Galaxies

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M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy - July 2011 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine, Sketching M51

"Depending on what I was trying to see, magnifications from 250x to 800x were used to make this drawing of M51. One of the best things about using a 28-inch scope is that there’s a lot of light to magnify. This makes using high power useful and was especially helpful for seeing much of the fine scale detail. Good sky conditions were needed to fully exploit high powers which is why it took seven hours spread out over six nights over the course of 12 months to draw this level of detail. SQM readings taken after each observation ranged from 21.25 to 21.73.

Also, this should be considered a composite drawing. It doesn’t show what I saw one look in the eyepiece, but was built up bit by bit, detail by detail. In this sense it’s related to an astrophoto because it represents the limits of what I was able to detect over an extended period of time. It will take an all-time great night, or a much larger scope, to see all this at once.

The proportions of the sketch aren’t as exact as a photo, but then that’s part of the fun. Holding a red light with my teeth while keeping my observing eye closed, all while standing on a ladder, is a difficult technique that’s taken years of practice to be comfortable with. But drawing in the dark is difficult no matter the circumstances, and even though a decent photo made with a much smaller scope will show more detail, this inexact image is truly mine, a product of 31 million year old photons that interacted directly with my eyes, which my brain then interpreted into a pencil sketch."

"This was my first attempt at making a composite drawing of an astronomical object, and quite by accident it turned into my first article for Sky&Telescope magazine. I was inspired by a phenomenal view of M51 in 2009 when I saw all the detail that I later captured in this drawing, plus more I have yet to see again. Watch this place for an updated drawing if I ever get another magical night."

M51 labeled - July 2011 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine, Sketching M51

This labeled version of the M51 sketch above shows the HII regions, super star clusters and superimposed MW stars along with the main features of NGC 5194 (the Whirlpool, an SA(s) bc pec galaxy) and NGC 5195 (the interacting IO pec irregular galaxy) that I was able to see with my 28-inch scope. North is up.

AGC 2065, the Coma Borealis Galaxy Cluster - June 2015 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine, Abell Galaxy Cluster 2065

"AGC 2065 is one of the most challenging objects I've sketched so far, simply because every one of its galaxies are faint. Because of their unrelenting faintness it takes a lot of energy to track each galaxy down and sketch them in their correct spot relative to their neighboring galaxies and foreground MW stars. My eyes would start feeling tired after about 30 minutes of observing, and because my observations of AGC 2065 were made over nine observing sessions in 2013 and 2014, my sketch represents about ten hours of observing. Due to poor spring weather all my observations were made from June to August when 2065 was already in the western sky. I did get a couple of nights when my SQM (Sky Quality Meter) gave readings around 21.85 though, so I count myself fortunate that I was able to see these 1.1 billion light year distant galaxies as well as I did.

I now think of the cluster in three sections – the core, and the areas to the north and south of the core. Although the entire cluster fits into a low power eyepiece field of view, you’ll need to use high powers to see the individual galaxies well, which encourages observing the cluster in sections. On an excellent night, the view at low power (130x) in my 28-inch f4 Newtonian was still quite wonderful though. The field of view was the very definition of “lumpy darkness” because none of the galaxies stood out by themselves, but together they lent a subtle but unmistakably texture to the sky.

Magnifications from 408x to 605x showed individual galaxies well with my scope, with 476x generally giving the best views. I almost always use a Paracorr II, but removing it helped me see slightly deeper."

"Although the implication is there, published observations of AGC 2065 usually don’t mention beauty and wonder. It takes intellect, imagination and skill, common traits among visual observers, to see beauty in something that’s barely perceived, and the resulting wonder that can be mined from such an observation is an important aspect of astronomy, and our humanity. 

Without the research done by generations of brilliant astronomers, 2065 would only be a collection of small, faint smudges. Thanks to them we know each smudge is a tremendous galaxy, each galaxy is over a billion light years away, they’re all gravitationally bound to each other, and that 2065 will eventually form a single galaxy supercluster with seven other clusters. Wow. 

One of the exquisite pleasures of visual astronomy is contemplating this knowledge while seeing even one of AGC 2065’s faint galaxies in your own telescope. Creating a personal connection with this stupendously distant part of the universe is just that easy, and just that difficult."

Spotlight on a Seyfert, November 2018 issue Sky & Telescope magazine, M77 as seen through Jimi Lowrey's 48-inch telescope.

"Four main structures make up the visual extent of M77 and they all fit nicely in the 286x field of view produced by a 17mm Ethos eyepiece. The outer part of M77 is a broad, faint oval ring that’s faintly connected to the much brighter central spiral arms. The central bar is surrounded by the central spiral arms and the AGN sits in the middle of it all."

"This is my finished pencil drawing of M77 as seen through Jimi Lowrey’s 48-inch telescope over four nights and a combined 2 hours of observing from his West Texas observatory. Magnifications from 286x to 812x were used. Sky Quality Meter (SQM) readings ranged from 21.36 to 21.67 during the four nights of observing. North is up."

This view of M77 was a special treat courtesy Jimi Lowrey and Steve Gottlieb, who voluntary gave up 30 minutes of observing time on four separate four nights on Jimi's 48-inch scope so I could produce this sketch. Thanks again gentlemen.

M77 closeup, labeled - November 2018 issue Sky & Telescope magazine, Spotlight on a Seyfert

"HII regions seen in the central spiral arms of M77 with Jimi Lowrey’s 48-inch telescope. No filters were used, and the numbers are from the EKS 96 HII catalog (EVANS I.N., KORATKAR A.P., STORCHI-BERGMANN T., KIRKPATRICK H., HECKMAN T.M. and WILSON A.S. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/doi/10.1086/192308). Note that 079, 080, 084 and 065 are almost equally spaced and in a straight line with the AGN."

M101, the Pinwheel Galaxy - June 2013 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine, The Determined Observer's Guide to M101

Much like my M51 drawing, this rendering of M101 was made over seven excellent nights spread out over several years, with a total of six hours of observing and sketching time. I used magnifications from 155x to 408x to make this drawing, which included one night with an SQM reading of 21.80.

On a dark, transparent night M101 is loaded with detail, which are pointed out in the labeled version of the sketch below. There are ten NGC objects located in M101's spiral arms, all of which are HII regions that are composed of a variety of objects. 

Since this article and sketch were published I've seen a few more details and someday (soon?) will post an updated drawing here.

M101 labeled - June 2011 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine, The Determined Observer's Guide to M101

One of the things I enjoy most about carefully observing objects is researching what I've seen after an observation. Then going back and trying to see more - I don't know how many times I've seen a faint detail, then discovered there's something else just as interesting right next to it. This is a big reason it took me so long to make this drawing, and why I enjoyed the process so much.

NGC 5529 - May 2017 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine, NGC 5529 - Spend some time with a most excellent edge on galaxy this spring

"In 2015, while observing from Likely Place in northern California, I returned to 5529 – which I’d observed briefly the year before at the Golden State Star Party - and observed it several nights in a row.

I was able to not only see the major features of 5529 but also eight companion galaxies in the same field of view as 5529.

They became easier to see each night too. This seldom fails - knowing where the companions were and what they looked like made them easier to see again. Ever notice this effect yourself?" 

"Magnifications of 408x and 476x were used to make this sketch. The three bright stars in a line off the southeastern end of the galaxy are a distinctive part of 5529’s field of view, and are the brightest part of this scene. They range in magnitude from 11.1 to 13.8."

NGC 5529 labeled - May 2017 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine, NGC 5529 - Spend some time with a most excellent edge on galaxy this spring

"Out of the five companion galaxies shown, only PGC 50925 is physically associated with 5529 and is probably responsible for causing the warp in 5529’s northwest end. The three other companion galaxies I’ve so far observed are just outside this field of view."

"At last count 5529 has sixteen companion galaxies, with twelve of them having NGC’s numbers. Together, they provide as much of an observing challenge as 5529. Surprisingly, only one of the NGC companions are close enough to 5529 to be shown in the Adam Block photo and my drawing, and that NGC number is in doubt.

Actually, two galaxies near 5529 have confused identities. Originally discovered in 1855 by R.J. Mitchell using the 72 inch at Birr Castle, NGC’s 5524 and 5527 might, depending on the source, be the same galaxy. The original descriptions are confusing enough to make their designations uncertain.  So for clarity I’ll use PGC numbers.

PGC 50925 (5527’s actual designation) might be the galaxy that gave the northwest end of 5529’s disk its elegant warp.

Intriguingly, 50925’s redshift is nearly identical to 5529’s (z 0.0099 to z 0.00986) and both translate to a distance of approximately 138 million light years. Also similar are their radial velocities (2942 km/s and 2953 km/s). These measurements, along with an HI bridge between the two certainly suggest it’s the disrupting galaxy. Not to mention PGC 50925’s unsettled appearance."

NGC 1365 - January 2016 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine, The Definitive Barred Spiral, NGC 1365

This is a composite drawing of NGC 1365 made by combining sketches from my 20-inch and 28-inch telescopes with a sketch made with Jimi Lowrey’s 48-inch. The dark lane running through the core was only visible through Jimi's 48-inch scope.

"My observing notes consistently state that 1365’s central bar is fainter than the spiral arms and is much fainter than the core. Even so, both portions of the bar are much easier to see than M51’s “bridge”. Interestingly, murky sky conditions can mask the bar and produce a view that looks like the spiral arms are unattached to the core. Usually though, the bar appears as a rather broad and evenly illuminated connection to the core. More precisely, the bar is in two sections, east and west. Although visually faint – I have yet to detect any detail within the bar itself – recent findings suggest gas and dust from the spiral arms is being funneled through the bar toward the core, forming new stars along the way. This may also feed the central black hole and could be part of the process that made it super massive."

M82 - May 2016 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine, Two Cool Galaxies - the Incomparable M81 and M82

"Sometimes, during a great night, the atmosphere will get out of the way for a while. The early morning hours of October 13, 2015 produced one of these extraordinary moments while I was observing from Steens Mountain in southeastern Oregon.

The sky had been exceptionally transparent all night, and by 4:30 am an intense Zodiacal Light was well up in the east. My observing buddy Rod Shea had already hit the sack.

The seeing had been a mess all night but was quickly sharpening as the temperature stabilized around 40 degrees F

Dawn was an hour away, the air perfectly still. Conditions were superb.

Orion was nearing the meridian when I thought to turn around and have a look at M81 and M82 which had risen in the northeast, level with Polaris.

I’d been working on detailed drawings of both (M81 and M82) since 2011, and while pushing my 28-inch telescope to their position I remember thinking the view might be pretty good. Little did I know M82 was about to blow me away."

These are the opening paragraphs of my Two Cool Galaxies article, and are important to note here because even though I'd spent four years working on long term sketches of both M81 and M82, this one night at Steens Mountain transformed my visual impression of both galaxies. I used magnifications ranging from 155x to 812x to produce this drawing of M82.  It is an IO sp galaxy seen edge-on and is about 37,000 light years in diameter. At magnitude 8.4 it is 1.5 magnitudes fainter than M81. 

The drawing above shows the intricate dark lanes of the superwind, the major Super Star Clusters, and interstellar dust – and is a close representation of what I saw at Steens Mountain. The magnification was 408x, producing a 2mm exit pupil in my 28-inch scope. North is to the right.

"After centering M82 in my low power eyepiece I bumped up the magnification to 408x. I was immediately stunned to see – easily see - the highly complex superwind and dust lanes silhouetted against the central portion of the galaxy in exquisite detail. Wow!!

It was simply beyond expectation to see this extravagant level of resolution.

I was astonished and completely surprised by this intricately woven veil of black lace. It was a fantastically delicate and awesome sight. 

This gave the central area of M82 an appearance reminiscent of a naked eye view of the summer Milky Way, which is a remarkable comparison to make with a galaxy 11.8 million light years away."

I consider myself quite fortunate to have seen this rare and awesome sight."

M82 labeled - May 2016 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine, Two Cool Galaxies - the Incomparable M81 and M82

The closest starburst galaxy, M82 has been and continues to be extensively studied. This labeled version points out some of the major features I was able to see.

M81- May 2016 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine, Two Cool Galaxies - the Incomparable M81 and M82

"The view of M81 from Steens Mountain was also the most gorgeously detailed I’ve ever seen - it just wasn’t as staggering a sight as M82.

M81 looked magnificent though, with a fully realized view of its grand design spiral features, sprinkled with a handful of details I hadn’t been able to see before.

A classic SA(s)ab spiral, it is the epitome of a beautifully symmetrical and serene looking two arm galaxy, and a perfect contrast to the apparent chaos of M82.

Unfortunately, many of M81’s features are difficult to see well even though it’s 1.5 magnitudes brighter than M82. Larger and more spread out, its visibility is highly dependent on sky conditions and the experience of the observer."

My drawing of M81 shows details I've only seen at Steens Mountain, specifically HII regions and the dark lane near the core, which were added to my four previous years of observations using magnifications from 155x to 408x.   North is to the right.

M81 labeled - May 2016 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine, Two Cool Galaxies - the Incomparable M81 and M82

This labeled version of my drawing points out the fainter features I was able to see, including Holmberg IX, a dwarf irregular galaxy formed 200 million years ago by a close encounter with M81.

AGC 2151 - the Hercules Galaxy Cluster - July 2016 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine, AGC 2151 - the Hercules Galaxy Cluster (sketch only, article by Steve Gottlieb)

Steve asked if I had a drawing of the Hercules Galaxy Cluster that he might use for his article and I gladly supplied him with the above sketch. The sketch was made at the Oregon Star Party in 2010 with my 28-inch scope using 408x while the SQM was 21.78. AGC 2151 contains Arp 71, Arp 122, Arp 172 and Arp 172.

Central portion of AGC 2151 as seen through the 90-inch Bok Telescope at Kitt Peak - not published.

This very quick sketch was made on a very windy night at Kitt Peak and shows only the central portion of AGC 2151. There were nine other observers so there wasn't time to make a detailed study so this sketch represents only the major galaxies and features I was able to remember and draw right after my turn at the eyepiece. 

The Leo Triplet - The Lion's Galaxy Triplet, April 2021 issue of Sky & Telescope

"The Leo Triplet fits in my 28-inch scope’s widest field-of-view eyepiece, though its components are arrayed around the edge of the apparent 100-degree field of view, making it difficult to appreciate them as a group. However, one of the great things about the Triplet is that you don’t need a huge scope to appreciate them, and a wide-field instrument is preferable for seeing all three together. I had a memorable view through my 8-inch f/4 scope in April 1984:

“Nifty trio of galaxies in Leo — the Deep Sky filter improved their contrast about 2× — M65 and 66 were the brighter of the 3, but 3628 was thinner and longer — still obvious. All 3 fit into the field at 41×. 65 and 66 stood out better at 102× than 3628.”

Few galaxy groups can surpass the visual impact of M65, M66, and NGC 3628, neatly posed in an eye-catching isosceles triangle that points almost due north, through a wide-field scope like this.

On the other hand, detecting the subtle nuances in each Triplet galaxy requires medium to high magnifications and dark, transparent nights, regardless of what scope you use. A closer examination of each galaxy starts to show how different they are, and yet hint at how they relate to one another."

Markarian's Marvelous Chain,  April 2022 issue of Sky & Telescope

"Who was Markarian, and why are a string of eight prominent galaxies in the Virgo Cluster named after him?

Benjimen Markarian, an Armenian astronomer, published a paper in 1961 that discussed the probability that eight of the most prominent galaxies in the Virgo galaxy cluster are approximately the same distance from us and form a physical chain. He makes a statistical argument that the galaxies are not a “chance projection” and probably do form a true chain. Ever since, this eye-catching string of galaxies has been informally named after Markarian. "

"I observed Markarian’s Chain with both my 28-inch and 8-inch scopes from my semi-dark backyard. The 8-inch made it possible to see the chain as a group, which spans about 1.5 degrees, east to west. However, because the galaxies appear rather faint from my backyard, they didn’t stand out very well at low power and were seen much more clearly at higher powers. I also had one spectacular night a dark site with the 28-inch, which is reflected in my sketches. "

Below are my composite sketch of Markarian's Chain, along with a negative version with labels.

First sketch below, and left to right, are close up sketches of NGC's 4222, 4216 and 4206. 

Center top are NGC 4267 and IC 775, and center bottom are NGC's 4474, 4468 and 4459.

Far right is M88.

The Great Edge-On Galaxy of Autumn, NGC 891, November 2022 issue of Sky & Telescope

"The symmetry of a spiral galaxy seen edge-on is a delight, but only if you can see it well. NGC 891 has a reputation for being difficult to see visually because of its low surface brightness, but a good view is so memorable that it’s likely never to be forgotten. Part of its magic is that 891 looks much like our galaxy does from inside, as the naked eye view of the Milky Way so plainly shows from the southern hemisphere when the galactic center is near the zenith.

For many Boomers, another part of 891’s appeal is that it was featured in the closing credits of the 1960’s science fiction television series, The Outer Limits (2). To those who watched the program, that gave 891 an undeserved eeriness that still boosts the allure of this galaxy.

For those who never watched the TV series this is a minor bit of trivia, but if you ever see the name the “Outer Limits Galaxy”, NGC 891 is it, and this is why.

More to the point, 891 not only looks a lot like the inside view of our Milky Way galaxy, it’s actually rather similar in other important ways too (5). About 30 million light years away, it’s considered the closest analog of the Milky Way. It’s about the same size and shares similar structural and chemical features, including a central bar and stellar streams of dwarf galaxies that have, or are in the process of merging with it."

The two versions of my eyepiece sketch below show NGC 891 as it appeared through my 28-inch scope from 253x to 408x from a dark sky site.

The panoramic sketch below shows NGC 891 toward the upper right, along with the distant background galaxy cluster, ACO 347. This is many overlapping fields through the 28-inch.

The Great Edge-On Galaxy of Spring, NGC 4565, May 2023 issue of Sky & Telescope

"Our view of NGC 4565 is not quite perfectly edge-on, so we see the core peeking over (under?) the central dust lane, but still giving us a wonderful view of the central bulge, which is not only rather dramatic looking but also gives us a vital clue to the galaxy’s morphology, or physical characteristics.

The central bulge is described as “boxy” (3,4) in the professional literature, giving it the look of a fat peanut from our perspective. This is a characteristic of a barred spiral galaxy seen edge-on. It also has a faint “X” running through its bulge, another indication of its barred spiral morphology. Research has also shown that NGC 4565 has a central ring.

Its galaxy morphology classification was listed as SA(s?)b by astronomer Gérard de Vaucouleurs in 1962 (8) with “SA” meaning an “ordinary spiral”, “(s?)” indicating a probable “S-shape”, with the small “b” at the end signifying it’s an early to mid-intermediate spiral. More recent versions of this classification move the “?” to after the “b”, which still doesn’t acknowledge NGC 4565’s bar or ring.

Based on our current knowledge, perhaps a more accurate classification would be SB(r)b, with “SB” denoting a barred spiral galaxy, and the small “r” in parenthesis indicating the central ring.

Is there a bright face-on galaxy with the same SB(r)b characteristics to give us an idea what NGC 4565 might look like if we could flip it 90-degrees?  As it turns out, it might look something like M95, which is not only as bright overall as NGC 4565, it’s even in the springtime sky at the same time as NGC 4565. M95’s apparent diameter is less than half that of 4565, and given that it’s at about the same distance away it’s an inherently smaller galaxy."

NGC 4565 as seen through my 28-inch scope in March 2021 under ideal conditions. Notice the boxy shape of the bulge / bar, and the partial “X” on the southern half of the bulge - the two rays seemingly emanating from the core / pseudo bulge. The warp on both ends of the galaxy were also seen as well as the companion galaxy NGC 4562, in the bottom right corner. Notice the line of stars from the eastern end of NGC 4565 that trickle south toward NGC 4562, making it easy to find. Magnifications of 155x, 253x and 408x were used to make this sketch with my 28-inch f/4 scope under nearly perfect conditions. The Sky Quality Meter reading was 22.05 – as dark as the night sky can get!

Tilting NGC 4565 horizontally makes the warp on each end easier to see, and note how straight the dark lane appears by comparison. The boxy bulge / bar and the core / pseudo bulge are easier to see in this negative crop from my larger sketch, as are the two “rays” of the partial X that I saw emanating from the pseudo bulge. Also note how the dark lane does not extend all the way to the ends of the edge-on spiral disk, and is most vivid near the bulge. It’s also not perfectly centered within the edge-on spiral disk.

M33, an Observer's Guide, November 2023 issue of Sky & Telescope

"I’ve sketched M33 with big scopes during two observing campaigns – from 2009 to 2013 with my 28-inch scope, and in 2022 with my 30-inch. I also sketched it with 8-inch and 80mm scopes on the same nights I used the 30-inch. Each scope gave memorable views, and even though I’m partial to the 28 and 30-inch views, I was rather amazed at how much I saw in the smaller scopes. But then, M33 is rather nearby as galaxies go. "

"Classified as a SA(s)cd galaxy, where “SA” denotes it’s an ordinary spiral galaxy without a central bar, and the “(s)” indicates it has prominent S-shaped arms emanating from the central core. The “cd” means the spiral arms are loosely wrapped around the galaxy. That’s a pretty good overall description of M33, but really only hints at what’s possible to see, and that of course, depends a great deal on the quality of your night sky."

"M33 as sketched through the authors 30-inch f/2.73 At-Az Newtonian. This view approximates what was seen at 140x over seven nights in 2022, and highlights all the objects discussed in the text - and many more as well. It takes clear, dark and transparent skies to see this much even in a large telescope, but remarkable detail can be seen in much smaller telescopes. Aside from spiral arms and dark nebulae, there are HII regions, star associations, clusters, and even individual stars that can be observed in M33.  

The sketch in the upper right illustrates what I saw through my 8-inch f/3.3, and I’m amazed at how much I could see! Compare this sketch to the one made with the 30-inch scope, and although most of the details in that sketch aren’t visible here, the overall spiral structure is spectacular.   

The sketch in the lower right is what M33 looked like through my 80mm finder scope, and is probably quite similar to what Charles Messier saw when he independently discovered M33. Neither of us saw spiral structure, but the general glow of M33 was a direct vision sight 

North is up in all three sketches. "

"Famous for both its remarkable wealth of galactic detail and its visual subtlety, for far too many observers M33 is equally infamous for being effectively invisible. Minimal light pollution or a slightly hazy sky can mask, or completely hide the wonders of M33. But the good news is that even a small scope can show a lot of satisfying structure under an unspoiled dark sky. How small? 80mm will do as a start. But as is usually the case, the bigger the scope and the better the sky, the more you’ll see.

Although M33 has a large apparent diameter because it’s exceptionally nearby, it’s a delicate thing visually. Even under the best observing conditions, don’t expect to see much at first. I suggest starting with your lowest possible magnification, and then linger. Let the subtleties of M33 gradually reveal themselves as you use both direct and averted vision. If you can, sketch what you see. Then increase the magnification to your next most powerful eyepiece. Add any additional details to your sketch - or memory - and repeat this cycle with your eyepieces until you can no longer see more detail.

Then go back to the eyepiece that gave you the most pleasing overall view and absorb the gentle glory of this fascinating galaxy. This collection of 40 billion stars [4] – one tenth the Milky Way’s number - is part of the reason M33 seems so ephemeral. Because it’s so close by, and we view it mostly face-on, we can see many of the elements that make up a spiral galaxy, but we’re also looking through its thinnest section. So, our viewing angle, combined with M33 having so few stars, gives it a low surface brightness.  Nonetheless, in a dark, transparent sky you can expect to see wonderful things."

"A more detailed finder chart here has many more objects, and the paper On the Stellar Content and Structure of the Spiral Galaxy, M33, by Roberta Humpherys and Allan Sandage [20] has an annotated chart showing 143 stellar associations in its figure 2. For in-depth charts of M33’s star clusters, go to page 412 of the paper The Cluster System of M33 by C. A. Christian and R. A. Schomer [21]." Also check out Scott Harrington's M33 guide for a 10-inch telescope here.

Important note

Two errors were pointed out after publication - the locations of U62 and IC 134 are incorrect in my article.  My thanks to Scott Harrington for letting me know about them.

As it turns out, the location of U62 is correct in the large sketch above, but the faint dot depicting it was washed out in the published article, plus the line pointing to it was misplaced. The labeled sketch above is the one I made, and the S&T art department made a nicer version for publication. Unfortunately, they used my incorrect closeup sketch (not included in the S&T article) of the U62 area to reposition the line pointing to U62's location.

Below (left) is a closeup of the above sketch showing the faint blip of U62, but the closeup sketch below right (the one not included in the S&T article) is incorrect.  As you can see, I've now updated it with the correct position of U62.

So why does my big sketch of M33 show U62, but the closeup sketch does not? As it turns out, the closeup of the U62 area was sketched with my old 28-inch scope, while the large sketch of M33 above was done with the 30-inch scope.  They were made years apart under very different observing conditions, so that's the foundation of the error, but I should have thought to update the 28-inch closeup sketch with my more recent 30-inch observation. Unfortunately, that detail went by unnoticed, illustrating that sometimes I just make mistakes. Dang - and my apologies for the confusion this causes.

However, I really messed up the location of IC 134, and there's no confusion about the source of the error - it's all me! No idea how I missed this one, but I've corrected it in the large sketch above, and both closeups below (left and right) show the correct location. Please ignore the closeup sketch in the S&T article, and reference these updated sketches - again, sorry for the confusion this causes.

Dr. Harold Corwin's has noted that IC 134 is a star superposed on the northern side of M 33. Though Camille Guillaume Bigourdan, a French astronomer, estimated its position on only one night over a hundred years ago, and noted it as "only suspected," there are no other objects in the area that are bright enough that he could have seen. 

"Below, and from left to right - NGC 595, NGC 592 and NGC 588. These close-up sketches were made using the 28-inch scope at 695x, and show that these HII regions are more than tiny smudges. With steady seeing and a large amateur scope, these objects show interesting detail. North is up."

Above, and on the right side of the above closeup sketch, is NGC 604 as seen through the 28-inch scope at 695x. It has usually looked like two overlapping triangles of nebulosity and on the best nights shows a stubby tail. The faint stars within NGC 604 are huge O and WR stars. The stellar association A85 is on the left. North is to the upper right."