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Don's Blog - Comments
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| winter skies and favorite galaxy (Monday, February 11, 2008 - 12:26:25 PM) |
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This weekend was the regular monthly meeting for the astronomy club I'm involved in. That Saturday, we had absolutely clear, beautiful skies. Before we left for the meeting I remembered that my favorite galaxy, NGC 1365, might be up. A quick check of Stellarium showed that it is indeed currently visible to the south early in the evening.
We left early enough to arrive about an hour before the meeting to be able to set up the scope. I figured we'd be among the first to arrive, but nearly everyone had arrived before us! I guess the lure of clear skies and beautiful weather is hard to ignore. I had just enough time to get the scope out and assembled, with a little visiting before the meeting started. They kept it short so we could enjoy the skies--rare for a meeting night.
I rushed to the scope from the classroom and began my search for NGC 1365. I had guessed that it would be a challenge to find since we have a light dome from Little Rock to the southeast and possible tree foliage blocking the horizon. Neither were an issue, but it still wasn't easy. After a lot of searching, I thought I had found it. The star charts I had with me weren't helping since they didn't show the dimmer magnitude stars I could see in the eyepiece. So, I tried to memorize what I saw in the field of view as best I could. Once I got home, I finally figured out that I must have seen NGC 1316. Along with it's companion galaxy, 1317, they're called the Galactic Dustbunnies. It was odd that I didn't see 1317, but we did have a crescent moon. That may have been why I wasn't able to find 1365. Unfortunately, by the next new moon, this part of the sky will be setting with the sun. I've lost my chance to see it this year, but hopefully the weather will cooperate for me to try again next year.
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