Searching for G1

August 28th 2008 3:45am EST – 5am EST
Ormond Beach Florida
Sky Condition: Clear, Stable, 6.0 at zenith

Over the years, I have found that it is most important to spend time preparing to observe deep sky objects. Time spent in preparation time can reduce much frustration time at the scope…especially for the hard to find objects. Doing a little online preparation is also a good idea. I find it quite informative to see what others have done in finding these objects…also what observation techniques they use in their observations. Well for G1, I did put a good amount of time in on preparing to hunt this one down. I was able to access a few good maps online from people who had previous experience and luck with G1.

Recent Image taken of G1/Mayall II on 5-25-09

See Maps: G1/Mayall II

G1: Coarse Map

G1: Detailed Map

See Maps: More Extragalactics in M31 Great star hop charts for other Extragalactics!!

After spending a good 15 minutes viewing M31 and its companions 110 and 32…skies were great. I was using the 16inch Meade DOB for this project with both 17m and 24m eyepieces with a 2x barlow. I was hoping to baptize the new 12 inch Meade Lx200 but I hadn’t completed the setup of the scope.

Anyway, M31 was almost if not at zenith…visible to the naked eye with ease!! With 31 in the 17m eyepiece I moved over to 32 and then move south to 32 Andromadae (asterism). I spent some time just getting familiar with the stars in the area. I also noticed that the distance from 32 to 32 Andromadae is about the same distance to G1. Anyway, this is where the preparation comes in handy…I did get a few different maps of the region…some better than others. Uranametria is alright in getting you part of the way…but I did have to use maps that I found online that were much more detailed. These were the ones that really got me to G1.  The detailed map was also able to get me to SAO53986 (somewhat brighter as compared to other stars in the area). It was actually easy to find G1 after identifying SAO53986…I was able to follow 4 pairs of double stars (can’t miss them) right down to another pair of double stars that come close to actually pointing out G1. Anyway, there it was G1…somewhat faint but somewhat easily detectable with direct vision. Now with that said, you do need a good map, large scope (I was using a 16 inch) and some experience to see this object. I find it somewhat interesting that some people are finding G1  with 6 inch scopes…I question this…maybe it’s possible…but I find it somewhat difficult to believe. I think you would have to have the darkest, most stable skies and perfectly aligned scope to catch G1.  

I hope to repeat this observation on the morning of August 29th 2008. Hopefully, the skies will accommodate. I am finding the morning skies as the most stable and reduce light pollution. The other plus is that it is at zenith between 3am and 5am.

See sketch

September 2, 2008

1:45am EST – 3:45am EST
Ormond Beach Florida
Sky Conditions: Clear, Stable, 6.0 at zenith

The skies this morning were about a 2 to 2.5. Good but not great. Anyway, M31 was easily seen with the naked eye. 32 Andromadae was also visible to the naked eye. I started my observations at around 1:45am EST. Initially, I was just getting my eyes adjusted for viewing haven just woken up.  I started with just searching the area around M32 and M110 for a few other extragalactic GC’s in the area…actually looking for some of the star patterns for familiarity for when I really start to search them out. Anyway, with my eyes finally adjusted I move down to 32 Andromadae and then over to SAO 53986 following a trail of double stars down to the triangle and G1. Having done this so many times over the last few days and having memorized the sky maps and charts to the point that I can now visualize them in my head…like seeing a photograph. The “triple star” was visible but not as easily as the previous observation of G1. It could be seen with direct vision but adverted vision really brought it out. But as stated it could be seen with direct vision. Also, at the time G1 was not at zenith and sky conditions were not as good as the previous session. As G1 moved closer to being almost directly overhead the viewing got much better…but that could have been a combination of eyes getting use to the darkness and skies becoming more stable. During my G1 observation I used a 24m and 17m eyepieces with a 2x barlow. With the 24m and the 17m I thought I was able to see extent…but I somewhat question it…the stars were so close that it may have just been a trick on the eyes. Extent could easily be seen with the 17m with the 2x barlow. The approximate power with the 17m and 2x barlow would be around 240x magnification.