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Fred,<BR>
<BR>
First read, looks great...<BR>
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roger <BR><FONT face=Arial> <BR><BR> <BR></FONT><EM><FONT face=Arial><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT>The moon and stars to govern the night..... Psalm 136:9</EM><BR><BR><BR><BR> <BR>
<HR id=stopSpelling>
From: rayworth1969@hotmail.com<BR>To: lvas@lvlug.org<BR>Date: Sat, 2 Jan 2010 11:57:03 -0600<BR>Subject: [LVAS] December Observer's Challenge - NGC-474 Galaxy Group<BR><BR>
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<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">MONTHLY OBSERVER’S CHALLENGE</FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><FONT face="Times New Roman"><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt">Las Vegas</SPAN></I></B><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt"> Astronomical Society</SPAN></I></B></FONT></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><B><I><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Compiled by:</FONT></FONT></SPAN></I></B></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><B><I><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Roger Ivester, Boiling Springs, North Carolina</FONT></FONT></SPAN></I></B></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><B><I><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">&</FONT></FONT></SPAN></I></B></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><B><I><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Fred Rayworth, Las Vegas, Nevada</FONT></FONT></SPAN></I></B></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><B><I><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">With special assistance from:</FONT></FONT></SPAN></I></B></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><B><I><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Rob Lambert, Las Vegas, Nevada</FONT></FONT></SPAN></I></B></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">December 2009</FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">NGC-474 Galaxy Cluster</FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Introduction</FONT></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">The purpose of the observer’s challenge is to encourage the pursuit of visual observing. <SPAN> </SPAN>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. <SPAN> </SPAN>Observing is not only a pleasure, but an art.<SPAN> </SPAN>With the main focus of amateur astronomy on astrophotography, many times people tend to forget how it was in the days before cameras, clock drives, and GOTO.<SPAN> </SPAN>Astronomy depended on what was seen through the eyepiece.<SPAN> </SPAN>Not only did it satisfy an innate curiosity, but it allowed the first astronomers to discover the beauty and the wonderment of the night sky.</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Before photography, all observations depended on what the astronomer saw in the eyepiece, and how they recorded their observations.<SPAN> </SPAN>This was done through notes and drawings and that is the tradition we are stressing in the observers challenge.<SPAN> </SPAN>By combining our visual observations with our drawings, and sometimes, astrophotography (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.<SPAN> </SPAN>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.<SPAN> </SPAN>Each new discovery increases one’s appreciation of the skies above us.<SPAN> </SPAN>It is our firm belief that careful observing can improve your visual acuity to a much higher level that just might allow you to add inches to your telescope.<SPAN> </SPAN>Please consider this at your next observing session, as you can learn to make details jump out.<SPAN> </SPAN>It is also a thrill to point out details a new observer wouldn’t even know to look for in that very faint galaxy, star cluster, nebula, or planet.</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">NGC-474 Galaxy Cluster</FONT></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN> </SPAN>The NGC-474 galaxy cluster (or group) consists of three relatively bright galaxies. <SPAN> </SPAN>They are: NGC-467 (mag. 12.9), NGC-470 (mag. 12.5), and NGC-474 (mag. 12.4). <SPAN> </SPAN>This is a fascinating little trio of galaxies, especially because the catalogued largest one, NGC-474, does not visually appear as large as nearby NGC-470. <SPAN> </SPAN>The reason is that NGC-474 has an outer halo that is extremely faint. <SPAN> </SPAN>It has been seen in 18” instruments and larger as just a faint brightening of the black background.<SPAN> </SPAN>In 1994, Roger Ivester wrote a paper concerning the apparent missing matter in NGC-474. <SPAN> </SPAN>The text of that report is quoted as follows:</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><B><I><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">The NGC 470-474 Controversy – Missing Matter Revealed<SPAN> </SPAN>by Roger Ivester</FONT></FONT></SPAN></I></B></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">My observations on Thursday, December 1, 1994, included three spiral galaxies in Pisces, NGC-467, NGC-470, and NGC-474, each separated by only a few minutes of arc.<SPAN> </SPAN>It became apparent immediately that NGC-470 was the largest and most easily seen of the group, but when I referred to the NGC 2000.0 Catalogue, it listed NGC-474 as being over twice as large as either NGC-470 or NGC-467.<SPAN> </SPAN>At this point, I concluded that NGC-474 must have a halo that could not be seen visually, or at least not from my back yard.<SPAN> </SPAN>The next day I located a photo of this group, but it did not show a faint outer arm, nor was any halo apparent.<SPAN> </SPAN>The view appeared very similar to what I had seen through my telescope. <SPAN> </SPAN>I decided that another observation was needed, and made a note in my log to “view at next session.”</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">On Monday, December 16, I went to a dark site in the South Mountains about 30 minutes north of my home in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. <SPAN> </SPAN>This would prove to be the perfect site for another observation, notes and a sketch of these three galaxies. <SPAN> </SPAN>I saw NGC-474 as round, diffuse and with a brighter nucleus. <SPAN> </SPAN>NGC-470, appeared elongated, diffuse, and twice as large as NGC-474.<SPAN> </SPAN>Next, NGC-467 appeared round, faint halo, with a brighter nucleus, and situated a few minutes N of an 8th magnitude star.<SPAN> </SPAN>It was almost the same apparent size as NGC-474.<SPAN> </SPAN>All three galaxies were very easy to locate, relatively bright, and showed excellent contrast. <SPAN> </SPAN>Again I was bothered concerning the size listing of NGC-474.<SPAN> </SPAN>My sources indicated that it was the largest of these galaxies, but NGC-470 was clearly the largest in my telescope and in a photo that I had looked at earlier. <SPAN> </SPAN>Could there be an error in the 7.9” size I read from the NGC 2000 Catalogue, an error which was perpetuated by the other sources?<SPAN> </SPAN>A table of diameters (in arc minutes) from different sources is listed below.</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><B><SPAN>Source</SPAN></B><SPAN><SPAN> </SPAN><SPAN> </SPAN><B>NGC-470</B><SPAN> </SPAN><B>NGC-474</B></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">NGC 2000.0<SPAN> </SPAN><SPAN> </SPAN><SPAN> </SPAN>3.0<SPAN> </SPAN><SPAN> </SPAN>7.9</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Burnham’s Celestial Handbook<SPAN> </SPAN><SPAN> </SPAN>1.7 x 1.1<SPAN> </SPAN><SPAN> </SPAN>0.4 x 0.4</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">T. Lorenzin’s 1000+<SPAN> </SPAN><SPAN> </SPAN>3.2<SPAN> </SPAN><SPAN> </SPAN>8</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">The Observer’s Guide, Nov/Dec 1991<SPAN> </SPAN>3.0 x 2.0<SPAN> </SPAN>7.9 x 7.2</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Deep Sky Field Guide to Uranometria 2000.0<SPAN> </SPAN>3.0 x 1.8<SPAN> </SPAN><SPAN> </SPAN>10.0 x 9.2</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Nearby Galaxies Catalog<SPAN> </SPAN>3.2<SPAN> </SPAN><SPAN> </SPAN>11.6</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">D. Eicher’s Deep Sky Observing w/Small Telescopes<SPAN> </SPAN>1.7 x 1.1<SPAN> </SPAN>0.4 x 0.4</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Astronomy Magazine, January 1993<SPAN> </SPAN>3.0 x 2.0<SPAN> </SPAN>7.9 x 7.2</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Luginbuhl & Skiff, Observing Handbook & Catalog<SPAN> </SPAN><SPAN> </SPAN>3.0 x 2.0<SPAN> </SPAN>7.9 x 7.2</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">I expressed my concern to Tom English, Professor of Astronomy and Physics at Gardner-Webb University, who promptly gathered all available reference material on NGC 474 from his extensive astronomy library at the University.<SPAN> </SPAN>Tom called me on Saturday afternoon, January 7, and invited me to research the data.<SPAN> </SPAN>While I was busy checking each source, Tom was checking<SPAN> </SPAN>the Sky & Telescope Cumulative index to locate past issues with information on NGC-474.<SPAN> </SPAN>Tom left the lab and returned with a March 1988 issue of Sky & Telescope with a research note on the galaxy and an accompanying photo.<SPAN> </SPAN>My quest was about to end.<SPAN> </SPAN>On page 244, there was the photo that would resolve the problem.<SPAN> </SPAN>It showed both NGC-470 and NGC-474 overexposed, with a very faint halo surrounding the latter.<SPAN> </SPAN>A quick measurement of each galaxy in the photo showed that, with the halo considered, NGC-474 is indeed about 2 ½ times the size of NGC-470, consistent with the NGC 2000 listings.</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">A closer look at the list of sources gives an indication that this pair has been a source of confusion to many observers.<SPAN> </SPAN>It also reveals that cataloged information tends to propagate from one publication to the next.<SPAN> </SPAN>We all use various catalogs for background information (such as size and magnitude) as we set our observing agendas, and too often we do not follow up on this information by making actual measurements ourselves.<SPAN> </SPAN>Note that five of the sources listed have the same 3.0 and 7.9 arc minute sizes for NGC-470 and NGC-474, respectively.<SPAN> </SPAN>Burnham and Eicher list identical measurements in their guides as well, but with NGC-470 attributed as the larger galaxy, just as I had noted.<SPAN> </SPAN>In their observing notes, Luginbuhl and Skiff indicate that NGC-470 appears closer to 2’ x 1’, with NGC-474 somewhat smaller.<SPAN> </SPAN>In the Nov/Dec issue of The Observer’s Guide, I saw my frustration mirrored in the statement that NGC-474 “is much smaller than its catalog size.<SPAN> </SPAN>Apparently, its outer halo is so faint that it is not visible.”</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; TEXT-ALIGN: right" align=right><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Roger Ivester 1994</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Below are the actual entries from Burnham and Skiff & Luginbuhl.</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><I><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Burnham’s Celestial Handbook: Robert Burnham, Jr.</FONT></FONT></SPAN></I></B></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">NGC-470: <SPAN> </SPAN>“Pretty bright, pretty large, little elongated. Pair with NGC-474.”</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">NGC-474: <SPAN> </SPAN>“Pretty bright, small, round, suddenly much brighter middle.”</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><I><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Observing Handbook and Catalogue Of Deep-Sky Objects:<SPAN> </SPAN>Skiff and Luginbuhl.</FONT></FONT></SPAN></I></B></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">NGC-467: <SPAN> </SPAN>“This galaxy is moderately faint in 25cm (10”). <SPAN> </SPAN>The halo is circular about 1’ across, and brightens to a core that shows a few stellarings at 200X. <SPAN> </SPAN>A mag. 13.5 star is visible just over 2’ SW; another slightly fainter star lies closer to the W.”</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">NGC-470: <SPAN> </SPAN>“This galaxy appears as a round, diffuse blob in 25cm, about 1.5’ diameter. <SPAN> </SPAN>The core is brighter and occasionally shows a faint stellaring in its center. <SPAN> </SPAN>Two faint stars separated by about 40” lie 2.2’ S, and another star is visible 1.7’ N. <SPAN> </SPAN>In 30cm (12”), the smoothly textured halo is elongated in pa 150º, extending to about 2’ X 1’ and showing a moderate central concentration. <SPAN> </SPAN>A third faint star is visible 2’ S.”</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">NGC-474: <SPAN> </SPAN>“In 25cm this galaxy appears slightly brighter but a little smaller than NGC-470. <SPAN> </SPAN>It is diffuse and has a very small nucleus. <SPAN> </SPAN>With 30cm, it has a bright nonstellar nucleus, and a low surface brightness halo extending to 1.2’ diameter.”</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Observations/Drawings/Photos</FONT></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><STRONG><SPAN>Roger Ivester (see <I>Rogers Pictures 003.jpg</I>):</SPAN></STRONG><STRONG><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"> <SPAN> </SPAN>Observer from North Carolina</SPAN></STRONG></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=ecxStandard style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>The NGC-474 compact galaxy cluster located in the constellation of Pisces is a most interesting group consisting of galaxies NGC-467, NGC-470 and NGC-474. <SPAN> </SPAN>All three galaxies will fit easily within a 1/2° field of view. <SPAN> </SPAN>They are positioned mostly E to SW.</FONT></P>
<P class=ecxStandard style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>The descriptions and sketch were all made using a 10-inch reflector with 114X with a 0.58° field of view (see <I>Rogers NGC-470 Galaxy Cluster.jpg</I>).</FONT></P>
<P class=ecxStandard style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>The most western galaxy is NGC-467 which appears round with greater overall concentration as compared to the other galaxies. <SPAN> </SPAN>It is situated about 4 minutes west of an 8th mag. star. <SPAN> </SPAN>The outer halo is very faint and round with a brighter middle.</FONT></P>
<P class=ecxStandard style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>NGC-470 is located between NGC-467 and NGC-474. <SPAN> </SPAN>The texture is very even and smooth with a very subtle brightening in the central region. <SPAN> </SPAN>It appears elongated with a N-S orientation. <SPAN> </SPAN>This galaxy clearly appears as the largest of the group.</FONT></P>
<P class=ecxStandard style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>NGC-474 is visually the smallest member of the cluster. <SPAN> </SPAN>The halo is very faint and diffuse with a very bright, almost stellar nucleus. <SPAN> </SPAN>The galaxy appears mostly round.</FONT></P>
<P class=ecxMsoPlainText style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Fred Rayworth (see <I>Fred At Sawmill.jpg</I>):</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"> <SPAN> </SPAN>Observer from Nevada</SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><SPAN> </SPAN>He had the opportunity to check this galaxy trio out for the second time on 21 November, 2009. <SPAN> </SPAN>Sky conditions were not ideal, but improved as the night wore on. <SPAN> </SPAN>With a quarter moon in the sky, he was surprised at how much it lit up the sky on what he thought was a clear night. <SPAN> </SPAN>However, as the moon sank into the Las Vegas skyglow, the sky became darker and darker and he had no trouble finding this fine group.</SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><SPAN> </SPAN>Using his Meade 16” f/4.5 LightBridge along with a 26mm Orion Q-70 (70X) and a Hyperion 17mm (108X), he made the following observations:</SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoPlainText style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">NGC-474: <SPAN> </SPAN>Supposed to be the largest of the trio of NGC-467 and NGC-470, however it didn't look that way. <SPAN> </SPAN>NGC-474 was the second brightest but looked smaller than NGC-470. <SPAN> </SPAN>May have been a halo beyond the core, but couldn't tell for sure.</SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoPlainText style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">NGC-470: <SPAN> </SPAN>Nice almost round glow, with the hint of an oval shape. <SPAN> </SPAN>Brightest of the trio with NGC-467 and NGC-474. <SPAN> </SPAN>At 108X, it was still a soft almost round glow. <SPAN> </SPAN>No details.</SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoPlainText style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">NGC-467: <SPAN> </SPAN>Soft round glow with almost a stellar core. <SPAN> </SPAN>Easy to see, but no detail, even at 108X (see <I>Freds NGC-474 Group.jpg</I>).</SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoPlainText style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Rob Lambert:</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"> <SPAN> </SPAN>Observer from Nevada</SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoPlainText style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">This month's objects were even a greater challenge detail-wise for him than was last month’s NGC-891, even with the Mallincam. <SPAN> </SPAN>All three of the galaxies were small and dim compared to some of the objects he’s recently observed. <SPAN> </SPAN>They are part of the ARP-227 galaxy group.</SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoPlainText style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Start with a general overview of all three galaxies as seen in the image below (see <I>Robs Pisces Trio.jpg</I>). <SPAN> </SPAN>North is toward the bottom center of the image with west being to the right. <SPAN> </SPAN>Magnification is approximately 32X. <SPAN> </SPAN>At first look, all three galaxies aren't much more than fuzzy stars, with NGC-470 appearing to be the largest of the three. <SPAN> </SPAN>A closer look at the cores of the three galaxies leads one to believe something different than what is initially seen, especially for NGC-474. <SPAN> </SPAN>NGC-474 has a much brighter, larger, and more easily defined core, hinting that it is much larger than either of the other two. <SPAN> </SPAN>Regarding their shape, the halos of NGC-467 (see<I> Robs NGC-467.jpg</I>) and NGC-474 appear to be round while NGC-470 is elongated from northwest to southeast. <SPAN> </SPAN>If one looks closely at NGC-474; however, what appears to be faint, disconnected spiral arms on the NE and SW sides of the galaxy are seen. <SPAN> </SPAN>These disjointed limbs are what identify NGC-474 a shell galaxy (see <I>Robs NGC-474-470.jpg</I>).</SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><B><SPAN>Dr. James Dire (see <I>James Dire.jpg</I>)</SPAN></B><SPAN><SPAN> </SPAN>Observer from North Carolina</SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Attached is a picture of the galaxy group containing NGC-467, NGC-470 and NGC-474 (see <EM>Jims NGC-470-474 Legend.jpg</EM>).<SPAN> </SPAN>The picture is a combination of 22 ten-minute exposures with his 190mm (7.5”) Mak-Newt at f/5.3 using his SBIG ST-2000XCM CCD camera.<SPAN> </SPAN>In addition to these three galaxies, he has labeled the brightest star in the field of view and 5 nearby, faint 16-17th magnitude galaxies.</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">The aperture was too small and the sky at his location too bright to do NG- 467, NGC-470 and NGC-474 any justice.<SPAN> </SPAN>Plus, the seeing would need to be sub-arcsecond to pick up the detail needed in these galaxies. <SPAN> </SPAN>NGC-467 and NGC-470 do not have much spiral structure but both have extensive halos, which he did not pick up.</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><B><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">References</FONT></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=ecxMsoPlainText style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">(Submitted by Fred Rayworth)</SPAN></B></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><I><SPAN>Burnham’s Celestial Handbook: <SPAN> </SPAN></SPAN></I><SPAN>Robert Burnham, Jr.<I></I></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=ecxMsoPlainText style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Observing Handbook and Catalogue Of Deep-Sky Objects:<SPAN> </SPAN></SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Skiff and Luginbuhl<I></I></SPAN></P><BR>
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