Arp 246

ARP 246 2015 Nov 13

Object:     ARP 246      (NGC 7837 & NGC 7838) Date:               2015 November 13
Peculiarity:    Appearance of fission.
Constellation:           Pisces Time & altitude:  21.05 UT    47º
Catalogue data: Seeing (5 high):                               2/5
            R.A:                0h 07m Transparency (5 high):                   4/5
            Dec:                8º 21 Telescope:     0.5m f4.1 Dob.
            Magnitudes:  16.0 & 15.3 Eyepiece:      8mm Ethos      x260
    Galaxy sizes (mins): 0.4×0.2 & 1×0.3 Filters:            Lumicon Deep Sky

Notes:

Both galaxies very difficult, only seen with AV. NGC 7838 is a thin oval aligned EW. NGC 7837 appears round. Uncertain if the pair are in contact or not. Three other galaxies were seen nearby:

NGC 3 (14.2m) – prominent, easily visible all the time with DV, slightly oval.

NGC 7834 (14.9m) – a tiny round mist only seen with AV.

NGC 7835 (15.5m) – same as for 7834.

Session abandoned when cloud moved in 3 hours earlier than forecast.

It is worth noting that this field is a milestone, with objects from both the start and end of the NGC Catalogue, so a century or so ago it must have straddled 0h RA.