ERIDANUS
by Steve Coe
13" f/5.6 unless noted
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NGC 1084 Easily seen at 100X,
pretty bright, elongated and somewhat
mottled at 180X.
NGC 1140 Pretty faint, small,
little elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 0,
somewhat brighter middle at 150X.
NGC 1172 Pretty faint, pretty
large, irregularly round, pretty
suddenly brighter middle with an almost stellar nucleus at 150X.
NGC 1179 Extremely faint, pretty
large, gradually little brighter
middle, round. This tough galaxy has a very low surface brightness at
150X.
NGC 1187 Faint, somewhat elongated and bright in the middle at 100X.
NGC 1199 Pretty faint, small
and much brighter in the middle at 135X,
There are two other very faint galaxies within 30 arc minutes.
NGC 1209 Pretty faint, pretty
large, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 45, pretty
suddenly brighter middle at 150X.
NGC 1232 Pretty faint, pretty
large, round and much brighter in the
middle at 100X. Low surface brightness makes this object disappear at
135X. This face-on galaxy responds to the quality of the evening
quite a bit. The observation above was from a fair night that I rated
6 out of 10 for transparency. On much better evening at a much better
observing site, my notes on NGC 1232 are: Bright, Large and much
brighter in the middle at 100X. Going to 165X makes the arms appear
very mottled and two H II regions in the arms can be spotted. This
observation was made on a night I rated 8/10.
Sentinel 8/10 100X--pretty bright, pretty large, round, gradually
brighter middle, somewhat mottled in moments of excellent seeing.
150X-almost too much power, but every once in a while a hint of
spiral structure appears. Knowing what is there is probably
effecting what I am seeing.
Granite Wash MT. S=8, T=9 WOW 13" 11X80 just faint
fuzzy, small.
150X--excellent view, pretty bright, large, round, gradually much
brighter middle. Core elongated 1.5X1 in PA 90. Several pretty
bright regions in outer arms seen, averted vision makes it double
in size. Very Mottled arms!!
NGC 1241 Faint, pretty small,
elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 135, gradually
little brighter middle at 150X. The elongation could be the fact that
NGC 1242 is attached to 1241 and I never split them into two separate
galaxies.
NGC 1291 Bright, pretty large, round, much brighter middle at 150X.
NGC 1297 Pretty faint, pretty
small, round and brighter in the middle
at 100X. Averted vision helps on this galaxy.
NGC 1300 Pretty bright, large,
very elongated and suddenly much
brighter in the middle at 135X. With averted vision I can just pick
out some barred spiral structure.
Ultimate Star Party, McDonald Obs., Oct. 95, S=7, T=9, 36" f/5--
NGC 1300 in 36" with 14mm. Obviously a barred spiral, the arms wrap around the oval central section. There are 5 other galaxies with one field of view of 1300.
Granite Wash Mt. S=8 T=9 WOW 13" Great night
150X--pretty bright, large, very much elongated 4X1 in PA 90,
suddenly much brighter middle. An obvious barred spiral with
the southern arm more prominent. Averted vision helps a lot with
the detail in the spiral arms.
220X--too much, the spiral arms almost disappear.
NGC 1309 Pretty bright, pretty
large, irregularly round, gradually
brighter middle at 150X. The is an 8th mag star about 10 min to the
SE.
NGC 1325 Faint, pretty large,
much elongated 2.5 X 1 in PA 45,
somewhat brighter middle at 150X. There is a 10th mag star at the NE
tip. The central bulge of this edge-on galaxy was seen.
NGC 1331 Very faint, pretty
small, round and never held steadily,
always required averted vision.
NGC 1332 Pretty bright, pretty
large and much brighter in the middle
at 165X. It is much elongated (3X1) in PA 115 degrees. There is a
very bright central nucleus.
NGC 1337 Pretty faint, pretty
large, very elongated and gradually
brighter in the middle at 135X.
NGC 1353 Pretty bright, pretty
large, much brighter middle, much
elongated 2.5 X 1 in PA 110. This is a nice edge-on galaxy at 150X.
NGC 1355 Faint, small and round at 150X.
NGC 1357 Pretty faint, pretty
large, round, somewhat brighter middle
at 150X. There is a 9th mag star 5' to the NNE.
NGC 1358 Faint, small, somewhat
brighter middle, little elongated 1.5
X 1 in PA 0 at 150X. There is a 13th mag star 2' to west and a 13th
mag double star to the east. NGC 1355 is to the NW.
NGC 1359 Faint, pretty small,
round, very little brighter middle,
not much at 150X.
NGC 1376 Extremely faint, pretty
large, irregularly round, brighter in
the middle at 150X. This galaxy has a low surface brightness.
NGC 1383 Pretty faint, small,
elongated 2 X 1 in PA 75, brighter
middle at 150X.
NGC 1386 Pretty faint, pretty
large, much elongated 2.5 X 1 in PA 0,
there is a bright middle to this nice edge-on at 150X.
NGC 1389 Pretty faint, small, round, much brighter middle at 150X.
NGC 1390 Faint, pretty small,
elongated 2 X 1 in PA 30, not much
brighter middle at 150X.
NGC 1391 Faint, small, very little elongated, not brighter middle.
NGC 1393 Pretty faint, pretty
small, round, bright middle with a
stellar nucleus at 150X.
NGC 1394 Pretty faint, pretty
small, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 0,
brighter middle with a stellar nucleus at 150X.
NGC 1395 Pretty bright, pretty
large, much brighter in the middle at
165X. It is somewhat elongated (1.5X1) in PA 75 degrees. There is a
13th mag star involved on the west side.
NGC 1400 Pretty bright, pretty
large, little elongated 1.5 X 1 in
PA 30, brighter middle at 150X.
NGC 1402 Faint, very small, round, stellar nucleus at 150X
NGC 1407 Pretty bright, pretty
large, very little elongated 1.2 X 1
in PA 45, much brighter middle with a stellar nucleus at 150X. NGC
1400 and 1407 are surrounded by 10 fainter galaxies within one degree.
NGC 1415 Pretty bright, pretty
large, much elongated 2.5 X 1 in
PA 135, gradually brighter middle, 10th mag star on the NW tip
at 150X.
NGC 1417 Faint, pretty small,
elongated 1.8 X 1 in PA 165, little
brighter in the middle at 150X. On a night I rated 6/10 for seeing
and transparency I never saw the companion galaxy (NGC 1418) as a
separate object at either 150x or 220X.
NGC 1421 Pretty bright, pretty
large, very elongated at 165X. There
is no discernible nucleus or central brightening at any power.
NGC 1426 Pretty faint, pretty small, round, bright middle at 150X.
NGC 1437 Very faint, pretty
large, round, very little brighter
in the middle, low surface brightness at 150X.
NGC 1437A Extremely faint, small,
round, little brighter middle,
this object is at the limit of the 13" scope at 150X.
NGC 1437B Very faint, pretty
small, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 90,
very little brighter in the middle, not much at 150X
NGC 1439 Faint, pretty small,
gradually pretty much brighter in
the middle, round at 150X.
NGC 1440 Pretty bright, pretty
large, very little elongated
1.2 X 1 in PA 45, much brighter middle at 150X. A large, faint
outer halo appears with averted vision.
NGC 1452 Pretty bright, round
and brighter middle at 135X. Both NGC
1440 and 1452 fit in the 25 minutes field at 135X and there are 3
pretty faint galaxies in that same field of view.
NGC 1453 Pretty bright, small,
round, much brighter in the middle at
150X. There is a galaxy trio to the SW, all are faint and small.
NGC 1455 Faint, small, round,
bright middle at 150X. This galaxy
is brighter than 15th mag suggests.
NGC 1461 Pretty bright, pretty
small, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 165, much
brighter middle with an almost stellar core at 150X.
NGC 1487 Faint, pretty small,
round, gradually brighter middle at
150X.
NGC 1507 Faint, pretty large,
much elongated 2.5 X 1 in PA 15, little
brighter in the middle at 150X.
NGC 1518 Bright, pretty large,
much elongated 2 X 1 in PA 20,
gradually much brighter middle at 150X. There is a hint of a dark
lane with averted vision. There is a 10th mag star to the SW.
NGC 1521 Pretty bright, pretty
small, round and bright middle at
150X.
NGC 1531 Pretty bright, round,
pretty small and brighter in the
middle at 135X.
NGC 1532 Pretty bright, pretty
large, very elongated with a bright
nucleus at 135X. This edge-on and the round NGC 1531 make an
interesting pair.
NGC 1535 Bright, pretty large,
round, easy to spot at 100X. Going to
180X shows two concentric rings, one bright near the center, the other
ring dimmer and larger that forms the outer edge of this planetary.
The central star is easy at high power and the nebula is light blue at
all powers.
Ultimate Star Party, McDonald Obs., Oct. 95, S=7, T=9, 36" f/5--
NGC 1535 in Eridanus in 36" 12mm shows a bulls-eye of nebulosity, with the inner ring as light green and a light pink outer fringe. The central star is easy and has a very thin dark region surrounding it. There is a very faint star involved at the edge of the nebula at 7 o'clock.
Sentinel 8/10 S+T 13" 100X--seen easily, small, central
star seen
but needs more power. 330X--bright, pretty large, round, somewhat
brighter middle, central star easy. A light blue color, the "CBS
eye" effect is noticed at high power.
NGC 1537 Pretty bright, pretty
small, round, suddenly much brighter
middle with an almost stellar core at 150X. Averted vision makes it
grow much larger.
NGC 1600 Pretty bright, pretty large, little
elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA
10, gradually brighter middle at 150X. NGC 1601 is in contact.
NGC 1601 Faint, small, round at 150X.
NGC 1602 Very faint, pretty
large, round, low surface brightness at
150X.
NGC 1625 Pretty faint, pretty
large, much elongated 3 X 1 in PA 135,
not much brighter in the middle, there is an 11th mag star on the
northern tip at 150X.
NGC 1637 Bright, round, very
bright in the middle at 135X. The arms
of this galaxy are very mottled.
NGC 1638 Faint, pretty small,
little elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 60,
brighter middle, averted vision makes it grow at 150X.
NGC 1640 Faint, pretty small,
little elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 30,
gradually brighter middle at 150X.
NGC 1659 Faint, pretty small,
round, somewhat brighter in the middle
at 150X.
NGC 1667 Pretty faint, pretty
large, little elongated 1.5 X 1 in
PA 0, somewhat brighter in the middle at 150X.
NGC 1699 Very, very faint, small,
round, 12th mag star attached, this
is a tough galaxy to spot at 150X.
NGC 1700 Pretty bright, pretty
small, round, much brighter middle at
150X.
NGC 1726 Pretty faint, pretty
small, elongated 1.8 X 1 in PA 0, there
is a 12th mag star at the southern tip at 150X.
Non-NGC Objects
IC 343 Very faint, pretty small,
elongated 2 X 1 in PA 120, not
brighter in the middle at 150X.
IC 1953 Faint, pretty large,
irregularly round, somewhat brighter
middle, a fuzzy blob at 150X.
IC 2006 Pretty bright, pretty
small, round, brighter middle
at 150X.
IC 2118 Extremely faint, very
large, very elongated in 10 X 50
binoculars. This dim streamer is a reflection nebula that is
illuminated by Rigel. It appears as a faint ribbon in the binoculars
only from the best of dark sky locations.
Eridanus Cluster There is no
definite sighting of this low surface
brightness globular at Buckeye on a 6/10 night at 100X.
ESO 548-68 Faint, pretty small, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 135 at 150X.
ESO 549-4 Faint, pretty small,
little elongated 1.2 X 1 in PA 45,
not brighter middle at 150X.
Double Stars in Eridanus
Theta ERI Easy at 100X, Creamy and bluish-white.
f ERI Easy split at 100X, both
white, reminds me of Gamma Leo,
a pair of matched headlights.
32 ERI Split at 100X, better at 135X, yellow and light blue.
39 ERI Split at 135X, yellow and light blue.
Omicron 2 ERI All three components
seen at 100X, better split
at 180X. White, light blue and grape red. Lovely.
Struve 571 Split at 100X, white and blue.