a stellar nucleus are visible at high power. The E side of the core is squared off abruptly by a dark patch. A mag 14.5 star lies 1'.3 NE. The northern flank of the halo fades abruptly in 30 cm. The light is evenly concentrated to a less elongated core and a very faint stellar nucleus.<BR><BR><STRONG>NGC-4402 </STRONG>dimen. 4'.1 x 1'.3 magnitude = 11.3<BR>Much more difficult than nearby Messier objects, this galaxy is visible in 15 cm at 100x. It is elongated but less distinctly so here than in larger apertures. With 25 cm the halo is elongated in pa 90°, and completely un-concentrated, though a little mottling is discernable at 100x.<BR><BR><STRONG>NGC-4413 </STRONG>dimen. 2'.5 x 1'.7 magnitude = 13.0<BR>In 15 cm it is faintly visible at low power as an un-concentrated, low surface brightness patch elongated roughly NE-SW. 25 cm shows a halo of moderately low surface brightness that is broadly brighter and faintly mottled across the center.<BR><BR><STRONG>NGC-4425 </STRONG>dimen. 3'.4 x 1'.2 magnitude = 11.8<BR>In 15 cm this galaxy appears as a slight brightening without structure about 1' diameter. 25 cm shows a sharply defined oval elongated in position angle 30°. The core is moderately brighter, much more elongated than the halo, and contains a very faint stellar nucleus.<BR><BR><STRONG>NGC-4435 </STRONG>dimen. 3'.0 x 1'.9 magnitude = 10.8<BR><BR><STRONG>NGC-4438 </STRONG>dimen. 9'.3 x 3'.9 magnitude = 10.0<BR>These interacting galaxies lie 4'.3 apart in pa 165°. In 15 cm, 4435 is about 1' diameter with a bright stellar nucleus. With averted vision, 15 cm will show 4438 in pa 20° with a small bright core.<BR><BR><BR><BR>
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