Australian Sky Telescope MayJune 2017

http://www.skyandtelescope.com.au 53

LEO GROUP: POSS II / STSCI / AURA / PALOMAR OBSERVATORY; NGC 3338

: ADAM BLOCK / MOUNT LEMMON SKYCENTER / UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

/ CC BY-SA 3.0

suchthatthehaloisalignednorth-

northeasttosouth-southwest.Looking

atM95,Icanseethatitsbrightinterior

is actually ring-like, with the ring’s

interiorspannedbythebar,andits

nucleusnolongerresemblesastar.The

brightestregionofNGC3389isoffset

west-northwest of the galaxy’s visual

centre,andthegalaxyasawholeis

about 2′× 1 ′.

ThetrioofMessiergalaxiesand

NGC3384aremembersoftheLeoI

Groupabout35millionlight-yearsaway

fromus,butNGC3389isaresident

of the Leo II Group and approximately

twiceasdistant.Ifwecouldsomehow

tugNGC3389intotheLeoIGroup,it

wouldshine1.6magnitudesbrighterin

Earth’s sky.

Closer to 52 Leonis, the galaxies

NGC 3377andNGC 3367form an

isoscelestrianglewiththestar,andthey

share the field of view in each of the

observations described below. Wide-

angle eyepieces were used.

Through the 130-mm scope at 37×,

both galaxies are easily spotted. NGC

3377 is larger than its neighbour and

holdsarelativelylarge,bright,oval

interior that intensifies toward the

centre.NGC3367isamisty,roundglow

withaslightlybrightercentre.At91×

NGC3377isswathedina3½′× 2 ′halo

that tips northeast and gradually blends

intothebackgroundsky.Thegalaxy’s

bright interior measures about 1½′×¾′

andabrightnesspippinsitscentre.The

entire face of NGC 3367 spans only 1½′.

NGC3377exposesasmall,slightly

elongated, bright nucleus when seen

through the 25-cm scope at 115×,and

NGC 3367 shows delicate variations in

brightness. In theirObserving Handbook

and Catalogue of Deep-Sky Objects,

authors Christian B. Luginbuhl and

BrianA.Skiffdescribetheirviewof

NGC3367througha25-cmtelescope.

Theysaw“averyfaintstellarnucleus

inabar-shapedcorerunningeast-west

through the halo”. Can you pick out

these elusive details?

NGC3377isamemberoftheLeo

IGroup,butNGC3367isfarinthe

backgroundat150millionlight-years.

IfwecoulddragNGC3367intothe

LeoIGroup,itwouldbrightenby

3.2 magnitudes and outshine all the

galaxies in that group.

Throughmy130-mmscopeat37×,

putting NGC 3377 and NGC 3367 in

the eastern side of my view bringsNGC

3338 into the field. Although faint,

thegalaxyisreadilyvisible,stretching

eastwardfroma9th-magnitudestar.At

117 ×Iseea3′×1½′ovalwithafainter

fringe. Through my 25-cm scope at

213 ×,thegalaxyappearsgentlymottled,

withabrightercoreandafaint,starlike

nucleus.Afewfaintstarswatchover

thegalaxy’speriphery.AlongwithNGC

3389,thisgalaxyisalsoamemberof

theLeoIIGroup,andpartofourlion-

guarded gate.

■SUE FRENCHwelcomes your

comments at [email protected]

SSPIRAL SPECTACULAR Images taken with large-aperture scopes, like this one from the

Schulman 0.8-metre Ritchey–Chrétien Telescope at the Mt Lemmon SkyCenter, reveal the spiral

arms of NGC 3338. The bright star to the west of the galaxy is 9th-magnitude HD 92622.

SEASILY SPOTTED Elliptical galaxy NGC 3377 and barred spiral galaxy NGC 3367 lie close to

52 Leonis — use a wide-angle eyepiece to keep all three in the same field of view. If you move the

pair of galaxies to the eastern side of your field, you may be able to bring spiral galaxy NGC 3338

into view on the western side.

NGC 3338

Leo Group 52 Leonis

NGC 3377

NGC 3367 NGC 3338