Mirach and NGC 404
Sketch and details by Frank McCabe
As the constellation Andromeda climbed high in the eastern sky, I used this opportunity to sketch dwarf spiral galaxy NGC 404 and nearby second magnitude star Beta Andromedae (Mirach). Beta Andromeda is a red giant star of class M0 III and 199 light years from us. This bright star appeared golden to my eye and is a mere 6.5 arc-minutes from its “ghost” the galaxy NGC 404. This 10th magnitude galaxy has been classified as E0, lenticular (a category between elliptical and spiral) and more recently spiral class S0. At a distance of 10 million light years it is 50,000 times further away than Mirach. William Herschel described NGC 404 as a nebula in 1784. The position of galaxy is approximately R.A 1hr 10min, Dec. +35° 37’.
I made this sketch in the early morning of August 31, 2008.
Sketching
Date and Time: 8-31-2008, 5:10-5:40 UT
Scope: 18” f/5 Dobsonian. 175x
8”x11” white recycled sketching paper, 4B soft charcoal pencil, HB hard charcoal pencil, blending stump, eraser shield, drawing re-sketched indoors because of much smudging, scanned and inverted, some star magnitude adjustments made after scanning using Microsoft Paint.
Seeing: Pickering 7/10
Transparency: Above Average 4/5
Nelm: 4.8
Frank McCabe
Nice work Frank, I’m inspired to follow in your foot steps to this beguiling duo if our British clouds ever part again.
Warm regards, Dale
Dale,
Thank you for your nice comment. I hope your skies clear very soon, so you can continue to enjoy the wonders of the night sky.
Frank 🙂
Terrific sketch, Frank! 🙂
Eric,
Thank you very much.
Frank 🙂