Ringing in the tail - NGC 4038/4039 (Arp 244)

One of the fun things about observing off a predetermined numberical list of objects is that you stumble across the occasional gem without realizing it. Clawing my way through the Arp list while at the Winter Star Party in 2001, I worked my way to this pair of galaxies. My first thought was, what a nice bright - oh, pair - of galaxies. And look, they actually LOOK like they are really interacting - there is a faint bridge of material connecting them.

After making the sketch, I called over old Ohio observing buddy Bill Burton, who was set up nearby, for a look. Always willing, Bill made the climb up the tall ladder of my 20-inch f/6 dobsonian, and announced loudly within a second of glancing in the eyepiece, "the Ringtail galaxies!". Of course! I thought... yes, I've seen these objects before, both in photos and in the eyepiece!

This is a fine, fine set of objects to look at, even with smaller telescopes. Veteran observer Bill Ferris has seen both galaxies and the connecting bridge with a 10-inch reflector and estimates a visual magitude of about 10th. This drawing was made with a 20-inch f/6.4 reflector using 12mm (260x) and 20mm (170x) eyepieces. I recorded the seeing as a perfect 10 out of 10 and a 7 out of 10 for transparency. While many people might think seeing - the steadiness of the atmosphere - is not all that important for deep sky observing, this night taught me different. Even through the skies were somewhat bright and with drifting clouds, the extreme steadiness allowed the use of higher powers and allowed one to better glimpse those faint details that might other wise been washed out.

For the full story, see:
http://www.ladyandtramp.com/tj/n4038.jpg