U 404
14:00 to 14:48
-39° to -50°
Cen, Lup
Apr-Jul

FEATURED OBJECTS: ESO325-PN046 , NGC 5408 , NGC 5460 , NGC 5483 , NGC 5530 , IC 4406 , IC 4444 , NGC 5643 , NGC 5688 .

ESO325-PN046
Sanduleak 2
RA 14:03:18
Dec -41° 23.3'
Planetary nebula

NGC 5408
ESO325-G047, PK317+19.01
RA 14:03:18
Dec -41° 14.6'
Galaxy

h: "eF, E between 2 vS stars a little S.f."

Other names: "E325-47,HENIZE959". Inclination: (face-on, in degrees) 54 Total photoelectric blue mag 12.2 Total colour index .56 Logarithm of the angular diameter D25 (arcminutes) 1.21 This galaxy is included in a sample of galaxies with velocity less than 500km/s with respect to the centroid of the Local Group. [Nearby Galaxies. Schmidt K.-H., Priebe A., Boller T. (Astron. Nachr. 314, 371 (1993))]

The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a galaxy. Their coded description reads IRR,SEV*SUP,B*2'S.

NGC 5460
Mel 123, Cr 280, Rb 100
RA 14:07:35
Dec -48° 18.0'
Open cluster

Dunlop 431: "a curiously curved line of small stars, of nearly equal magnitudes; two stars of 7th magnitude following."

h: "a region of large, bright stars, 8, 9...etc. mag; a very coarse cluster. Place that of a brilliant group, one of which is a double star class III." During the next sweep, he recorded it as "Place of a double star in a semi-elliptic group forming part of it, but insulated in a large scattered cluster or tract of bright stars." His final observation was recorded as "a region of large stars very loosely distributed, but which yet decidedly form a cluster. Place that of a pretty close double star (four arcseconds) in the middle of a group of 8. The cluster is 30' diameter, and is divided into distinct groups."

Harrington calls this an "attractive cluster, featuring 40 stars from 8th to 11th magnitude spanning 25 arc minutes. Binoculars and finderscopes readily display a few of the group's brighter luminaries embedded in a gentle blur of unresolved starlight. Four to 6-inch telescopes introduce all of the cluster members, including a striking clique of half a dozen stars towards the centre."

6-inch f/8.6 Newtonian: “What a very odd grouping! This cluster measures 15' x 3.8' and consists of short loose rows of stars that are apparently unrelated. The 19 or stars are arranged roughly SSE-NNW in small mini-asterism groupings. The most southerly grouping is a brightish trapezium of four stars; in the north is a distinct elliptical bunch - three pairs of stars seeming to form the bowl of a soup ladle; the handle is formed by four fainter stars trailing away to the south-east. The cluster fits nicely into the 72x half-degree f.o.v. At 144x four more stars are glimpsed, bumping the starcount up to 23, making it a poor, very very large, irregular cluster with a modest range of brightnesses. A really odd cluster! Dunlop’s comment “a curiously curved line of small stars” is quite fitting.” (urban; seeing average - air pollution, dew; lim mag in 6-inch ~ 13.0) [AS]

NGC 5483
MCG-07-29-008
RA 14:10:24
Dec -43° 20.1'
Galaxy

h: "pretty faint, very large, round, very gradually brighter in the middle, 4'."

The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a 12.0 mag galaxy. Their coded description reads S,R,BM,DIF,DIFHALO NB S ARMS.

NGC 5530
MCG-07-29-013
RA 14:18:26
Dec -43° 22.8'
Galaxy

h: "a star 12th mag, perfectly sharp in the centre of a very dilute, very gradually fading atmosphere, pmE, 1.5' long, 40 arcseconds broad. A very remarkable specimen of its class."

In 1902 R.T.A. Inness of the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope, wrote: "As seen with the 7-inch [refractor]. This is a fine nebulous star".

The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a 12.0 mag galaxy. Their coded description reads SLEL,VDIF,BM,STELNUC.

Included in the CCD-atlas of Ryder S.D. & Dopita M.A. (1993) "An H-alpha Atlas of Nearby Southern Spiral Galaxies" Astrophys.J.Suppl. 88, 415. They note: "The nuclear region of NGC 5530 appears unusually bright owing to the near superposition of a 13th mag field star."

IC 4406
ESO272-PN006, PK319+15.01
RA 14:22:24
Dec -43° 32.9'
Planetary nebula

Stewart announced his discovery of this object in Harvard Circular No. 60; Fleming, also of Harvard Observatory, had also recorded the planetary, including it as no. 94 of his list.

In 1901 R.T.A. Innes was observing with the 7-inch Metz refractor of the Royal Observatory at the Cape of Good Hope when he wrote: "As seen with the 7-inch on 14 August 1901 this is a fine planetary nebula, 10th magnitude, about 20" in diameter. Examined on the same night with the 18-inch telescope, it appears dumb-bell-shaped. Mr J. Lunt, with the 24-inch o.g. prism found the spectrum to be that of a gaseous nebula. This nebula also appears on several Carte du Ciel plates. Plate 3689, with 1hour exposure, shows two very elongated spindle-shaped nebulae of the same length, parallel to each other and in contact at their points of greatest condensation or brightness. Angle of elongation = 80 . The different appearances shown by different instruments is instructive. This nebula was also found at Arequipa...".

Steve Coe, observing with a 17.5" f/4.5 at 100X, notes: "Pretty bright, pretty large, somewhat elongated, not much, just a greenish dot at 135X.

IC 4444
MCG-07-30-002
RA 14:31:47
Dec -43° 24.2'
Galaxy

NGC 5643
MCG-07-30-003
RA 14:32:49
Dec -44° 09.2'
Galaxy

Dunlop 469: "an axceedingly faint, extended nebula, about 10' long; rather ill-defined."

h: "pF, L, R, vglbM; has many stars intermixed." On a second occassion he called it "pB, L, vgbM, 2', resolvable, or with stars."

The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a 11.5 mag galaxy. Their coded description reads SB,VDIF,BM,PD,*S SUP.

Included in the CCD-atlas of Ryder S.D. & Dopita M.A. (1993) "An H-alpha Atlas of Nearby Southern Spiral Galaxies" Astrophys.J.Suppl. 88, 415. They note: "Although NGC 5643 clearly has a bar, the arms start so close in and wrap so tightly that it is not obvious from a broad-band image. The outer western arm appears to origintae just outside the western edge of the bulge, cross the bar at about the same radius on the eastern side, themn carry on back around to the west, passing its points of origin afain some 25arcsec further out. The H-alpha image brinmgs out another arm to the north whose point of origin is not clear. The clumping of H II regions near the east and west edges of the bar are apparently real . . NGC 5643 is also a Type 2 Seyfert with an interesting velocity field."

NGC 5688
MCG-07-30-004
RA 14:39:40
Dec -44° 59.9'
Galaxy

h: "not vF, S, vgbM, 25 arcseconds, among stars."

Bailey, examining a Bruce plate (Harvard Annals, Vol 72, No 2), describes it as "apparently a double star."

The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a galaxy. Their coded description reads VDIF,STELNUC.