Back to Observing Reports
Date: June 29, 2014
Location: Shot Rock at 7,800 feet in the Sierras
NELM: Average at 6.8 (below average)
Telescope: 22” f/4.0 reflector sitting on a Crossbow EQT-200 equatorial platform
Eyepieces (not all are used): 24mm Panoptic (finder eyepiece), 16, 10, 6 and 4mm ZAO-II’s, 12.5, 9, 7 and 5mm BGO, 12, 10, 8, and 6mm Delos, and TMB 1.8x ED Barlow.
Selected objects: 21 VV objects
Images are from PanSTARRS unless noted.
Note: This page was added on June 2026 as I am catching up on the ORs for half of 2013 and all of 2014. At some point, I'll find a way to incorporate my ORs (mid 80s to 2008) from a spreadsheet into an acceptable format.
VV 104, NGC 4190 ( 12 13 44.8 +36 38 03)
22" at 230 and 383x: Fairly bright slightly elongated diffuse glow. About 1' across and PA = 150. The knot at the north end, labeled as 'b' popped in and out, mostly out. A mag 8.9 star lies 6' due north.
VV 115, Hickson 79 (15 59 11.9 +20 45 31)
I've seen this object several times in the past, see my Hickson book for observing notes for all 6 members detected. On this evening, I've picked up only 4 of the 6, mainly because I didn't bump the magnification past 383x.
22" (383x) - "a" is the brightest member of the group. Faint 2:1 elongated even surface brightness glow. PA = 90. "b" is a smaller very faint 2:1 elongated glow. PA = 135. "c" is a faint round glow. "d" is an extremely faint very small round diffuse glow.
VV 127, UGC 7916, MCG+6-28-24 (12 44 25.1 +34 23 12)
22" (230 and 383x) - Could not resolve the individual members, but appeared as an extremely faint 3:1 elongated glow. Very low surface brightness. PA = 0 and 2' long. Two bright stars (mags 9.5 and 10.1) lies just 1.3' north of the northern end of the object and best kept off the field.
VV 132, UGC 9912, MCG+3-40-7 (15 35 10.5 +16 32 58)
22" (230x) - Faint slightly elongated diffuse glow. Featureless. PA = 90 and 0.6x0.5' in size. No other features detected. A pair of mag 13 stars lies 3' NW.
VV 133, UGC 8638, MCG+4-32-18 (13 39 19.4 +24 46 32)
22" (230 and 383x) - Interesting galaxy with a star embedded on west end. Considerably faint 2:1 elongated halo with a brighter center. An extremely faint knot was detected on the east end. The star on the west end is very faint. PA = 120 and 0.9' long.
VV 152, UGC 9324, MCG+7-30-18 (14 29 50.7 +44 26 52)
22" (230 and 255x) - Faint 5:2 elongated featureless even surface brightness glow with the east end slightly bent to the south. The knot on the west end was not detected. Diffuse edges. PA = 70 and 1' long. Note: Simbad incorrectly labeled UGC 9251 as VV 152.
VV 163, UGC 8691, MCG+4-32-34 (13 44 25.0 +20 54 50)
22" 230 and 383x) - Considerably faint 2:1 elongated glow that is slightly curved to the west at the NE end. Slightly brighter 3:1 elongated center. Two knots/stars detected, one about halfway from the center to the NE tip and the other at the bent NE tip 0.1'. PA = 135 and halo is 1' long. A mag 16 star lies 0.2' south from the center of the object.
VV 204 (15 04 57.2 +26 00 54)
22" (230 and 383x) - Three galaxies in a tight group with another galaxy just 0.6' to the east. In the eyepiece, only two of the three members seen. Components 'a' (MCG+4-36-5) and 'b' (MCG+4-36-4) detected as very faint, very small round glows separated by a mere 0.2'. The nearby galaxy, MCG+4-36-6 appears similar as the two. I didn't see component 'c' (PGC 53834). A mag 14 star lies 0.5' slightly west of north of the pair and a mag 15 1 star lies 0.5' slightly east of north of the nearby galaxy.
VV 227, UGC 9843, MCG+4-36-45 (15 25 39.8 +20 47 18)
22" (230 and 383x) - Faint round diffuse glow. 0.3' across. No features detected. A pair of faint 16th mag stars are nearby; 0.6' east and 1.2' south. I did not see component 'b', PGC 214379.
VV 236, MCG+6-27-19, PGC 38737 (12 10 36.7 +34 57 24)
22" (230 and 255x) - Faint slightly elongated diffuse glow with no central brightening. PA = 135 and 0.3' long. No knots detected.
VV 268, UGC 10908, MCG+8-32-10 (17 33 38.0 +50 22 25)
22" (230 and 383x) - Very faint small round glow with a very faint star, 'c', off the east edge. 0.3' across. A bright mag 11.5 star lies 1.4' ENE. The knot marked as 'a' was not detected.
VV 274, MCG+6-33-9 (14 55 28.2 +32 50 25)
22" (383x) - In the same field as VV 275, which is just 0.5' SE. Faint small round even surface brightness glow. The knot "b" was not detected. 0.3' across. A blazing mag 7.2 star lies just 2.1' WSW and essential to keep off the field. I used a 6mm ZAO-II in my 22" and the galaxy group is halfway from center to edge of the field.
VV 275 (14 55 30.8 +32 49 51)
22" (383x) - In the same field as VV 274, which is just 0.5' NW. Components 'a' (MCG+6-33-10) and 'b' (MCG+6-33-11) appears similar as faint small round glows about 20" apart with a PA of 80. A blazing mag 7.2 star lies just 2.5' WSW and essential to keep off the field. I used a 6mm ZAO-II in my 22" and the galaxy group is halfway from center to edge of the field.
VV 277 (14 01 08.2 +21 14 24)
22" (230 and 383x) - Galaxy with two "knots" as noted by VV. Turns out that component "c" is a star based on the SDSS image. Component 'a' (UGC 8929) is a considerably bright 5:2 elongated glow with defined edges. 0.3' long and PA = 60. I didn't see the curved eastern tip. Component 'b' (PGC 200312) is a nearly stellar glow 0.2' WNW of the western tip of "a". 'c' is a very faint star is slightly north of the line between 'b' and 'a'.
VV 317 (13 47 04.1 +33 53 14)
22" (230 and 383x) - A pair of galaxies in the field with a blazing mag 8.8 star 6.5' NNE. Component 'a' (UGC 8715, MCG+6-30-83) is a considerably bright 2:1 elongated glow with defined edges. Brighter 3:1 elongated center which is about 0.2' long. The halo is 0.6' long. PA for both is 0 degrees.
Component 'b' (UGC 8713, MCG+6-30-81) is a considerably bright 4:1 even surface brightness glow with defined edges. Slightly brighter elongated core. PA = 90 and 1.0' long.
VV 321, UGC 5367 (09 59 52.8 +45 16 41)
22" (192, 230 and 287x) - Two very faint similar sized 3:1 elongated diffuse glows with no central brightening. Low surface brightness. PA = 80 and 110. Both are 0.4' long.
VV 324 (14 51 05.5 +35 33 23) KPG 438
22" (230 and 383x) - Component 'a' (UGC 9562, MCG+6-33-4, II Zw 71) is a polar ring galaxy with two streamers pointing NNW and SSE. It was picked up as a fairly faint diffuse round even surface brightness glow. It is 3x larger than component 'b' situated 4' ENE . Didn't see the two steamers.
Component 'b' (UGC 9560, MCG+6-33-2, Mrk 829) is considerably bright small round glow with a nearly stellar core. I didn't see any extensions.
Both galaxies lie 4' apart and fits nicely in the field in the 6mm ZAO-II.
VV 328 (14 04 54.2 +12 42 48) KPG 414
22" (230 and 383x) - "b" is obviously brighter than "a".
Component a, UGC 9002, is a very faint irregular round diffuse glow. 0.3' across.
Component b (MCG+2-36-35, Mrk 803) is a faint slightly elongated glow with defined edges. 0.2' across and PA = 30. 1' due south of UGC 9002.
VV 339 (14 00 22.5 +12 57 26) KPG 405
22" (230 and 383x) - Component a (MCG+2-36-7, PGC 49839) is a considerably faint 2:1 elongated glow with defined edges. Even surface brightness and no central brightening. PA = 135 and 0.4' long. A mag 13.7 star is just off the west edge.
Component b (UGC 8920, MCG+2-36-8) lies 1.3' due east of 'a' and appears as a very faint small round diffuse glow. 0.1' across.
VV 345 (12 12 39.5 +34 41 48)
22" (230, 328 and 383x) - Component a (MCG+6-27-28, PGC 38915) is a considerably bright round glow with defined edges. 0.2' across. Component b (UGC 7212, MCG+6-27-29) is a very faint 5:1 even surface brightness thin streak with defined edges. PA = 135 and 0.6' long. Both members are 0.7' apart with a PA of 0.
VV 59, PGC 54033 (15 08 04.9 +34 23 14)
Component 'a' is very faint small round glow with defined edges. Component 'b' is very faint 2:1 elongated glow with somewhat diffuse edges. PA = 135 and 0.1' long. Both are 0.2' apart and aligned at 135 degrees. The streamer to the north was not detected.
Back to Observing Reports
All Observing Reports are copyrighted by Alvin Huey. You can print them for personal use only.
Components Aids Guides Observing Guides Reports