Observing galaxies in Pegasus 01 October 2015 23:07

Context

As you look towards Pegasus you are looking below the galactic plane under the Orion spiral arm of our galaxy.

The Perseus-Pisces supercluster wall of galaxies runs through this constellation. It stretches from RA 3h +40 in Perseus to 23h +10 in Pegasus and is around 200 million light years away. It includes the Pegasus I group noted later this document.

The constellation is well placed from mid summer to late autumn.

Pegasus is a rich constellation for galaxy observing. I have observed 80 galaxies in this constellation. Relatively bright galaxies

This section covers the galaxies that were visible with direct vision in my 16 inch or smaller scopes. This list will therefore grow over time as I have not yet viewed all the galaxies in good conditions at maximum altitude in my 16 inch scope!

NGC 7331 MAG 9

This is the stand out galaxy of the constellation. It is similar to our milky way. Around it are a number of fainter NGC galaxies. I have seen the brightest one, NGC 7335 in my 10 inch scope with averted vision. I have seen NGC 7331 in my 25 x 100mm binoculars.

NGC 7814 - Mag 10 ? Not on observed list ?

This is a very lovely oval shaped galaxy.

By constellation Page 1 NGC 7332 MAG 11 / NGC 7339 MAG 12

These galaxies are an isolated bound pair about 67 million light years away. NGC 7339 is the fainter of the two galaxies at the eyepiece. I have seen NGC 7332 in my 25 x 100mm binoculars.

NGC 7217 MAG 10 - Not showing on list!

I rated this as bright (2 star) when I observed it in my 10 inch scope and noted it was larger than NGC 7177 (see below).

By constellation Page 2 NGC 7457 MAG 10

I could see this at low power in my 14 inch scope.

NGC 7177 MAG 11

I found this hard to locate but it could be seen with direct vision in my 10 inch scope.

By constellation Page 3 NGC 7743 MAG 11

This was visible at low power in my 10 inch scope.

NGC 7469 MAG 12

The core of this galaxy was just visible with direct vision in my 14 inch scope. I could not see IC 5283 nearby!

By constellation Page 4 NGC 7311 MAG 12

This was quite easy to see with direct vision in my 16 inch scope.

Other special galaxies and galaxy groups of note

I have set out below a selection of observed galaxies and galaxy groups of note in the constellation.

The Pegasus I group is a relatively bright group of about 13 galaxies at a distance of 180 million light years. I have observed NGC 7619 and NGC 7626 which look like car headlights in the fog! I have also seen NGC 7623 and NGC 7611 with my 10 inch scope.

By constellation Page 5 The Stephens quintet is a very famous group of five faint small galaxies visible in the same FOV. All five were just visible in my 16 inch scope. 7320 is 40 million light years away. The other are between 200 and 300 million light years away.

NGC 7479

This is the other mag 10 galaxy in Pegasus. It is 105 million light years away. It is of note as its structure can be seen in larger scopes. However when I observed it in my 14 inch scope I needed averted vision to pick it up. This might have been a reflection of its relatively low declination.

NGC 7385 group

It is a rare to be able to see five galaxies in one field of view. Five galaxies (7383 / 7385 / 7386 / 7387 / 7389) in this group were visible with averted vision in my 16 inch scope with the 7mm eyepiece which gives a 0.3 degrees FOV. This group is between 300 and 350 million light years away.

NGC 1 & 2

The first entry in the NGC catalogue is NGC 1. I observed NGC 1 with my 16 inch scope. NGC 2 is next to it but I could not pick it up in my 16 inch scope.

NGC 7673 & NGC 7677 are a faint pair of galaxies. NGC 7677 was by far the faintest and was only just visible with averted vision in my 14 inch scope.

NGC 7769 and NGC 7771 are a faint pair of galaxies. NGC 7771 was very tough to pick out even with averted vision with my 10 inch scope. I could not see NGC 7770, a fainter galaxy in this field in my 10 inch scope.

NGC 7465 was just visible with averted vision in my 10 inch scope. I could not see NGC 7463 or NGC 7464.

By constellation Page 6 Full list of observed galaxies in Pegasus ref1 SIZE SHAPE Visual mag Comments MLY surf_brt INSTRUM _scale ness ENT NGC large oval 1 9.5 Brecon Star Party 48 13.3 25 x 100B 7331 NGC small thin 1 11.1 Brecon Star Party 53 12.6 25 x 100B 7332 oval NGC small oval 1 11.2 Just visible in 20mm. Better with averted vision. 49 13.0 Skywatch 7177 er 10 inch NGC small oval 1 11.2 Lovely oval galaxy, picked up in 24mm eyepiece 36 13.6 Darkstar 7457 14 inch NGC very circular 1 11.5 Small faint oval galaxy. 76 13.6 Skywatch 7743 small er 10 inch NGC very circular 1 12.3 Bright core - small - Just visible with direct vision 216 12.7 Darkstar 7469 small 14 inch NGC very oval 1 12.5 Oval object 199 12.6 Meade 16 7311 small inch NGC small oval <0.5 10.6 Faint averted oval glow 46 13.2 Meade 7814 90mm NGC small circular <0.5 10.9 Another go at this given its a good night. Quite large 106 13.4 Skywatch 7479 and elongated. Better with averted vision and better in er 10 inch 12.5mm lens. No arms just a long barrel to me. NGC very circular <0.5 11.1 Brighter of a great double set of galaxies. A third NGC 169 12.9 Skywatch 7619 small 7611 is just visible. Oval in shape. er 10 inch NGC small oval <0.5 11.3 Tough small galaxy 33 13.9 Darkstar 7741 14 inch NGC very circular <0.5 11.6 Easy enough to find but on the faint side. Better with 74 12.7 Skywatch 7742 small averted vision. It is possible in 12.5mm er 10 inch NGC very oval <0.5 11.7 Really tough even with averted vision tonight. Only 108 12.9 Skywatch 7448 small appearing occasionally. er 10 inch NGC small thin <0.5 11.8 Toughest of the night. Really only fleeting glimpses with 96 12.9 Skywatch 7817 oval averted vision! er 10 inch NGC very circular <0.5 11.8 Oval galaxy. Small but easy to spot with averted vision 88 13.2 Skywatch 7454 small er 10 inch NGC very circular <0.5 11.8 Low sbr spiral galaxy - relatively easy with AV - In a 153 13.1 Darkstar 7678 small triangle of stars 14 inch NGC very oval <0.5 12.0 Very tough low sbr galaxy 231 14.0 Skywatch 7753 small er 10 inch NGC 16 very oval <0.5 12.0 Found relatively easily tonight. Still faint and best with 136 12.4 Skywatch small averted vision. er 10 inch NGC 23 very oval <0.5 12.0 Faint but visible readily with averted vision. 206 13.0 Skywatch small er 10 inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.0 Slightly extended glow 231 13.2 Darkstar 7042 small 14 inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.0 Oval diffuse object 1 of 5 348 12.8 Meade 16 7385 small inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.0 One of a pair in the same FOV. This one is brighter 190 12.9 Skywatch 7769 small than 7771. er 10 inch NGC 14 very circular <0.5 12.1 Faint averted glow 0 13.9 Darkstar small 14 inch NGC very oval <0.5 12.1 Very small faint oval shaped object 181 13.3 Skywatch 7711 small er 10 inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.1 Small faint galaxy. Pretty tough one to confirm sighting. 81 13.3 Skywatch 7280 small er 10 inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.1 Very small ,very faint galaxy. 75 12.8 Skywatch 7625 small er 10 inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.2 Very faint oval galaxy. 227 12.6 Skywatch 7550 small er 10 inch NGC very slither <0.5 12.2 Only just with averted vision 56 13.0 Skywatch 7339 small er 10 inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.3 small faint circular galaxy 0 14.3 Meade 16 7490 small inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.3 Oval diffuse object 2 of 5 323 12.8 Meade 16

By constellation Page 7 NGC very circular <0.5 12.3 Oval diffuse object 2 of 5 323 12.8 Meade 16 7386 small inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.3 Nice oval galaxy west of a triangle of stars 365 13.1 Darkstar 7768 small 14 inch NGC very oval <0.5 12.3 One of a pair in the same FOV. This one is fainter than 191 13.1 Skywatch 7771 small 7769. Could not positively identify 7770. er 10 inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.4 Faint galaxy visible with averted vision 389 13.1 Darkstar 7720 small 14 inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.4 Very small faint oval shaped object 180 13.2 Skywatch 7722 small er 10 inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.4 Small faint circular galaxy. 118 12.8 Skywatch 7798 small er 10 inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.4 Very small faint galaxy. 200 13.4 Skywatch 7515 small er 10 inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.4 Very tough circular low surface brightness galaxy 65 13.1 Skywatch 7137 small er 10 inch NGC very oval <0.5 12.5 Small faint oval galaxy. 41 12.5 Meade 16 7286 small inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.5 Faint small object 270 13.0 Meade 16 7539 small inch NGC very oval <0.5 12.5 Faint circular glow 219 12.6 Meade 16 7514 small inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.5 Low sbr circular galaxy 272 13.4 Meade 16 7315 small inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.5 Very faint, low sbr spiral galaxy, pretty tough 176 13.3 Darkstar 7156 small 14 inch NGC small thin <0.5 12.6 Faint extended glow 64 13.8 Darkstar 7241 oval 14 inch NGC very oval <0.5 12.6 Faint glow to right of Quintet 35 13.5 Meade 16 7320 small inch NGC very oval <0.5 12.6 This was at the extreme of visibility tonight. Really 89 12.4 Skywatch 7465 small tough and only visible with the 6.4mm lens with averted er 10 inch vision at times. The moon was rising which may have affected seeing. NGC very circular <0.5 12.6 Faint low sbr oval 0 13.9 Meade 16 7800 small inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.6 Relatively easy circular galaxy 226 13.8 Meade 16 7680 small inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.7 Small and faint 254 13.1 Meade 16 7660 small inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.7 Low sbr faint glow 0 12.5 Meade 16 7362 small inch NGC very oval <0.5 12.7 Faint extended galaxy near a mag 13 field star 153 14.0 Darkstar 7664 small 14 inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.7 Small and quite tough to spot tonight 135 12.1 Meade 16 7712 small inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.7 Faint small object 186 12.7 Meade 16 7628 small inch NGC very oval <0.5 12.8 Small and faint 184 12.8 Meade 16 7671 small inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.8 Oval - brighter of a pair of galaxies 150 13.1 Darkstar 7673 small 14 inch NGC 1 very circular <0.5 12.9 Nice oval object 202 13.5 Meade 16 small inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.9 Very tough low sbr galaxy 236 12.7 Meade 16 7056 small inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.9 Tought low sbr object 319 13.4 Meade 16 7321 small inch NGC very circular <0.5 12.9 Very faint but visible with averted vision at times. A lot 165 12.8 Skywatch 7623 small of effort needed to spot this one. Worth it though. er 10 inch NGC very circular <0.5 13.0 Oval galaxy 247 13.0 Meade 16 7810 small inch NGC very circular <0.5 13.0 Small faint oval galaxy…near double 0 13.5 Meade 16 7053 small inch NGC very circular <0.5 13.0 Tough small AV object 249 12.8 Meade 16

By constellation Page 8 NGC very circular <0.5 13.0 Tough small AV object 249 12.8 Meade 16 7316 small inch NGC very oval <0.5 13.1 Tough small av object 191 11.6 Meade 16 7786 small inch NGC very oval <0.5 13.1 Oval galaxy 234 12.4 Meade 16 7803 small inch NGC very circular <0.5 13.1 Small faint circular galaxy 200 12.6 Darkstar 7624 small 14 inch NGC very circular <0.5 13.1 Relatively easy circular galaxy 422 12.9 Meade 16 7728 small inch NGC very circular <0.5 13.1 Brightest of quintet - double galaxy! 256 13.9 Meade 16 7318B small inch NGC very circular <0.5 13.1 Low sbr galacy, part of the Quintet 299 13.8 Meade 16 7319 small inch NGC very circular <0.5 13.1 Faint low sbr object - tough to spot even with AV 428 13.2 Darkstar 7620 small 14 inch NGC very oval <0.5 13.2 Very faint - fainter object of a pair in the field 161 13.6 Darkstar 7677 small 14 inch NGC very oval <0.5 13.3 Faint oval galaxy near two bright field stars 0 13.6 Meade 16 7290 small inch NGC very oval <0.5 13.4 Very small faint galaxy next to NGC 7331 282 12.9 Skywatch 7335 small er 10 inch NGC very circular <0.5 13.4 Brightest of quintet - double galaxy! 297 13.0 Meade 16 7318A small inch UGC very oval <0.5 13.5 Faint extended galaxy. UGC 12915 not seen 12914 small Meade 16 inch NGC very circular <0.5 13.6 Tough spot. Glow next to star. Part of Quintet 296 13.8 Meade 16 7317 small inch NGC very circular <0.5 13.7 Faint circular small galaxy 3 of 5 362 12.9 Meade 16 7383 small inch NGC very circular <0.5 13.8 Faint circular small galaxy 4 of 5 353 13.6 Meade 16 7389 small inch UGC very oval <0.5 13.9 Extended tough low sbr object 310 Meade 16 12591 small inch IC 1508 very oval <0.5 14.0 Very faint low sbr oval 0 Meade 16 small inch UGC very circular <0.5 14.0 Glow near a bright field star…nice 260 Meade 16 12515 small inch NGC very oval <0.5 14.0 Faint circular small galaxy 5 of 5 309 12.5 Meade 16 7387 small inch

TARGET LIST AT 3 October 2015

UGC galaxies from faint fuzzies .de

UGC 14 14.0 UGC 12713 14.3

By constellation Page 9