Hickson 61 - "The Box"

Last Sunday night I had a chance to revisit this beautiful Hickson group, from a (relatively) dark site near Larnaca, Cyprus.

Using the 18" I had no problem locating the field. With the 13mm Ethos on a 2X barlow (316X) I could readily see two of the galaxies with direct vision, and two that were on-off. Covering my head with a blanket the image was immediately transformed.

NGC 4174 appeared the brighest to me, with a 2:1 length width ratio, and a very bright nucleus, with a smooth light gradient from the core.

NGC 4169 appeared very round and distinct with a stellar core.

NGC 4175 was very long (4:1) with a slight central concentration and slightly brighter nucleus, but overall it appeared much fainter than the two western galaxies.

Finally, NGC 4173 was the real phantom. Very long (5:1) and very faint, with a very low surface brightness and practically no central brightening. This galaxy was initially on and off visible with direct vision, but later on during the observation I could hold it steady.

Seeing all four together was a fascinating sight. I have observed Hickson 61 three years ago from a much darker site with a 12" dob, and I recall that I could not hold 4173 steady even with averted vision.

I hope to be able to observe this group soon from a dark site...
Attachment 241

This is a fun group and a favorite to be sure. I think there is some other object that is also called 'The Box' but this hickson is I think the 'official' 'The Box'. On Feb 22, 2012 from a site at 3000 feet well south of Holister CA I noted this in my 18" f/3.7 dob with ParaCorr most recently. This is the most detailed of my observations of the box. This was on a night of seeing 3/5 and transparency of 4/5 with SQM 21.5

con: Com lst: H2 cmt: Hick61_4of4_TheBox:
NGC 4169 UGC 7202 CGCG 158-41 Hickson 61A MCG +5-29-32 PGC 38892
MltG 13.2b 2.3x 1.2' 156 S0 RC3 12 12 18.5 +29 10 47
12:10am 7mmNag 278x 1/16fov[1.1'] Brightest of this group with almost stellar core. The elongated and dim Ngc4170 is horizontal and in upper right of 'The Box'.

NGC 4170 NGC 4171 NGC 4173 UGC 7204 CGCG 158-43 Hickson 61B MCG +5-29-33 KUG 1209+294A
MltG 13.6b 5.0x 0.7' 135 SBd: RC3 12 12 20.2 +29 12 42
12:10am 7mmNag 278x 1/7fov[2.5'] About 6EL at about 130dPA if W is 4pm. Dim throughout with no apparent core but mild central brightening along it's axis.

NGC 4174 UGC 7206 CGCG 158-44 Hickson 61D MCG +5-29-34 Mkn 761 KUG 1209+294 Arak 351
MltG 14.3b 1.1x 0.5' 51 S? RC3 12 12 27.0 +29 08 57
12:20am 7mmNag 278x 1/22fov[0.8'] Tiny and smallest but very slight EW EL and slight stellar.

NGC 4175 UGC 7211 CGCG 158-45 Hickson 61C MCG +5-29-36 IRAS 12099+2926 PGC 38912
MltG 14.2b 1.8x 0.4' 130 S RC3 12 12 31.1 +29 10 07
12:20am 7mmNag 278x 1/16fov[1.1'] 2.5EL NSCore. Horizontal aligned with 4170 at 130d if W is 4pm.

This is certainly a favorite Hickson group in my book due to it's pattern.