Object of the Week, December 19, 2021: UGC 2838 in Taurus

[FaintFuzzies]

Object of the Week, December 19, 2021: UGC 2838 in Taurus

Flat galaxy near Pleiades

RA: 03h 43m 45s
Dec: +24^o 03’ 35”
Size: 1.6x0.2’
Mag: 17

Many of you know of some background galaxies behind The Beehive cluster in Cancer. This week’s OOTW features a galaxy near another well-known open cluster, The Pleiades. It is literally only 16’ little south of due west from one of the 7 bright stars of the cluster, specifically Electra. Many won’t remember which star is Electra, which is the star at the 30-degree angle of the 30-60-right triangle on the NW side of the cluster.

One night I was observing some galaxies behind M-44, then I remembered a couple near M-45, which is way hard, so I decided to give it a shot and bagged it at my first and only attempt.

This object is challenging in couple ways; it is very close to a bunch of bright stars of the cluster, and it is buried behind some of the foreground nebulosity associated with the Pleiades. Despite that listed magnitude at 17, this object is easier than that. I know some of you are saying, “Oh geez, no way I’m gonna see this thing at mag 17.” Based on what I observed, I think it is closer to 16.

To successfully observe this object, you will need transparent skies, large enough telescope (maybe 15” or larger), high power and yes, a narrow field eyepiece. Even at high power and a wide field eyepiece, Electra may not be in the field, but there will be a bunch of “bright” foreground stars. Use a narrow field eyepiece to limit the number of foreground stars which will help in detecting this object.

To find this object, start at Electra, star hop about 7’ west, you will see a crooked trapezoid, then slide in the same direction another 9’ slightly south of west, UGC 2838 is sitting just 1.3’ northwest of a mag 10.6 star. See below.


UGC 2838 DSS Overlay.JPG
DSS (RealSky) Overlay in MegaStar showing the Pleiades and UGC 2838 (far right edge)


UGC 2838 finder chart.JPG
UGC 2838 MegaStar finder chart

I observed this object only once. It was at Blue Canyon under better than average skies at NELM 6.8 and well past midnight. With my 22” reflector I was able to pick up a faint thin even surface brightness glow with somewhat well-defined edges. No central brightening in the center. PA = 60 and about 40” long.
Since there is a mag 10.6 star just 1.3 SE of the galaxy, I used a 6mm Zeiss ZAO-II eyepiece and nudged the star out of the field and it is easier to see. I could see it with the star in the field, but easier with the star off the field. Another reason to use a narrow-field eyepiece. See below.


UGC 2838 ZAO-II.JPG
Circle represents the field with my 22” reflector and 6mm ZAO-II.

Not only this object is featured here, but it is also listed as one of the Monster Scope challenges in Phil Harrington’s Cosmic Challenge book. If you haven’t seen Phil’s book, I suggest that you pick one up. Fun book for deep sky hounds.
Anyhow, as always, give it a shot and let us know.

[Howard B]

This is a seriously cool object Alvin, and it's now at the top of my list of "objects to observe the next time the sky clears"!

[Steve Gottlieb]

I have a single observation also. It was through Jimi's scopes 8 years ago but UGC 2838 was still pretty much a faint streak without much structure.

375x: faint, moderately large, very thin edge-on 6:1 NW-SE, just under 1' in length. A mag 11.3 star lies 1.4' SSE. This superthin galaxy (slight integral-sign curve on the DSS) is located 16' WSW of mag 3.7 Electra, just off the west side of the Pleiades!"