To get an overview of what there is to see in Delphinus, see the blog entry for July 27th, 2014. Outside of numerous faint galaxies, there is not a whole lot to see. Delphinus lacks a major deep sky object. At least it is well placed in the sky for northern viewers. I spent parts of six observing nights in the constellation, spending a lot of time hunting down some very faint galaxies. With perseverance and good maps, I managed a 100% score with NGC objects.
eg 6954 (1' x 0'.6: V. 13.2; SB 12.5) was spotted at 125x, being small, faint and oval. The view was much better at 150x and 187x. 200x shows a 14.5 mag. star closely preceding, though the galaxy itself fades in this range.
eg 6955 (1'.4 x 1'.3: V.13.6; SB 14.1) is one of the most difficult galaxies I have ever seen. It should not have been, with a combined mag. of 13.85 and a standard shape that is usually easiest to see. However, a photo of the object shows that only a tiny, bright portion of the object will be seen in backyard scopes, so the size given is greatly overstated. I had been looking for a much larger object. It was finally spotted at 200x, being very faint and round.
eg 6957 (0'.5 x 0'.4: V. 14.4; SB 12.5), on the other hand, was difficult but not impossible. It was ghostly and dim, seen only at 200x with averted vision. My final object in this first session was I. 1320 (1' x 0'.6: V. 13.6; SB 12.9). A mag. 6.6 star is 4' NW, so I expected a very difficult task. It wasn't! At 200x it is small, but the star can be kept out of the field. The galaxy was distinctly oval.
Five new galaxies awaited me on the night of September 16th, though I began by reconfirming sightings of last night's faint ones. Tonight's galaxies were much easier to locate and observe, with one exception. I failed to locate eg 6988, setting it aside for further research and another time.
eg 6971 (1'.1 x 0'.9: V. 13.7; SB 13.5) was spotted at 100x and confirmed at 125x. At 150x it was very faint and slightly oval. It was also seen at 187x, but became poor at 200x.
eg 6969 (1'.1 x 0'.3: V. 14; SB 12.6) was glimpsed at 100x and confirmed at 125x. At 187x a nice slash was seen with averted vision, with a wider center. At 200x it was becoming very faint, but the full size can be glimpsed on occasion.
eg 6972 (1'.2 x 0'.6: V. 13.3; SB 12.7) was located at 100x. It was pretty bright at 125x, and had a stellar center. It remained bright even at 250x, where the elongation was noteworthy. It is not as elongated as 6969, though it is much brighter.
eg 6956 (1'.9 x 1'.9: V. 12.3; SB 13.6) was spotted at 60x and confirmed at 100x. At 150x two stars are noted. At 187x there are three stars in the field. Its appearance resembled a planetary nebula. It was viewed up to 250x, where it became faint. More of the galaxy might precede one of the stars, which is involved with it.
eg 6928 (2' x 0'.6: V. 12.2; SB 12.3) was the best of them all tonight, an easy galaxy to locate and showing well at 125x. More oval than long and thin, it still was pretty large. eg 6930 is nearby, but not seen tonight. I had a possible sighting of eg 6927, but I waited to try again to confirm the sighting on a different night.
I was back in Delphinus on September 17th. I returned to the area of eg 6928 for another search for three other nearby galaxies. I found two of them!
eg 6930 (1'.3 x 0'.5: V. 13; SB 12.3): Much, much fainter than one would think from the statistics, this galaxy is tricky to view, and best glimpsed with averted vision. At 187x and 200x it is a very faint slash, being very elusive. It lies just south of 6928, and quite separate from it.
eg 6927 (0'.5 x 0'.2: V. 14.8; SB 12.2) was glimpsed with averted vision at 187x and 200x, south preceding 6928. It appeared ghostly, occasionally flaring into view. There was no sign of even fainter eg 6927A, which will be attempted again.
eg 6917: (1'.4 x 1': V. 13.9; SB 14.2) was very elusive and ghostly, but finally spotted at 187x. It was also glimpsed at 200x, being oval and very faint. Delphinus has far too many very faint NGC galaxies...
Part 2 (conclusion) of Delphinus deep sky objects should be posted in a day or two.
Mapman Mike
eg 6954 (1' x 0'.6: V. 13.2; SB 12.5) was spotted at 125x, being small, faint and oval. The view was much better at 150x and 187x. 200x shows a 14.5 mag. star closely preceding, though the galaxy itself fades in this range.
eg 6955 (1'.4 x 1'.3: V.13.6; SB 14.1) is one of the most difficult galaxies I have ever seen. It should not have been, with a combined mag. of 13.85 and a standard shape that is usually easiest to see. However, a photo of the object shows that only a tiny, bright portion of the object will be seen in backyard scopes, so the size given is greatly overstated. I had been looking for a much larger object. It was finally spotted at 200x, being very faint and round.
eg 6957 (0'.5 x 0'.4: V. 14.4; SB 12.5), on the other hand, was difficult but not impossible. It was ghostly and dim, seen only at 200x with averted vision. My final object in this first session was I. 1320 (1' x 0'.6: V. 13.6; SB 12.9). A mag. 6.6 star is 4' NW, so I expected a very difficult task. It wasn't! At 200x it is small, but the star can be kept out of the field. The galaxy was distinctly oval.
Five new galaxies awaited me on the night of September 16th, though I began by reconfirming sightings of last night's faint ones. Tonight's galaxies were much easier to locate and observe, with one exception. I failed to locate eg 6988, setting it aside for further research and another time.
eg 6971 (1'.1 x 0'.9: V. 13.7; SB 13.5) was spotted at 100x and confirmed at 125x. At 150x it was very faint and slightly oval. It was also seen at 187x, but became poor at 200x.
eg 6969 (1'.1 x 0'.3: V. 14; SB 12.6) was glimpsed at 100x and confirmed at 125x. At 187x a nice slash was seen with averted vision, with a wider center. At 200x it was becoming very faint, but the full size can be glimpsed on occasion.
eg 6972 (1'.2 x 0'.6: V. 13.3; SB 12.7) was located at 100x. It was pretty bright at 125x, and had a stellar center. It remained bright even at 250x, where the elongation was noteworthy. It is not as elongated as 6969, though it is much brighter.
eg 6956 (1'.9 x 1'.9: V. 12.3; SB 13.6) was spotted at 60x and confirmed at 100x. At 150x two stars are noted. At 187x there are three stars in the field. Its appearance resembled a planetary nebula. It was viewed up to 250x, where it became faint. More of the galaxy might precede one of the stars, which is involved with it.
eg 6928 (2' x 0'.6: V. 12.2; SB 12.3) was the best of them all tonight, an easy galaxy to locate and showing well at 125x. More oval than long and thin, it still was pretty large. eg 6930 is nearby, but not seen tonight. I had a possible sighting of eg 6927, but I waited to try again to confirm the sighting on a different night.
I was back in Delphinus on September 17th. I returned to the area of eg 6928 for another search for three other nearby galaxies. I found two of them!
eg 6930 (1'.3 x 0'.5: V. 13; SB 12.3): Much, much fainter than one would think from the statistics, this galaxy is tricky to view, and best glimpsed with averted vision. At 187x and 200x it is a very faint slash, being very elusive. It lies just south of 6928, and quite separate from it.
eg 6927 (0'.5 x 0'.2: V. 14.8; SB 12.2) was glimpsed with averted vision at 187x and 200x, south preceding 6928. It appeared ghostly, occasionally flaring into view. There was no sign of even fainter eg 6927A, which will be attempted again.
eg 6917: (1'.4 x 1': V. 13.9; SB 14.2) was very elusive and ghostly, but finally spotted at 187x. It was also glimpsed at 200x, being oval and very faint. Delphinus has far too many very faint NGC galaxies...
Part 2 (conclusion) of Delphinus deep sky objects should be posted in a day or two.
Mapman Mike
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