NGC 5291
Sketch and Details by Scott Mellish
NGC 5291/”Seashell Galaxy” MCG -5-33-5
Interacting galaxies
Centaurus
Ilford NSW Australia
21/02/10
56cm f5.0 Dobsonian telescope
Field: 15′
Magnification: 314x
Sky Quality Meter reading: 21:60
Black Canford paper
White pen
White pastel chalk
Soft white pencil
White oil pencil
This strange little pair of galaxies first came to my attention many years ago when I purchased the lovely coffee table book “Exploring The Southern Sky” by Laustsen-Madsen-West. On page 106 there is a lovely negative image showing why the companion to NGC 5291 is called the “Seashell”.
In my 56cm dob it is a struggle to discern any hint of the unusual shape of this object even with averted vision. However this is a very interesting tight pairing and they both viewed quite easily in the 56cm dob.
Both objects I believe are classed as disturbed S0 type.
MCG-5-33-5 is the object to the left of the brighter NGC 5291 as seen in the sketch.
Also of note is the very faint galaxy PGC 4887, this galaxy can be barely seen about 7′ further to the left of NGC 5291/Seashell almost to the edge of the field.
The whole region surrounding this pair is strewn with numerous galaxies of varying brightness and size, all of which are part of the IC 4329 cluster.
I recommend those interested visit the CDS or NED databases if you wish to view the “Seashell” in greater detail.
Scott Mellish
Scott,
Beautiful pair and very well captured.
These are too faint and close to the horizon for me to see but with your fine sketch I get to observe them anyway.
Frank 🙂
Thanks Frank
What you said, in my opinion is what sketching is all about.
Scott.