Old sketch, but just wanted to add some content to this community.
Equipment:
Celestron 8SE
0.63x Focal Reducer
18mm Meade 5000 UWA
1.15° FOV per circle
71x magnification
2.9mm exit pupil
mechanical #2 pencil
white printer paper
The whole chain is too large for the FOV of my telescope so I had to make a “panorama” of three separate FOVs.
Sky Conditions:
Bortle 5/6
“Average” transparency and “Good” seeing according to iCSC
Moon: 75%, rises ~1:00am
Editing: A first draft is made while at the telescope, then I trace it on to a fresh form, make any necessary corrections, then scan it and invert the image in the Snapseed mobile app.
I was originally planning on sketching M104 (the Sombrero Galaxy) assuming that the view would be good, and then M3 if there was time. I had never observed the Sombrero before and I may have just barely been able to see the dust lane with averted vision. This was pretty exciting, but before I dove into sketching M104, I wanted to check out Markarian’s Chain. I had tried this target once before but was only able to make out M84 and M86. But that night I was in for a treat. M84 and M86 were very apparent and as I panned over, the other galaxies came into view. I was beyond thrilled, and the longer I looked the more I was able to see. All in all, I was able to resolve 7 (maybe 8) of the galaxies within the chain:
M84 - the brightest of the 7, just a circular fuzz with a bright/defined core, visible with direct vision
M86 - larger than M84, oval shape and orientation apparent, core is bright but a bit more diffuse than that of M84, visible with direct vision
NGC 4438 - no defined core, more diffuse, fairly dim but not bad with averted vision, oval size and orientation is hard to see but becomes apparent with longer observation, ~half the size of M86
NGC 4435 - averted vision needed to resolve the bright(ish) and well defined core, no oval shape apparent, just a circular fuzz
NGC 4461 - faintest of the 7, no defined core, just diffuse fuzz, just barely visible with averted vision, oval size and orientation not seen
NGC 4473 - bright(ish) and well defined core just barely visible with direct vision, oval size and orientation just barely visible with averted vision
NGC 4477 - just a dim diffuse circular smudge, no defined core/slightly defined, fairly dim but not bad with averted vision
I was maybe able to see NGC 4458 as well. While sketching NGC 4461 and using SkySafari as a guide, I was trying to locate what I thought was a faint star in that area to use as a reference point. I remember thinking that I may have seen a faint patch of light in there. But since I thought I was looking for a star, I just moved on and didn’t think twice about it. Looking back, I think I would have been able to confirm this galaxy if I had known it was there.
