{"id":27966,"date":"2022-01-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=27966"},"modified":"2022-02-02T15:11:55","modified_gmt":"2022-02-02T15:11:55","slug":"deep-sky-tour-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/2022\/01\/20\/deep-sky-tour-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Deep-sky tour"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Take a look at fascinating objects near the Sickle asterism in Leo, the Lion<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
.1 NGC 3226\/3227 <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Recommended equipment: Small\/medium or large telescope<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Our first targets lie 0.8\u00b0 to the east and a bit north of the double star Algieba (Gamma (\u03b3) Leonis), which is part of the Sickle asterim. Here you\u2019ll find the two interacting galaxies, NGC 3226 and 3227. NGC 3226 is a dwarf elliptical galaxy that shines with an integrated magnitude of +11.4. NGC 3227 is brighter at mag. +10.8 and is a spiral galaxy with an active nucleus that has been identified as a variable X-ray source. Both galaxies can be seen as faint, indeterminate smudges through a 150mm scope, while a 250mm scope will show NGC 3226 to have a more circular form, situated northwest of NGC 3227\u2019s elongated core. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

2. NGC 3193\/3190 <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Recommended equipment: Small\/medium or large telescope<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Our next target consists of multiple galaxies too. Located midway between Algieba and Adhafera (Zeta (\u03b6) Leonis), you\u2019ll find, in order of brightness, NGC 3193, 3190, 3185 and 3187. NGC 3193 and 3190 have magnitudes of +10.9 and +11.0 respectively. Edge-on spiral NGC 3190 is the easiest of the four to see. NGC 3193 is an elliptical and together with 3190 can be seen using a 150mm scope. NGC 3185 is a mag. +12.2 face-on barred spiral requiring at least 200mm of aperture. NGC 3187 is a mag. +13.1 barred spiral, but it appears faint and it will give even a 300mm scope a run for its money. The four galaxies are gravitationally bound, forming a group catalogued as Hickson 44. <\/p>\n\n

\"\"
Near the star Adhafera (Zeta (\u03b6) Leonis) you will find a host of multiple galaxies with a telescope, with the edge-on spiral NGC 3190 being the easiest to spot <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
3. NGC 3162 <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Recommended equipment: Small\/medium or large telescope<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Centre your telescope on mag. +3.4 Adhafera and slew 1\u00b0 to the southwest to point at our next target, spiral galaxy NGC 3162. Listed at mag. +11.6, NGC 3162 is large, its total size approaching 3 arcminutes across. It\u2019s a distorted face-on galaxy which has a low surface brightness. A 150mm scope will just about show it, but it will appear little more than a large, faint \u2018ghost-like\u2019 object. A 250mm telescope shows an object about 80 arcseconds across, which has a well-defined core with a star-like nucleus. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

4. NGC 2916<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Recommended equipment: Small\/medium or large telescope<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

We head further west for our next target, a 12th magnitude <\/span>spiral galaxy with an active nucleus catalogued as NGC 2916. The best way to locate it is to identify mag. +4.3 Alterf (Lambda (\u03bb) <\/span>Leonis). Alterf lies 3.2\u00b0 west and 0.7\u00b0 south of Algenubi (Epsilon (\u03b5) Leonis), the last star in the Sickle\u2019s \u2018hook\u2019. NGC 2916 sits 1.4\u00b0 south-southeast of Alterf. A 150mm scope will just about show it as a circular glow and although increased aperture helps, a 250mm scope won\u2019t show much more than a brighter, <\/span>elongated glow. A 300mm scope shows the galaxy\u2019s stellar core and hints at mottling across its misty appearance. <\/p>\n\n

5. NGC 2903 <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Recommended equipment: Small\/medium or large telescope<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Our next target is a beauty. NGC 2903 is a bright, barred-spiral galaxy located 40 arcminutes west-southwest of NGC 2916 or, 1.5\u00b0 due south and a fraction to the east of Alterf. It shines with an integrated magnitude of +8.9 and is easy to see with a 150mm scope. Such an instrument reveals an object 8×4 arcminutes in size and shows an unevenly lit core. A 250mm scope picks out what appears to be the galaxy\u2019s star-like nucleus well. A 300mm instrument shows this core to be extending, measuring 0.5×0.3 arcminutes. With such an instrument, the mottled outer halo appears brightest and easiest to see on the western side. <\/p>\n\n

6. EGB 6 <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Recommended equipment: Small\/medium or large telescope<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Our last target is a challenge. Ellis 6 also known as EGB (Ellis-Grayson-Bond) 6 is a faint planetary nebula near Regulus (Alpha (\u03b1) Leonis). It sits 4.1\u00b0 west-northwest of Regulus, or for a better guide, imagine the mid-point of a line between Eta (\u03b5) Leonis and Omicron (\u03bf) Leonis. EGB 6 lies 0.3\u00b0 west-northwest of this point. It\u2019s listed as mag. +10.3, but because it\u2019s large with a diameter around 12 arcminutes, it has a low surface brightness. A 200mm instrument can show it, but you\u2019ll need to use averted vision along with an OIII (Oxygen III) filter. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

<\/div>
\n

More ONLINE <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Print out this chart and take an automated Go-To tour. See Bonus Content for instructions.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

This Deep-Sky Tour has been automated <\/strong>
ASCOM-enabled Go-To mounts can now take you to this month\u2019s targets at the touch of a button, with our Deep-Sky Tour file for the EQTOUR app. Find it online.<\/p>\n\n

Photos: THOMAS HENNE\/CCDGUIDE.COM, CHART BY PETE LAWRENCE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Take a look at fascinating objects near the Sickle asterism in Leo, the Lion<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":27965,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"56","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"56","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_56-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_56-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"February-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"February-2022","purple_external_id":"February-2022-56-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"February-2022-56-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000086549||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000086549||","purple_android_product":"com.im.skyatnight.201","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.skyatnight.201","purple_ios_product":"com.im.skyatnight.201","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.skyatnight.201","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"075fab74-0a21-4201-866a-899d6c41c40c","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[14],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/f6f3bc00-356e-47ef-b252-9f4f4374f774.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/f6f3bc00-356e-47ef-b252-9f4f4374f774.jpg",1477,2048,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/f6f3bc00-356e-47ef-b252-9f4f4374f774-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/f6f3bc00-356e-47ef-b252-9f4f4374f774-216x300.jpg",216,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/f6f3bc00-356e-47ef-b252-9f4f4374f774-768x1065.jpg",768,1065,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/f6f3bc00-356e-47ef-b252-9f4f4374f774-739x1024.jpg",739,1024,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/f6f3bc00-356e-47ef-b252-9f4f4374f774-1108x1536.jpg",1108,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/01\/f6f3bc00-356e-47ef-b252-9f4f4374f774.jpg",1477,2048,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Take a look at fascinating objects near the Sickle asterism in Leo, the Lion","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27966"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27966"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28693,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27966\/revisions\/28693"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}