CANES VENATICI by Steve Coe 13" f/5.6 unless noted Trivia--What are the names of the two hunting dogs in Canes Venatici? Answer--Asterion ( Starry ) and Chara ( Dear ) NGC 4109 150X Faint, small, elongated 1.5X1 in PA 45 and not brighter in the middle. NGC 4111 Bright, pretty large, very bright middle with a bright nucleus, much elongated 3 X 1 in PA 165 at 165X. This razor thin galaxy has a faint companion to the east. The bright central section is also elongated, I estimate 0.5' X 0.2'. Camp 613 S=6, T=9 150X--bright, pretty small, much elongated 3X1 in PA 160, much brighter middle. 4117/8, 4109, UGC 7089 all in the field. Also, a nice blue and gold double star just to E. At 220X the core shows a suddenly much brighter nucleus. UGC 7089 is very faint, pretty small and round. Only held with averted vision even on an excellent night. NGC 4117/8 (both) 150X Faint, small, round and not bright middle. NGC 4135 and 4137 Both at the edge of the field of NGC 4138 and both are very faint, small and round at 135X. NGC 4138 Pretty bright, pretty large, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 160, somewhat brighter in the middle at 135X. It has an elongated center at 165X. There is an 11th mag star 1' to the north. NGC 4143 Pretty bright, pretty large, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 135, much brighter in the middle at 135X. NGC 4145 Pretty faint, pretty large, somewhat brighter in the middle, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 90 at 165X. Low surface brightness. There is a UGC galaxy in the field it is very faint, pretty small and round. On a better night I noticed some mottling in the arms. NGC 4151 Pretty faint, large, much brighter in the middle with an almost stellar core, round. A nice face on, averted vision brings out some detail at 135X. NGC 4156 is in the field NGC 4156 Faint, pretty large, much elongated 2.5 X 1 in PA 0, somewhat brighter in the middle at 135X. NGC 4183 Pretty faint, pretty large, little brighter in the middle, very much elongated 4 X 1 in PA 0. There are several stars involved at 135X. NGC 4190 Pretty faint, pretty small, round, gradually brighter middle at 100X. NGC 4214 Bright, pretty large, round, much brighter in the middle with a bright nucleus at 165X. Going to high powers shows the fact that the nucleus is elongated in PA 45. Camp 613 S=6 T=8 150X--pretty bright, pretty large, elongated 1.5X1 in PA 120, little brighter middle. Several bright spots in the arms must have gotten the "biN" comment in the NGC. 220X--the binary nucleus is really easy now--about 40% of the time. Camp 613 S=6, T=9 150X pretty bright, pretty large, somewhat elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 135, brighter middle. A bright bar runs down the middle, making it look somewhat like the LMC. This galaxy is somewhat mottled in the arms at this power. Going to 220X shows 2 stellar nuclei, very close together in the core of this galaxy. On this night of good seeing, they are held steady and even seen that they are not directly in the center of the galaxy, but offset toward the SE. A unique and bizarre object. NGC 4217 Pretty faint, pretty large, much elongated 2.5 X 1 in PA 45 and brighter in the middle at 135X. There is a 10th mag star on the northern tip. Camp 613 S=6 T=8 100X--just seen. 150X--pretty faint, pretty large, much elongated 3X1 in PA 45, bright middle. This galaxy has a pretty low surface brightness. 220X--too much power, almost makes it disappear. 36" f/5 Texas Star party elongated 4X1, nice edge on, nucleus sits on a thin, dark lane. Several small dark markings are perpendicular to the long lane. There is a companion galaxy to the right. 20mm Nagler. NGC 4218 Pretty faint, pretty small, somewhat brighter in the middle, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 160 at 135X. Companion to NGC 4220. NGC 4220 Pretty bright, pretty large, much brighter in the middle, elongated 3 X 1 in PA 135 at 135X. NGC 4226 Pretty faint, small, little elongated 1.2 X 1 in PA 135, not brighter in the middle at 135X. NGC 4242 Faint, pretty large, irregularly round, very gradually very little brighter in the middle, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 30, it is mottled at 150X. NGC 4244 Bright, large, very elongated in PA 45, gradually brighter in the middle with an elongated core at 165X. Camp 613 S=6 T=9 150X--pretty bright, very large, extremely elongated 10X1 in PA 45, very gradually brighter middle, small bright nucleus. The bright core section is also elongated 2X1 in same PA as main galaxy. There are several bright areas in the arms, which are very mottled. The NE tip is mroe diffuse than the SE section. A big edge-on, low surface brightness for this type, 220X or 330X don't show any more detail. NGC 4248 Pretty bright, pretty small, much brighter in the middle, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 135 at 135X. There is a 12th mag star on the western edge. NGC 4258 (M 106) Very bright, very large, very, very bright middle with an almost stellar nucleus at 135X. This huge galaxy is very much elongated 3 X 1 in PA 160. It sparkles with mottling in the arms. 36" f/5 at Texas Star party. Almost the amount of detail that is in a shot with the 200". Lots of stellarings in the arm that goes up and right. Much mottling, core elongated 3X1 and has a dark lane just above the core. Several stars in arms, including a faint, delicate pair near upper arm. Great view with 20mm Nagler. Camp 613 S=6, T=9 easy in 11X80 finder. 100X very bright, very large, very much elongated 4X1 in PA 165, suddenly brighter middle with almost stellar nucleus. The eastern side of this galaxy cuts off abruptly and there are several brighter regions within the arms. An 11th mag star is at the north end. The arms are very mottled and there are several companion galaxies in this field. 220X shows the alm. stellar nucleus more prominently--it is about 2 times the size of the Airy disk. NGC 4346 Pretty bright, pretty small, much elongated 3 X 1 in PA 90, much brighter in the middle, has a very small almost stellar nucleus at 165X. NGC 4369 Pretty bright, small, round, much brighter middle at 150X. NGC 4395 Very faint, very large, very little brighter in the middle, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 135 at 100X. Quite grainy appearance, too much power makes it almost disappear. NGC 4449 Bright, pretty large, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 45, little brighter in the middle, with several star involved within very mottled arms at 165X. Camp 613 S=6 T=9 150X--bright, pretty large, elongated 2X1 PA 45, bright middle. This is a weird galaxy! Extremely mottled with no obvious shape like a "normal" galaxy, just an amorphous blob. Going to 220X does not show the mottling quite as well, but the detail within the galaxy stand out more. It includes a stellar nucleus about 20& of the time. There is even a detached section of the galaxy to the NE about 1 arcmin, it is quite bright and easily noticeable. NGC 4460 Pretty bright, pretty large, much elongated 3 X 1 in PA 30, much brighter in the middle at 135X. NGC 4485 Pretty bright, pretty small, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 20. Camp 613 pretty faint, pretty small, little elongated 1.2X1 in PA 0. A low surface brightness galaxy. NGC 4380 Pretty bright, pretty large, elongated 1.8 X 1 in PA 90, gradually brighter in the middle, narrow bar feature seen in center at 150X. NGC 4490 Bright, large, much elongated 2.5 X 1 in PA 135, gradually much brighter in the middle and it appears to touch 4485 in the same field at 150X. It takes a superb night to see the connecting bridge between these two galaxies. White Tanks site S+T 6 150X bright, large, much elongated 2.5X1 in PA 120, much brighter middle. The bright central area is seen as elongated 3X1 in moments of good seeing. Also in good seeing there is a stellar nucleus and the connecting bridge between the two galaxies is seen. Camp 613 S=6 T=8 100X--the pair of galaxies are obvious. 150X--bright, large, much elongated 2.5X1 in PA 120, bright middle. The bright central section is also elongated. The arms are very mottled. Averted vision makes it grow a lot thicker on the east end. NGC 4618 Pretty bright, pretty large, much brighter in the middle, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 30 at 135X. NGC 4625 Pretty bright, pretty small, brighter in the middle and a little elongated 1.2 X 1 in PA 0 at 135X. NGC 4627 Pretty faint, pretty small, bright middle, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 75 at 135X. 36"-two small dark markings in galaxy. NGC 4631 is very bright, very large, very much elongated 6 X 1 in PA 90, brighter middle with a stellar nucleus at 135X. This huge galaxy is very mottled. It can just be seen in the 11 X 80 finder from Dugas Rd. NGC 4627 is a companion galaxy to the east. 36" f/5 20mm TSP 96 Lots of detail within dark lane, almost the entire length of galaxy, some small dark markings perpendicular to the main dark lane. Nucleus is off-center. There is an aviz only connection between 4627 and 4631, it is about the width of the companion 4627. Camp 613 S=7 T=9 150X very bright, very large, extremely elongated 6X1 in PA 90 with a bright middle. There is a star attached on the north edge and the galaxy is brighter along the north side. The body is very mottled and there are bright and dark markings within the structure of the galaxy along the body. I just watched "Crimson Tide" maybe it is a submarine with an incoming torpedo (the companion NGC 4627) NGC 4656 is pretty bright and large with a very irregular shape. It looks like an airplane wing! It shows this bizarre detail at 100X, with a bright area at one end (nucleus?) and a curved fainter body extending away from the brighter point. Put this guy on your observing list for next time. Camp 613 S=7 T=9 Pretty bright, large, much elongated 4X1 in PA 30. not much brighter in the middle, no real nucleus, just several bright spots near the center of the galaxy. The "hockey stick" shape is obvious at 150X. NGC 4736 (M 94) Bright, large, round, very bright in the middle with a very diffuse outer section. The inner bright portion has three layers surrounding the core at 135X. Camp 613 S=7 T=9 150X very bright, large, little elongated 1.5 x1 in PA 110. Much, much brighter middle with a stellar nucleus. At 220X the edges are "feathered" or diffuse, now the central core with a stellar nucleus are obvious, there are three levels of condensation, averted vision makes it grow nearly twice the size of direct vision (the blinking galaxy?) and the arms are somewhat mottled. NGC 4800 Pretty bright, pretty small, much brighter in the middle, little elongated 1.2 X 1 in PA 0, has a stellar nucleus at 135X in good seeing. There is an 11th mag 3' to the west. This object has a high surface brightness. NGC 4861 Very faint, pretty small, much elongated in PA 30, not brighter in the middle, connected two stars of 12th mag. Not much at 100X, power does not help contrast. NGC 4868 Pretty bright, small, round, much brighter in the middle, there is a 13th mag star on the SW edge. It is a high surface brightness galaxy at 150X. NGC 4914 Pretty bright, pretty large, elongated 2X1 in PA 0, suddenly much brighter in the middle. Scotty saw it as round in his 4", I think he just saw the central bright section. NGC 5005 Bright, large, much elongated 4 X 1 in PA 60, there is a very bright, elongated core with a stellar nucleus at 135X. This nice edge on galaxy has a dark lane going "underneath" the core on the south side. Camp 613 S=7 T=9 100X bright, large, much elongated 3X1 in PA 60, much brighter middle with mottled arms. Distant companion NGC 5033 just fits in the FOV of the 22mm Panoptic. 220X 3 levels of condensation with a stellar nucleus, the arms are smoother at high power. NGC 5033 Bright, large, very much elongated 4 X 1 in PA 0, the a bright stellar nucleus and mottled arms at 165X. Camp 613 S=7 T=9 bright, large, elongated 3X1 in PA 165, brighter middle with a bright nucleus at 220X. There is a 12th mag star on the northern tip of this nice edge-on. NGC 5055 (M 63) Very bright, large, much brighter in the middle with a stellar nucleus at 135X. The outer arms are elongated 3 X 1 in PA 80 and very mottled. Camp 613 S=7 T=9 150X bright, large, much elongated 2X1 in PA 110. Very suddenly much, much brighter middle with a stellar nucleus. This beautiful lens-shaped galaxy has a tiny, blazing core and delicate arms. There are many small bright regions within the arms and an elongated bright area in the core that surrounds the stellar nucleus. NGC 5083 Very faint, pretty small, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 110, not brighter in the middle. NGC 5093 Faint, small, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 135, little brighter in the middle at 135X. NGC 5107 Pretty faint, small, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 135 and little brighter in the middle at 165X. NGC 5112 Pretty faint, pretty large, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 135, somewhat brighter in the middle at 135X. NGC 5194 (M 51) is the best example of a face-on spiral galaxy in the sky. I wish I had a dollar for every astrophoto that has been shot of M-51. Both Messier and William Herschel missed the spiral structure. It was first spotted by Lord Rosse in his newly completed 6 ft. reflector. I have seen the spiral structure unmistakably in an 8" Newtonian at 125X on a superb night. On that same evening I could see the connecting bridge between M-51 and NGC 5194 with averted vision. However, this is one of those objects that really responds to aperture. The 17.5" f/4.5 on a good night at 150X will make the spiral whorls stand out across the face of this galaxy, with dark lanes starting at the center and wrapping completely around the galaxy. Be careful of the 12th mag star SW of the nucleus, it has been turned in as a supernova all too often. I have started to draw The Whirlpool several times and never finished, I just can't seem to get the detail to look right, maybe as I get better I'll try again. Using the 13" on a great night at Sentinel with Bob Kepple, Glen Sanner and Father Lucien Kemble, the Whirlpool was super. It was very bright, very large, irregularly round and very bright in the middle at 135X. I could see it easily in the 11 X 80 finder. The spiral structure and the connecting bridge were unmistakable. 36" f/5 20 mm Nagler TSP--Looks like a photo taken with 16". Spiral structure obvious, the arms have bright rims that are more prominent on the inside aspect. 11 stars involved within galaxy. Dark markings in companion are obvious with direct vision and better with averted vision. Camp 613 S=6, T=9 150X==bright, large, much brighter middle, somewhat elongated 1.2X1 in PA 165. Spiral structure held steady. There are several bright areas in the arms. Going to 220X shows several very faint stars involved in arms, a stellar nucelus is also seen at this higher power. Companion galaxy is pretty bright, pretty large, irregular in shape with a very bright nucleus. There is a N-S bar thru the galaxy. NGC 5198 Pretty faint, pretty small, little elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 135, much brighter middle with a stellar nucleus at 220X. This galaxy is surrounded by 3 12th mag stars, one west, two north. NGC 5272 (M 3) is a superb globular cluster discovered by Messier in 1764. It has had more variable stars within it than any other globular so far (189 to date). My favorite story about M3 is that someone at Palomar counted 45,000 stars on a plate made with the 200" telescope. What if you lost your place at 44,000? Visually, this is a spectacular cluster with many curved lines of stars forming chains out from a blazing core. 18" f/4.5 TSP 96 25mm --Very impressive, 48 stars counted in SW quad. Core a blaze of resolved stars, dark marking on E side, a small dark area are edge of core. Averted vision makes the little dark area more obvious and increases the size of the glob about 50%. Great view even under 5/10 skies. Camp 613 S=6, T=9 WOW!! Very bright, very large, very suddenly much brighter in the middle, 92 stars counted at 220X. The central 1 arcmin of the core is only portion not resolved. One of the best globulars in the sky. Going to 330X with 6.7mm eyepiece the core is now completely resolved. Lord Rosse's dark markings are evident to the North and South of the core, about 3 arcmin on either side. They are seen as small, thin dark lanes winding their way through a myriad of stars. Camp 613 S=7 T=8 easy in 11X80 220X--elongated 1.2X1 in PA 20. Resolved to a blazing core. There are several dark markings at the edge of the bright core, right where some star chains are attached, this is most prominent on the south edge of the core. 330X--counted 25 stars in NW quadrant. The dark marking is now quite prominent and there is a glowing background of un-resolved stars. NGC 5273 Pretty faint, pretty large, round, brighter in the middle. Averted vision makes it grow at 135X. NGC 5276 is a companion which is 5' to the east. NGC 5276 Very faint, small, round and little brighter in the middle. NGC 5289 Pretty faint, pretty small, much brighter in the middle, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 75 at 135X. NGC 5290 Pretty bright, pretty large, bright middle, much elongated 3 X 1 in PA 90 at 135X. NGC 5301 Pretty faint, large, much elongated 3X1 in PA 135, little brighter in the middle at 150X. There are two 12th mag stars on south end of this galaxy. NGC 5313 Pretty bright, pretty small, little elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 45, brighter middle, there are 2 13th mag stars 5' north. NGC 5326 Pretty faint, pretty large, bright middle with an almost stellar nucleus, elongated 1.5 to 1 in PA 130 at 100X. NGC 5337 Pretty faint, pretty small, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 30 and little brighter in the middle at 100X. NGC 5346 Faint, small, round and not brighter in the middle, averted vision only at 100X. NGC 5347 Faint, pretty small, little elongated 1.2X1 in PA 120, very little brighter in the middle at 150X. NGC 5350 Pretty bright, pretty large, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 20 and much brighter in the middle at 135X. There are 4 other galaxies involved in this group, all seen in the 13" from Buckeye. There is also a nice yellow and blue double star in the field. NGC 5351 Pretty faint, pretty large, somewhat elongated 1.8X1 in PA 90, gradually brighter middle at 150X. There are two companions, both are small, faint, round and to the SW of this galaxy. NGC 5353 Pretty bright, pretty small, little brighter in the middle, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 90 at 220X. NGC 5354 Pretty faint, pretty small, not brighter in the middle and round at 220X. NGC 5355 Pretty faint, pretty small, little brighter in the middle, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 0 at 220X. NGC 5358 Very faint, small, not brighter in the middle, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 135 at 220X. NGC 5371 Pretty bright, pretty large, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 0, bright middle at 165X. There are two companions, both are can be seen with averted vision only and are very faint, pretty small and round at 165X. NGC 5377 Bright, large, elongated 3 X 1 in PA 45 and much brighter in the middle at 165X. There is a stellar nucleus and nice mottling in the outer portions. NGC 5380 Faint, small, round, brighter middle, not much at 150X. This is an "H II" object? Usually Wm. Herschel II objects are quite bright and obvious and this is H II 698. Oh well. NGC 5383 Pretty bright, pretty large, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 90, gradually much brighter middle, mottled at 150X. This nice galaxy has two 12th mag stars at the east side and a central bar is held in moments of good seeing. NGC 5394 Pretty faint, small, round and little brighter in the middle at 135X. Located on the north side of NGC 5395. NGC 5395 Pretty faint, pretty large, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 165 and somewhat brighter in the middle at 135X. NGC 5406 Faint, pretty small, round, somewhat brighter in the middle at 150X. NGC 5444 Pretty faint, pretty small, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 90, much brighter in the middle at 135X. NGC 5445 Pretty faint, small, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 30 and somewhat brighter in the middle at 135X. Upgren 1 Bright, large, scattered grouping of 12 pretty bright stars at 135X. The 4 brightest stars can be seen in the 11 X 80. Double Stars Cor Caroli is the brightest star in the constellation. It was named for King Charles II of England and means "Heart of Charles". Cor Caroli is a nicely tinted double star. The components are 3 and 5.5 magnitude and 20 arc seconds apart. The separation is about 770 A U, so the solar system would fit 5 times between these stars. This wide pair is easily split at 50X in most any scope you can muster. These stars appear blue-white and greenish in both my old 8" and 17.5". The 13" shows them at white and light green at 100X. 2 CVN is another pretty double. At 6 and 9 magnitude and easily separated at 12", this is a lovely blue and gold pair at 100X in the 8" f/6. Using the 13" it is easily split at 100X, and I noted the colors as gorgeous gold and royal blue. Struve 1632 Split at 100X, yellow and light blue. Struve 1642 Elongated at 135X, split at 220X, white and light blue. Red Stars Y CVN Light orange at 100X.