Galaxies next to NGC891

In page 43 of the December 13 / January 14 issue of the German magazine "Interstellarum" there is a photograph of NGC891 there is a nice photograph of NGC 891 highlighting two distant galaxies, J022241.8 +422241, and J022229.6 + 422059.0. These galaxies appear right next to the low surface brightness main body of NGC891. Unfortunately, the article is in German so I can not exactly read it. From what I gather from the paragraphs next to the photo, maybe the author has spotted them with a 15" dob. Perhaps our German members (especially Uhe whose' drawings of some objects are part of the article!) could enlighten us more.

In any case, has anyone in DSF seen them? Any comments on them? Maybe they could be a new candidate OOTW?:thinking::cool:

The first of the two galaxies you list is in the MAC catalog in Megastar, MAC 0222+4222. It's seen with direct vision in the 82" and the 48" and with averted vision in the 30".

So...I'm lost with the catalog designations you guys gave. I think I know which galaxies your talking about, but they don't even show up in the Skytools3 Interactive Atlas when I have the paramaters set to 20th mag!! And if I enter the catalog designations you gave in the Skytools search function I don't get a return.
What other designations do these galaxies go by?
Can you post a picture pointing out which ones your talking about?
If they are the ones I'm thinking they are, I spent about an hour one night looking for them with my 25", and came up empty.

Hi Rolandos,

yes, I know the article and perhaps understand it a little bit better :) By the way, the author was Marc Emde who is also a member of this forum, perhaps he can say more than I can. But I try my best.

Marc wrote that it could be possible to see both galaxies in 15"+, he did not catch both with 15" but with 24". I think Marc made a mistake with the labels on the photo. Instead of the labeled "J022229.6+422059.0" he means "2MASS 02223046+4221370" which is 37" N of the labeled position.

The labeled "J022229.6+422059.0" is around 20mag and for sure a difficult goal for telescopes for which you don't need a binocular to collimate :D

My experience with 2MASS 02223046+4221370:
16", 360x, fst 6m5+; extremly difficult to see; pops in and out of view; can not hold it steadily with averted vision

20", 400x, fst 6m5+
tough galaxy even with 20"; can hold galaxy with averted vision; not stellar

I did not try the NE galaxy 2MASS 02224186+4222417 which Marc labeled as J022241.8+422241 but I know that Frank R. could catch this guy with his 20" under very good conditions.

I haven't looked for 2MASS 02223046+4221370 yet in my 24", but in Jimi's 48-inch I logged ...

This extremely compact object is located just 50" NW of the center of NGC 891 and is barely off the northwestern edge of the core. It was visible continuously at 375x and 488x as a faint, very small glow, ~6" diameter. It is situated between a mag 13.3 star and the core of the galaxy.

This object does not seem to have a 2MASX designation or high LEDA number and is not catalogued in NED, HyperLeda or SIMBAD, though it is probably no fainter than mag 16.5. NED and SIMBAD have listings for the very nearby object NGC 0891: D +033+043, but I believe this refers to a dust feature (see this abstract). I'm sure it was missed by Larry Mitchell in Megastar as it appears nearly stellar on the POSS1.

The galaxy that Jim referred to as MAC 0222+4222 is also known as LEDA 5061818 = 2MASX 02224191+4222419 = ZOAG G140.39-17.38. The coordinates are 02 22 41.9 +42 22 42 (J2000). The only listings in NED for this edge-on galaxy are X-ray sources, such as CXO J022241.8+422241. Here are my notes on this one ...

Very faint, elongated SW-NE, ~15"x6". Once identified I could hold this galaxy nearly continuously. Located just off the eastern edge of NGC 891 (north of the core) and collinear with two mag 12 and 13.3 stars off the west edge of the galaxy.

Hopefully, this Megastar screen capture will help identify the two galaxies, although I know it will be compressed in size pretty small here

Attachment 1338

That's a big help. Thanks! The hunt is on!

Of course, we all have be a little crazy or perverse to go after these specks of fluff, when a beautiful edge-on with dust lane is crossing the eyepiece field!

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Originally Posted by Steve Gottlieb

Of course, we all have be a little crazy or perverse to go after these specks of fluff, when a beautiful edge-on with dust lane is crossing the eyepiece field!

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Well, yeah, that's a given... :P

I have actually tried looking for 2MASS 02223046+4221370 in my 12" Meade Lightbridge, well before reading about it here. That was before I knew how faint it is. Of course my attempts have been fruitless. It looks brighter in the Digitized Sky Survey. I've also looked for it in a 30", but that was at a star party and the conditions weren't all that good. It's also hard to look for challenging objects in a scope you're not familiar with.


Clear skies!
Thomas, Denmark

OK, as the OP, it's about time to get myself together and "give a go" to this challenge! With the 18" already loaded in the car, if I am lucky weather wise (yes, we do get some clouds over here as well) I might have a chance to go for them from my dark site at Lysos (SQM usually in the 21.5 to 21.7 range). keeping fingers crossed... Will let you guys know...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jim Chandler

The first of the two galaxies you list is in the MAC catalog in Megastar, MAC 0222+4222. It's seen with direct vision in the 82" and the 48" and with averted vision in the 30".

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This just struck me as funny, like most of us have routine access to a 30", 48" or 82" scope to view through. I'm still amazed that I have a 20" scope and remember the time there were long lines to look through someone's 12.5" scope. My how times have changed.

We are getting older but those threads never will, so I recover it. I tried examining NGC 891 on Saturday 6th of August. At 324x and 453x J022229.6+422059.0 (I use the names of my photo) was spotted as a faint glow and it was easy, making the triangle with the 13.3 mag star on the back left and the brighter one on the back right. The orientation in my eyepiece was the same as my picture so identifying the field was very easy. A1 and a2 were totally invisible. MAC 0222+4222 along with the three stars near it was totally invisible too even with averted vision.

Vassilios
24.4" f/3.2
Attachment 2221