2023-05-07

Condition: VG6

Location: Home, Spearfish: 44.49, -103.87

Light thunderstorms throughout the evening. I could see them to the north moving over Belle Fourche heading east. As darkness fell and I began observing, I would see momentary flashes of lightning in the distance. Pretty cool.

9:30PM

Target: M 104, Sombrero Galaxy

Const: Virgo

RaDec: 12h41m -11°44

Scope: AT102ED

Setting: 70x

Image

Much better in darker skies, this galaxy now is second only to the Cigar Galaxy for me. Found by following a star pattern north of δ Corvi which looks like a pine tree blowing in the wind (to the east). M104 was found just to the east of the tip of the "tree". AV was not required for detection or observation, but it did help bring out a stark bright "line" that crossed the length of the galaxy just above the center. The longer I viewed with AV, the more consistent and apparent this line became. Took extra time to play with different magnifications in the range of 50x - 100x. I was able to retain some pretty good clarity and detail even at 100x, but finally determined that it looked it's best somewhere around 70x.

9:57PM

Target: NGC 3628

Const: Leo

RaDec: 11h20m 13°35

Scope: AT102ED

Setting: 70x, AV

Image

Found just north of M66. M65 & M66 are glowing brightly in comparison. Without AV, I can just barely detect it. With AV, I can discern the elongated shape and catch a bright speck in the center. Seems to be edge-on.