U 384
22:20 to 23:00
-28° to -39°
Gru, PsA

THE BRILLIANT FOMALHAUT glints in the top-left corner of this map, and is a good starting point for a star-hop to a host of faint galaxies. The brightest are listed below.

FEATURED OBJECTS: IC 1459, NGC 7418, IC 5264, IC 5273, NGC 7259, IC 5271, NGC 7421, NGC 7267, NGC 7361.

NGC 7259
ESO467-G050
RA 22:23:05
Dec -28°57.3'
Galaxy

h: "eF, pL, R, vglbM, 40 arcseconds."

NGC 7267
MCG-06-49-003
RA 22:24:16
Dec -33°40.8'
Galaxy

h: "B, lR, gbM, 50 arcseconds, has a bright triple star S.p."; "pB, R, pgbM, 40 arcseconds, a large triple star S.p."

Steve Coe, observing with a 13" f/5.6, notes: "Pretty bright, pretty small, elongated 2x1 in PA 90 and much brighter in the middle at 100X. There is a very nice triple star on the south side with one star light yellow and two blue companions."

NGC 7361
IC 5237, ESO468-G023
RA 22:42:16
Dec -30°03.5'
Galaxy

h: "F, pL, vmE in meridian, vgvlbM."

NGC 7418
MCG-06-50-013
RA 22:56:40
Dec -37°02.0'
Galaxy

h: "pB, vL, R, or vlE, vgbM, 4' diam, with left eye resolvable, hardly resolved... A fine object."; "B, vL, R or vlE, vglbM, 5'."; "vF, vL, R, vglbM, 3'."

Steve Coe, observing with a 13" f/5.6, notes: "Pretty faint, large, round and little brighter in the middle at 100X."

A supernova erupted in this galaxy in 1983 (15.5p)

Sandage (1975, Astrophysical Journal, 202, 563-582) notes that this galaxy is a member of the IC 1459 Grus Group. Members include NGC 7410, NGC 7412, NGC 7418, NGC 7421, NGC 7424, NGC 7496, NGC 7531, NGC 7552, NGC 7582, NGC 7590, NGC 7599, IC 1459, IC 5267, IC 5269 & IC 5273.

Shobbrook (1966, Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc., Vol 131, p351-363) notes that this member of the Grus Cluster has V = 11.77, B-V = 0.60 and U-B = -0.05. It measures 3.2 by 2.2.

See also: De Vaucouleurs (1956) "Survey of bright galaxies south of -35° declination", Mem. Mount Stromlo, No. 13. (photographic study, plates taken with the 30-inch Reynolds reflector, 20-inch diaphragm).

IC 5264
MCG-06-50-014
RA 22:56:49
Dec -36°35.0'
Galaxy

NGC 7421
MCG-06-50-015
RA 22:56:52
Dec -37°23.0'
Galaxy

h: "B, L, R, gpmbM, 20, resolvable with right eye, with left, barely resolved in the centre."; "B, L, R, gbM, 2.5 or 3'."; "pF, pL, vlE, vglbM, 50 arcseconds long."

Steve Coe, observing with a 13" f/5.6, notes: "Faint, pretty large, little elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 165, not brighter in the middle at 135X. This is a low surface brightness galaxy."

Shobbrook (1966, Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc., Vol 131, p351-363) notes that this member of the Grus Cluster has V = 12.18, B-V = 0.70 and U-B = 0.10. It measures 1.65 by 1.3.

IC 1459
IC 5265, MCG-06-50-016
RA 22:57:11
Dec -36°29.0'
Galaxy

This elliptical galaxy in Grus was discovered by Barnard and described as "Faint, pretty small, cometary, 12th magnitude nucleus."

In December 1886 W.H. Finlay confirmed it with the 7-inch Merz refractor at the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope.

Bennett observed it with a 5-inch short-focus refractor, including it in his list of cometary objects as number 129B. His coded description refers to the nucleus of the galaxy, which is grouped under "angularly small objects, almost stellar, easily missed in sweeping, faint, seen only with difficulty."

Steve Coe, observing with a 13" f/5.6, notes: "Pretty bright, pretty large, much brighter in the middle at 100X. Elongated 2 X 1 in PA 90. Has a very faint companion about 8' to the south. The companion galaxy is very faint, pretty small, not brighter in the middle and elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 90."

William P. Clarke (San Diego, California, USA) writes in the The Webb Society Nebulae and Clusters Section Report No. 10, July 1992: "Slight oval shape, major/minor axis ratio about 4:3. PA 45 degrees. Stellar nucleus. (21-inch f/20, x140)."

Tom Lorenzin calls it one of a "neat string of pearls in the northern reaches of the Crane." -- "11.3M; 1' diameter; faint and small with brighter center; a little tough!"

Shobbrook (1966, Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc., Vol 131, p351-363) notes that this member of the Grus Cluster has V = 10.47, B-V = 0.97 and U-B = 0.55. It measures 2.4 by 1.8.

IC 5271
MCG-06-50-019
RA 22:57:57
Dec -33°45.9'
Galaxy

IC 5273
MCG-06-50-020
RA 22:59:29
Dec -37°42.9'
Galaxy

Shobbrook (1966, Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc., Vol 131, p351-363) notes that this member of the Grus Cluster has V = 11.62, B-V = 0.48 and U-B = 0.02. It measures 2.1 by 1.8.

Coloured Stars

white: Beta (17 PsA), Gamma (22 PsA), Epsilon (18 PsA)
off-white: Fomalhaut (alpha PsA)