Arp 333

ARP 333 2015 Oct 20

Object:   ARP  333      (NGC 1024) Date:               2015 October 21
Peculiarity:    Unique.
Constellation:           Aries Time & altitude:  21.25 UT    33º
Catalogue data: Seeing (5 high):                               3/5
            R.A:                2h 39m Transparency (5 high):           1 or 2/5
            Dec:                +10º 51 Telescope:     0.5m f4.1 Dob.
            Magnitude:    12.1 Eyepiece:      8mm Ethos      x260
            Galaxy size (mins):  3.9 x 1.4 Filters:            Lumicon Deep Sky

Notes:

First clear spell since Oct 8 and it is forecast to cloud up again indefinitely soon after midnight, ahead of another warm front. Conditions looked OK but weren’t, M31 in the zenith needed AV to see unaided. A first quarter Moon isn’t helping.

Arp 333 is just an oval haze seen with DV. The Deep Sky filter darkens the sky a lot but oddly doesn’t make the galaxy any more visible. Megastar plots several 14.4m field stars but I could not see them.  Also in the field is NGC 1029 (14.1m), also visible with DV. It looked like a smaller, fainter version of Arp 333.  NGC 1028 (15.3m) is 4’ N of NGC 1029. I did not see it. Session abandoned due to mediocre conditions.