DEEP SKY OBSERVING
April 2008
by Mark Wagner

Targets are rated 1 to 4 for challenge, with 1 very easy, 4 most difficult. All objects are within a one hour of right ascension, north to south, in the east at astronomical dark. Available as a Megastar .obs file or Excel spreadsheet.
Rating
 Object Const. Type Size
Mag
R.A.
Dec.
3
 N4291 Dra GX 1.9'x1.5'
12.4B
12 20 17
75 22 15
NGCs 4319, 4291 and 4386 easy to find mag 5.7 star. A Poor Man's Hickson 68.
3
 N4319 Dra GX 2.9'x2.3'
12.8P
12 21 43
75 19 20
See N4291.
3
 N4133 Dra GX 1.8'x1.3'
13.1P
12 08 49
74 54 16
Irregular surface brightness, one or two bright knots, possible substellar nucleus.
4
 HCG 55 Dra GX5 0.2'
15.9B
11 32 07
70 48 56
5 galaxies within a 4¹ circle. The two brightest members, NGC 3651 and 3653.
3
 N4250 Dra GX 2.7'x2.1'
12.8P
12 17 26
70 48 08
Moderately bright, small, round, broad concentration, high surface brightness, halo may extend further to N.
2
 N4236 Dra GX 22.0'x7.2'
10.1B
12 16 43
69 27 47
Long and slim, low SB, a moderate condensation at the core
3
 N3682 Dra GX 1.6'x1.0'
13.3B
11 27 41
66 35 26
Pretty small and dim, elongated about 2:1 E/W. Low SB. A little bit brighter center.
3
 N4256 Dra GX 4.5'x0.7'
12.7P
12 18 43
65 53 57
Pretty edge-on, also with interesting mottling
3
 N3668 Uma GX 1.7'x1.3'
13.1P
11 25 30
63 26 50
Moderately bright, moderately large, elongated, mottled appearance. Elongated core and a bright nucleus.
2
 NGC 4041 Uma GX 2.6'x2.4'
11.9P
12 02 12
62 08 17
Concentrated nucleus, no clear core, with an irregular halo. Paired with NGC 4036
2
 NGC 4036 Uma GX 4.2'x1.6'
11.6B
12 01 27
61 53 47
Stellar core, dense nucleus, some structure, swirls around the core. Paired with NGC 4041
2
 NGC 3945 Uma GX 5.2'x3.4'
11.8B
11 53 13
60 40 32
Bright, fairly small, slightly elongated, small very bright core has sharp edges and appears mottled with bright spots.
3
 N4290 Uma GX 2.3'x1.5'
12.7P
12 20 47
58 05 35
Around NGC 4335 includes; NGC 4364, NGC 4362, NGC 4284 (Markarian 207), NGC 4284 and NGC 4290.
1
 M40 Uma Star  
9.5
12 22 12
58 04 59
Double star
3
 N3669 Uma GX 2.2'x0.5'
13.1P
11 25 26
57 43 19
Fairly faint, moderately large, edge-on 4:1 NNW-SSE, even surface brightness.
3
 N4271 Uma GX 1.5'x1.2'
13.6P
12 19 32
56 44 14
Fairly faint, small, slightly elongated, sharp bright core, stellar nucleus.
2
 NGC 3898 Uma GX 4.3'x2.5
11.6B
11 49 15
56 05 02
Nice rich area, NGC 3990 in same field of view. Next to AGC 1377.
4
 AGC 1377 Uma GXCL 20.2'
15.0
11 47 06
55 44 09
Lots of tenuous lumpy structure, hovering at the edge of detectability at 98x.
2
 NGC 3998 Uma GX 3.0'x2.4'
11.6B
11 57 56
55 27 15
Shares field with NGC 3990.End of an arc of 5 galaxies.
2
 NGC 3982 Uma GX 2.3'x2.0'
11.8B
11 56 28
55 07 29
See NGC 3998.
3
 Arp 224 Uma GX 2.1'x1.2'
13.1B
11 51 06
55 04 24
NGC 3921 A continuation fo the rich fields mentioned above.
3
 N3756 Uma GX 4.2'x2.2'
12.1B
11 36 47
54 17 46
Moderately bright, large, oval 2:1 N-S, even surface brightness.
3
 Arp 155 Uma GX 1.6'x1.5'
13.3P
11 23 38
53 50 31
NGC 3656 moderately bright, round, fairly small, 0.8' diameter, fairly weak concentration with a brighter core.
1
 M 109 Uma GX 7.6'x4.6'
10.6B
11 57 36
53 22 29
Sharply concentrated with a fainter halo and a bright, oval core that increases slightly to a faint, stellar nlucleus.
2
 NGC 3729 Uma GX 3.0'x2.2'
11.4V
11 33 49
53 07 33
3729 with 3718 in same field, and the elongated 3877 in a field with a triangle of stars including Xi UMa
4
 HCG 56 Uma GX5 1.3'x0.2'
16.2B
11 32 46
52 56 29
Hickson 56 showed as a bit of fluff at 98x, no doubt dominated by one MCG galaxy
3
 NGC 4102 Uma GX 3.2'x1.7'
12.0B
12 06 23
52 42 41
Fairly bright, moderately large, oval 3:2 SW-NE, small very bright core, stellar nucleus.
2
 NGC 3953 Uma GX 6.9'x3.4'
10.8B
11 53 48
52 19 36
Very bright, very large, elongated ~N-S, 5'x2', very bright core, stellar nucleus.
4
 HCG 60 Uma GX4 0.4'
15.8B
12 03 07
51 40 30
One seen. 60a is PGC 38065 mag 15.7. 60b PGC 38053 maybe.
2
 NGC 4026 Uma GX 5.2'x1.4'
11.7B
11 59 25
50 57 38
A sharp-edged pretty lens with a bright core
2
 Arp 18 Uma GX 5.3'x2.1'
11.2B
12 05 34
50 32 23
4088 and 4085, two obviously elongated galaxies, contrasting brightnesses and orientations.
3
 N4157 Uma GX 7.7'x1.3'
12.2B
12 11 04
50 29 10
A very large edge-on with a dust lane visible.
3
 N4100 Uma GX 5.4'x2.0'
11.9B
12 06 08
49 34 59
NGC 4100 is a long cigar in the same 1.2 degree field as 4088 and 4085.
4
 AGC 1314 Uma GXCL 28.0'
13.9
11 34 48
49 02 00
Near M94, 14th magnitude IC 708. 6 galaxies viewed, including IC 712 and Markarian 178.
2
 NGC 3893 Uma GX 4.5'x5.7'
11.2B
11 48 38
48 42 38
Fairly bright, moderately large, oval, broad moderate concentration, small bright core, hint of spiral structure.
3
 N4047 Uma GX 1.8'x1.6'
13.0P
12 02 50
48 38 11
Moderately bright and large, halo slightly elongated.Fairly well concentrated, fainter halo around bright core and nucleus.
3
 Arp 280 Uma GX 3.3'x0.9'
12.6B
11 37 33
47 53 40
NGC 3769 - fairly bright, moderately large, very elongated, weak concentration. Close companion N3769A.
3
 N4220 Uma GX 3.9'x1.3'
12.3B
12 16 11
47 53 03
Moderately bright, edge-on 7:2 NW-SE, brighter core, stellar nucleus.. NGC 4218 in field.
2
 NGC 3949 Uma GX 3.3'x2.4'
11.5B
11 53 41
47 51` 34
Bright, fairly large, oval NW-SE, broad concentration, substellar nucleus. Forms a pair with N3950 1.8' N
2
 NGC 3877 Uma GX 5.8'x1.2'
11.8B
11 46 07
47 29 40
Moderately bright, very elongated 4:1 SW-NE, 4.5'x1.1', bright core, faint stellar nucleus.
2
 N4096 Uma GX 7.4'x1.7'
11.5B
12 06 01
47 28 31
Bright, very large, almost edge-on, sharp concentration with a very small bright core embedded within the long extensions.
3
 N4248 Uma GX 3.1'x1.1'
12.5V
12 17 50
47 24 36
Faint, very elongated 3:1 WNW-ESE, moderately large, 1.5'x0.5'. 10' W of N4231 and N4232. In the field of M106.
1
 M106 Uma GX 18.8'x7.3'
9.1B
12 18 57
47 18 31
A really magnificent object with a pile of neighbors
2
 N4217 Uma GX 5.7'x1.6'
11.1V
12 15 50
47 05 33
In same field as M106
2
 NGC 3726 Uma GX 6.1'x4.2'
10.9B
11 33 21
47 01 45
Bright, large, oval 2:1 N-S, 5.0'x2.5', patchy mottled appearance, very small or stellar nucleus but no core.
3
 N4144 Uma GX 6.1'x1.3'
12.1B
12 09 59
46 27 26
Fairly bright, very large, edge-on 5:1 WNW-ESE, 5'x1', bright core.
2
 NGC 4051 Uma GX 5.2'x4.6'
10.8B
12 03 09
44 31 53
Fairly bright, large, very bright small core, stellar nucleus, hints of spiral arms.
2
 NGC 3938 Uma GX 5.4'x4.5'
10.9P
11 52 49
44 07 13
Fairly bright, fairly large, large round halo, fairly weak concentration, elongated core, faint stellar nucleus embedded.
3
 N4013 Uma GX 5.2'x1.3'
12.2B
11 58 31
43 56 48
Moderately bright, fairly large edge-on bulges towards center but weakly concentrated, fades towards tips.
3
 N4138 Uma GX 3.0'x2.4'
12.2B
12 09 29
43 41 07
Moderately bright, moderately large, elongated NW-SE, rises quickly to asmall bright core, possible stellar nucleus.
2
 NGC 3675 Uma GX 5.8'x3.0'
11.0B
11 26 07
43 35 05
Large and bright. Very elongated with a brighter center.
2
 NGC 4111 Uma GX 5.2'x2.1'
11.6B
12 07 02
43 04 02
Fairly bright, fairly large, excellent edge-on, sharply concentrated, very bright core increases to center. Extensions very thin.
2
 NGC 4143 Uma GX 2.4'x1.8'
11.7B
12 08 36
42 32 02
Moderately bright, fairly small, slightly elongated, very bright core,stellar nucleus.
2
 NGC 4151 Uma GX 6.5'x5.0'
11.5B
12 10 32
39 24 21
Very bright, very small/stellar nucleus, fainter halo. N4156 and N4145 nearby. Seyfert galaxy, variable magnitude nucleus.
2
 NGC 3665 Uma GX 4.3'x3.3'
11.8B
11 24 43
38 45 47
Bright, fairly large, elongated, strong concentration, very bright core increases to center. N3658 lies 15' SW.
2
 N4244 Cvn GX 17.7'x1.9'
10.3V
12 17 30
37 28 47
Beautiful, extremely large ray extends at least 3/4across the 20' field, broadly concentrated, ill-defined core or nucleus.
2
 NGC 3941 Uma GX 3.7'x2.3'
11.3B
11 52 55
36 59 14
Bright disk running EW, very bright core, arcing dust lanes throughout.
3
 NGC 3813 Uma GX 2.2'x1.2'
12.2B
11 41 18
36 32 49
Fairly bright and large, very elongated, broad concentration, large brighter core, small nucleus, mottled surface brightness.
3
 AGC 1228 Uma GXCL 50.4'
13.8
11 21 30
34 19 00
Spotted four galaxies in this cluster, IC 2751, 2744, 2738 and 2735.
3
 Arp 313 Uma GX 3.1'x1.2'
12.4
11 57 44
32 17 38
NGC 3995 moderately bright, moderately large, elongated, large bright core. Largest of trio with N3994 and N3991.
3
 Arp 294 Uma GX 2.2'x1.2'
13.2P
11 39 42
31 54 35
NGC 3786, moderately bright, fairly small, elongated 2:1 WSW-ENE, brighter core.
3
 N4062 Uma GX 4.0'x1.7'
11.9B
12 04 03
31 53 41
Fairly bright, large, elongated 5:2 WNW-ESE, 4.0'x1.6', broadly concentrated
3
 NGC 4150 Cvn GX 2.3'x1.2'
12.4B
12 10 33
30 24 06
Fairly bright, moderately large, small very bright core, stellar nucleus, faint halo.
2
 N4136 Cvn GX 4.0'x4.0'
11.7P
12 09 17
29 55 40
Moderately bright, round, brighter core, stellar nucleus. N4131/N4132 pair nearby.
3
 N4310 Cvn GX 2.2'x1.1'
13.2P
12 22 26
29 12 31
Fairly faint, fairly small, elongated 2:1 NW-SE, 1.2'x0.6',
3
 N4134 Cvn GX 2.2'x1.2'
13.6P
12 09 10
29 10 36
Moderately bright, moderately large, elongated, broad concentration, N4132 5' NNW. Brightest, third of three spirals!
3
 HCG 61 Cvn GX4 1.1'x0.5'
14.3B
12 12 27
29 08 57
NGC 4169 (The Box) ll 4 components plainly visible. A favorite Hickson.
3
 N4185 Cvn GX 2.6'x1.9'
12.9P
12 13 22
28 30 38
Fairly faint, moderately large, elongated, broad concentration.
3
 NGC 3900 Leo GX 1.4'x0.8'
13.4B
11 49 09
27 01 18
Small, dim, elongated.
3
 NGC 3912 Leo GX 1.6'x0.8'
13.2P
11 50 04
26 28 47
Fairly faint, fairly small, elongated, broad concentration, brighter core, no well-defined nucleus. Irregular surface brightness.
3
 N3689 Leo GX 1.6'x1.0'
13.0B
11 28 01
25 39 40
Pretty bright, pretty large, little extended, brighter middle.
3
 HCG 57 Leo GX8 1.9'x0.5'
14.5B
11 37 53
21 58 51
Copeland's Septet Seven visible with NGC 3753 brightest. Contains Arp 320.
4
 HCG 52 Leo GX4 0.9'x0.4'
15.4
11 26 18
21 05 46
Very faint group, NGC 3750 brightest.
3
 HCG 53 Leo GX4 2.6'x0.7'
13.8B
11 28 30
20 47 43
Trio of galaxies with NGC 3697 the brightest.
4
 HCG 54 Leo GX4 0.4'x0.3'
14.0B
11 29 15
20 34 59
IC 700 is brightest of group of three.
3
 AGC 1367 Leo GXCL 100.8'
13.5
11 44 30
19 50 00
Incredibly rich cluster with NGC 3681 the brightest.
2
 NGC 4147 Cvn GC 4.4'
10.4
12 10 06
18 32 31
Moderately bright, fairly small, irregular 2'-2.5' diameter,very small bright core.
3
 N3659 Leo GX 2.1'x1.1'
12.8P
11 23 45
17 49 03
Fairly faint, fairly small, weak concentration, elongated..
2
 NGC 3686 Leo GX 3.2'x2.4'
11.9B
11 27 44
17 13 26
Brightest and largest in a group with N3681, N3684 and N3691.
2
 N3681 Leo GX 2.0'x2.0'
11.9P
11 26 29
16 51 46
Brightest and largest in a group with N3681, N3684 and N3686.
2
 N4189 Vir GX 2.5'x2.0'
11.7V
12 13 47
13 25 31
Fairly bright, fairly large, slightly elongated, broad concentration. Near N4164, N4165, N4168.
3
 N4168 Vir GX 3.0'x2.6'
12.1B
12 12 17
13 12 18
Brightest of trio with N4164 and N4165. Fairly bright,moderately large, bright core, slightly elongated, stellar nucleus.
3
 N4152 Cvn GX 2.5'x2.0'
12.7B
12 10 37
16 02 01
Moderately bright, round, moderately concentrated, brighter core, halo increases with averted vision.
1
 M100 Cvn GX 7.5'x6.3'
10.1B
12 22 55
15 49 25
Bright, very large, almost round, well-defined bright core surrounded bya large, fainter halo. N4322 and N4328 nearby.
3
 N4312 Cvn GX 4.6'x1.2'
12.5B
12 22 31
15 35 12
Faint, fairly small, elongated, small brighter core. Second and faintest of three with N4134 4.5' SSE and N4131 4' NW.
2
 N4237 Cvn GX 2.5'x1.7'
11.6V
12 17 11
15 19 26
Moderately bright and large, elongated, moderate concentration, irregular core which appears mottled.
1
 M98 Cvn GX 9.8'x2.7'
11.0B
12 13 48
14 54 00
Bright, very large, very elongated, small bright core, stellar nucleus. A faint knot suspected near south tip. N4186 nearby.
2
 N4298 Cvn GX 3.0'x1.8'
11.3V
12 21 30
14 36 11
Fairly bright, moderately large, elongated, broadly brighter center. Forms a close pair with edge-on N4302.
2
 N4302 Cvn GX 5.8'x0.7'
11.6V
12 21 42
14 35 39
Fairly faint, large edge-on', low surface brightness, weak concentration. Close pair with N4298.
1
 M99 Cvn GX 5.4'x4.7'
10.4B
12 18 49
14 25 02
Fairly prominent arm SE of large, bright core, south toward west. Dark gap between arm and core. North arm ill-defined.
2
 N4212 Cvn GX 7.6'x6.5'
10.2B
12 15 39
13 54 05
Fairly bright, fairly large, 2.2'x1.4' oriented WSW-ENE. Moderate concentration to large bright core which appears mottled.
3
 N4124 Vir GX 4.2'x1.3'
12.2B
12 08 09
10 22 42
Fairly bright, moderately large, pretty, very elongated, elongated large bright core.
3
 HCG 58 Vir GX5 1.6'x1.0'
14.1B
11 42 11
10 16 40
All five seen. Good one for smaller apertures, right off Denebola - all are in the mag 13-low 14s.
2
 N3705 Leo GX 4.9'x2.0'
11.9B
11 30 07
09 16 37
Bright elongated galaxy that jumps out at you. It is bright enough to be a Messier.
3
 N4233 Vir GX 2.3'x0.8'
12.9B
12 17 07
07 27 36
Bright galaxy, stellar core, possibly round with an E/W slight elongation.
3
 N4235 Vir GX 4.1'x0.8'
12.6B
12 17 09
07 11 28
Elongated, similar to NGC 4565. Obvious stellar core, hint of a dust lane,.several others galaxies in the same field
4
 N4241 Vir GX 2.5'x1.3'
13.0B
12 17 25
06 41 26
Extremely faint, oval, very low surface brightness. Forms a pair with N4223.
2
 N4260 Vir GX 3.9'x1.7'
11.8V
12 19 22
06 05 55
Fairly bright, moderately large, elongated SW-NE, broadly concentrated halo.
3
 N4264 Vir GX 1.1'x1.0'
12.8V
12 19 36
05 50 52
Fairly faint, small, round, broad concentration. Located at N edge of a large galaxy group, near N4261.
3
 N4270 Vir GX 2.3'x1.0'
13.1B
12 19 49
05 27 48
Trio of galaxies, 4270-73-81 all pointing inward in a tight triangle. Then 4261 and 4260 marched just off to the N.
1
 M61 Vir GX 6.5'x5.7'
10.2B
12 21 54
04 28 20
Round, mottled halo. Large, fairly dim. Stellar core.
3
 N4045 Vir GX 3.2'x1.3'
11.9V
12 02 42
01 58 38
Moderately bright, fairly small, slightly elongated, stellar nucleus offset, close pair with N4045A.
2
 N4073 Vir GX 3.4'x2.3'
11.4V
12 04 27
01 53 45
Moderately bright and large, elongated, bright core, stellar nucleus. In FieldN4063, N4075, N4077, N4139, U07042.
3
 NGC 4179 Vir GX 4.0'x1.1'
11.9B
12 12 52
01 18 02
Bright, fairly small, very distinctive edge-on system,very bright core, sharp light cut-off along the SW flank.
3
 N3672 Crt GX 4.1'x1.9'
12.1B
11 25 02
-09 47 42
Attractive spindle, fairly faint/moderately bright, fairly small, elongated, sharp bright core, stellar nucleus. N3725 nearby.
3
 N3732 Crt GX 1.2'x1.2'
12.5V
11 34 13
-09 50 43
Group includes NGC's 3723, 3732, 3730, 3722, 3724 along with 3 or 4 galaxies that not found in common catalogues.
3
 N3892 Crt GX 2.9'x2.4'
12.5P
11 48 01
-10 57 43
Small, oval with some elongation E/W. It contains a bright core with a dim stellar point.
3
 N3693 Crt GX 3.2'x0.6'
13.1
11 28 11
-13 11 40
Faint, fairly small, very elongated 4:1 E-W, very small bright core.
2
 NGC 3962 Leo GX 3.0'x2.0'
11.6B
11 54 40
-13 58 28
Bright and obvious in the eyepiece. It had a stellar core with a bright inner disk that diffused abruptly out to a dim outer disk.
2
 N3887 Crt GX 3.3'x2.5'
11.4B
11 47 04
-16 51 13
Fairly bright, large, elongated, broadly concentrated halo, no well-defined nucleus.
2
 N4024 Crv GX 2.0'x1.6'
11.7V
11 58 31
-18 20 49
Little, compact and fairly dim
3
 NGC 4038 Crv GX 3.7'x1.7'
10.9P
12 01 53
-18 52 02
Extented oval egg with a faint bi-nuclear glow, slight hint of extension from one side.
3
 N4039 Crv GX 4.0'x2.2'
11.1P
12 01 52
-18 53 29
Connected at its SE edge to its companion, NGC 4038.
2
 NGC 4027 Crv GX 2.8'x2.5'
11.7B
11 59 30
-19 15 43
Galaxy near 4038 & 39. Pretty large, medium bright, roundish. Not much brighter center. 182X.
2
 N4105 Hyd GX 2.7'x2.0'
11.6B
12 06 40
-29 45 42
Elongated glow, N4106 just following. N4105 isslightly brighter and larger but appears faint, small and round.

Source catalogs:

Messier, Arp, Abell Planetary, Abell Galaxy Cluster (AGC), Hickson Compact Galaxy (HCG), Sharpless HII Regions, Barnard Dark Nebulae, Herschel 400, Herschel 400-II.

Herschel 400 are identified as NGCXXXX,
Herschel 400-II are indentified as NXXXX.
Descriptions are from the following web-sites:

visitors since August 31, 2007