February 4, 2002 - The Eridanus/Fornax Studies...
Comments: The deep cold gives perfect clarity to the night. Magnitude 6.5 stars shine within the body of Orion, and the heavens walk right down to the ground. Tonight I come alone. No maps, no pencils, no notes... Just the telescopes, me and you.
It is time.
Starting with Alpha Fornacis I find a beautiful, disparate double, a "white" star with its' yellow/orange companion. But this is not about doubles, tonight. It is about deep sky, and Alpha is merely a stepping stone.
And so I hop to Beta, for it is my guide to the NGC1049 to the southwest. Only the dob may reach for this one. The NGC1049 appears to me as a very soft, very faded globular cluster. It is like a "ghost"... seen, yet not seen. An ethereal hint of what lies beyond our cosmos.
Next stop is north, and slightly to the east for a galaxy revealed in both scopes... The NGC1097. In the 4.5 (inch EQ-Newt) it shows as an upright bar of light that pulls at the tips. The 12.5 (inch Dob-Newt) reveals a barred-spiral. (So you want power? Should I give you what you want? For they are very simple equations... You may use my calculator if you like. ;) NGC1097 is truly beautiful. The central portion of the galaxy is evenly illumated from end to end, but, at each of those ends lay the spiral arms, twisting away opposite of each other into space.
Next hop is Omega... again a double star. Much closer in magnitude this time! And pulled apart easily enough with both scopes at a minimum of power... but again, just another port of call. So I head back for Alpha, and north and a bit west into the border of Eridanus in search of NGC1232. The 4.5 can only make out of soft circle of light... a signature I know. The 12.5 reveals a spiral galaxy, but not an exceptional one. It contains a very "stellar" nucleas and fades out evenly towards its' frontiers. Aversion plus magnification can only add just the most wispy of hints of a single spiral arm.
From there I head for Tau4, for this is an oft repeated target! The NGC1300 is a "both scopes" kinda' galaxy... and I can appreciate that. The little one shows are very bright core and transient arms upon aversion that remind me of a cat's eye marble. And the dob holds it direct, allowing for study of perhaps the finest barred-spiral I have ever encountered. It's nucleas is a bright point of light set within its' structure, the "bar" itself being rather ephemeral, and almost nebula-like in appearance. But, two very well defined arms wrap round it, with mottled indications suggesting giant clusters of stars in this faraway island universe! A most fascinating galaxy...
Now back to Tau4, and a shift north and a bit east to return to the "River". NGC1332 is our next stop, an ellipitical galaxy. Just a silver oval in the small scope, and not overly improved by aperature. With the additional light gathering ability, the NGC1332 now contains a much brighter nucleas, and very even form.
So let's go south back down into "the Furnace" and breathe the scopes east to capture planetary nebula NGC1360. Say hello to a ball of greenish light in a small scope and go for aperature. Now we're talkin'! The planetary now stretches itself out and reveals a bright, almost distracting inner star! When you can peel your concentration away from it, averted vision reveals a certain vagueness... almost a transparency inside one very kicking planetary!
Just a touch southwest of here brings up yet another bright,barred-spiral, the NGC1398. Once again, we're looking at easily distinguishable in either scope... but what get's me is WHY does this area of the sky contain so many barred-spirals?! What "string" resonates in the vast reaches of space that spawns this structure?! What musician of the cosmos calls this tune? I want to meet Him...
And the radio plays in the night... keeping me company. Shall I take you on a radio journey? For you see, I often do far more study than you give me credit for! Let's go the Chi1,2,3 and drop southwest for the NGC1316. Hey up! Just another ellipitcal, right? Wrong. The NGC1316 is THE radio source for Fornax A. (i wonder if it does rock and roll? ;) The little oval smear of light shows well in the 4.5, but the dob brings up a bonus! For just a tiny bit north of "the Source" lies a companion known the NGC1317!
Let's hop back to the Chi triangle, and go for yet another. For a degree east will bring on another, the NGC1365. What can I say but Blitzkrieg, baby... Blitzkrieg! Now, do not take that in a skin-headed sense. For the German language has many subtle nuances... The "blitz" is lightning, and "krieg" is war... and very truly the NGC1365 resembles a "lightning war" frozen in the form of a barred-spiral galaxy. There is no "hints" in form here. The 9th magnitude galaxy shows well in the 4.5, and comes alive in the 12.5. The central core is Z-shaped, very definate and bright. The central bar continues to hold up to direct vision, bracketed by two arms that differ. One tends to diffuse away a bit, but the other holds a very solid brightness. Lightning...
(and i am shivering now, for it is very cold. but perhaps it is excitement? for i've waited a very long time to show you this...)
Come with me, now. And be thankful that our feet are upon the ground! I am going to take you to a place I've found. A playground in Never-Never Land... And tonight the sky grants us permission to go there. Together.
One degree northeast of NGC1365...
First I hand you the 4.5. In this new "field" you will see two ellipticals, the NGC1399, and the NGC1404. You remember how to play this game, do you not? Look at those galaxies, yet feel the field with your eyes. Ah.... I see it. I have your attention now, don't I? But play there for a bit, while I move the counter-balance on the dob, and put in my favourite eyepiece. Come now. This is for you. Watch them dance....
With the wide-field eyepiece in the 12.5, the Fornax Galaxy cluster is stunning. How many do you see in one degree? Nine? When you touch the scope, how many in the field? Twelve? Fifteen? Yes, of course some of them we've already visited. The tightest portion of the cluster also has designations: NGC1374, NGC1379, NGC1380, NGC1381, NGC1387, NGC1399, NGC1404, NGC1386 and NGC1389. So tiny, and so very beautiful. You can see now why my heart has ached to return to Eridanus. It shares it's soul with Fornax.
And tonight it shared with us...
With the wide-field eyepiece in the 12.5, the Fornax Galaxy cluster is stunning. How many do you see in one degree? Nine? When you touch the scope, how many in the field? Twelve? Fifteen? Yes, of course some of them we've already visited. The tightest portion of the cluster also has designations: NGC1374, NGC1379, NGC1380, NGC1381, NGC1387, NGC1399, NGC1404, NGC1386 and NGC1389. So tiny, and so very beautiful. You can see now why my heart has ached to return to Eridanus. It shares it's soul with Fornax.