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Going Deep
4923
4921
4919
PGC 44864
4907
IC 4045
4908
IC 4051
4911
62 May 2012 sky & telescope
PGC 44784
IC 4040
IC 4041
IC 4042
4906
4895
4889
4881
4883
4874
4865
4860
IC 3955
This photograph from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey includes all the galaxies described by the author. Labels in the central region
are omitted for clarity; see the close-up on the facing page for full details.
galaxies, so its core has a higher surface brightness. It
also has a faint nucleus. Small
IC 4045 completes the line. I could fi nd ghostly IC 4040
only because it makes an equilateral triangle with NGC
4908 and IC 4045.
The Cluster’s Heart
The giant elliptical galaxy NGC 4889 appears signifi -
cantly brighter than its binary companion, NGC 4874.
At 229× NGC 4889 is slightly elongated east to west, and
strongly concentrated in the center, with a prominent
nucleus. Round NGC 4874 is very gradually concentrated
to a fairly faint nucleus.
What I fi nd particularly interesting are the tiny satellite
galaxies in tight orbits around the two giants —presumbably
on their way to becoming lunch! NGC 4874 has
three very close companions visible in the 16-inch, NGC
4871, NGC 4872, and NGC 4873. It also has a host of
PGC galaxies swarming around it that I look forward to
attempting with a bigger scope. It took me several tries to
4869
4864
4867
4858
unveil tough IC 3998, which lies between the two giants.
NGC 4889 has two very obvious companions at 229×,
NGC 4886 and NGC 4898, and two challenging ones,
15th-magnitude NGC 4894 and IC 4011. The latter
two were made easier to fi nd by their proximity to the
brighter galaxies.
In contrast, there’s no nearby landmark pointing the
way to 14.4-magnitude NGC 4883, which hides 4′ northwest
of NGC 4889 in the troublesome glare of the nearby
7th-magnitude star.
NGC 4876 is 3′ southeast of NGC 4874’s nucleus.
Once I found NGC 4876, I could intermittently see very
small, faint NGC 4875 between the two signifi cantly
easier 14th-magnitude galaxies that fl ank it, NGC 4876
and IC 3973. It’s surprising that Guillaume Bigourdan,
who discovered NGC 4875, missed the much easier IC
galaxy only 2′ southwest.
The Western End — and Beyond
Slightly elongated NGC 4869 is easy, as is NGC 4864.
10’
PGC 44467