April 2012
Here are some 'easy' imaging suggestions for April and as always, look up the correct coordinates. Have a go and keep them for our image analyses and comparison sessions a bit later in the year, when we'll discuss what each of us did to get the image we got.
- NGC 5139 (Omega Centauri) is one
of the largest and brightest visible Globular Clusters which is
visible to the naked eye as a fuzzy patch (dark sky)
but comes up quite well when imaged. It is about 18,000 light years
away and has a diameter of about 200 light years. Mid April should
have it at an altitude of about 60 degrees on an azimuth of 127
degrees.
- M104 (Sombrero Galaxy) is another
relatively easy object to image, displaying a nice central bulge
and its disk shows a dark lane of dust and gas which
hides a greater part of the galaxy. It's about 29 million light
years distant and whilst you will not be able to eye-ball this one,
it's at 60 degrees elevation on an azimuth of 44 degrees.
- NGC 5128 (Centaurus A) 'Hamburger Galaxy' (NGC 3628 is also called the 'Hamburger Galaxy') is but a mere 14 million light years distant. The galaxy is an elliptical/spiral mix and is very active with a massive black hole at its centre producing energetic jet-stream. The galaxy appears 'roundish' in images, crossed by a dark band of dust. For this one, you'll be tilting your scope to about 60 degrees elevation facing 117 degrees azimuth.