Object of the Week April 14, 2013 - UGC 9555 AKA (Rose 23) A New Found Giant

UGC 9555 AKA Rose 23

Galaxy Triplet

Bootes

RA
14 50 47
DEC
+10 07 28

UGC 9555 MAG 15.2 V
MCG +2-38-18 Mag 15.0 V
MCG +2-38-17 MAG 15.5

The Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy made a recent press release about their new find, a unknown Giant Radio galaxy (GRG) centered around UGC 9555 galaxy triplet group. The material that was detected was ejected from the galaxies millions of years ago and would be about the size of the full moon as seen from Earth and is extending millions of light years across intergalactic space. The center of the new GRG is associated with the central galaxy and is located at a redshift of z=0.054536, or 750 million light years from Earth.

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I had observed this group a few years ago when I was doing the Rose compact galaxy groups and after the press release I put it on my list to revisit for this dark time observing. I observed it several times the past few days and under excellent conditions last night from 375X to 813X with 10 out of 10 transparency! I was able to see five galaxies near this group. One SDSS J145049.18+100638.0 I have never seen before. I did a eyepiece drawing below that shows the five galaxies that I observed.

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Next time you are out under a clear dark spring sky be sure to track down the new found giant of the cosmos and as always,

"GIVE IT A GO AND LET US KNOW"

GOOD LUCK AND GREAT VIEWING!

Jimi,

I'm curious, do you know if this is a DRAGN?

I'll have to look it up and report back.

Great object though!

Good object. I did plan to bring out my 30" sometime this spring to re-observe some of the Rose objects.

My observation from 2009 is as follows:
22" (306 and 460x)
This chain of four galaxies is only 1' long.
The northern most galaxy, UGC 9555, is a considerably bright round glow with a much brighter center. About 15" across.
MCG +2-38-18 is an unresolved double galaxy and is considerably faint slightly elongated glow. Even surface brightness. PA = 135° and 15" long.
Components C and D were not detected.

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Alvin,

The object you have marked as C is a star I think? it looks stellar in the eyepiece like a double star. The galaxy that you have as D is SDSS J145049.18+100638.0 . Do you think the 4th member is the 2MASX j14504432+1007127 that is South and a little East of UGC 9555?

Jimi,

You are correct. I've look at NED and it is a star. I was questioning D as it appears dimmer than 17.5 mag (NED = 18.9). Perhaps, Rose thought C was a galaxy as it appeared as a fuzzy blue "star". I don't know. I wish Dr. Rose sent us the cards that he said that he still had at the time when I contacted him.

Back when I worked on my guide, I thought about 2MASX j14504432+1007127, but it was outside of Dr Rose's listed dimensions of 1.35 x 0.55'. If that were to be the 4th member, then the dimensions would be 1.1 x 0.9'

Last new moon under good transparency and good seeing I tried the group with my 27" and made a sketch of it.

27", 586x-837x, NELM 6m5+, Seeing II
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