I used my 18-inch and continued with the visual observations using Alvin Huey's "Selected Small Galaxy Groups" list. But I did break out the night vision since there were some interesting things I wanted to observe:
JAM 4 is a newly discovered planetary nebula (paper: "Ancient ‘ghost’ planetary nebulae discovered with amateur telescopes"). It is in Camelopardalis and was imaged with nearly 50 hours of integration time, and they have a good discussion of its morphology in the paper. This seemed to be the brightest of the group, so I gave it a shot. Using the 67mm Plossl+ afocally (1.1-degree FOV) I was able to identify the star field from the finder print-out I brought (just an image crop from the paper). The nebula sits in a "cup" shape of four brighter stars, one of which is a triple star forming a gentle arc. To SW of the nebula is a widely separated pair of equal magnitude stars which point to the brighter part of the nebula. Flipping through my filters (in a filter wheel) I could see a very subtle glow elongated ENE-WSW, tending brighter in the middle, just where the finder image would have it. 3nm Ha was best for this part. Then after some time, and again flipping the filters, I could barely detect a haze forming cats-ears from this glow, pointed north -- these were the brighter parts of the shell. My dual Ha+OIII and Tri-band (Ha, Hb, OIII) were best. Throughout the observation, the nebula would be detected at the moment I changed the filter, then it would slowly fade.
M57, two inner stars + outer shell: Later in the night (with Lyra higher) I used NV on M57. Using it afocally with a 40mm eyepiece (58x) & 3nm Ha, I noticed erratic rippling structure in the walls of the ring, and the outer edges of the narrower sides of the ring were significantly brighter and sharper. I also saw the faint, irregularly round glow of M57's outer shell. Finally, with at prime focus with a 2x barlow (equivalent to a 13mm eyepiece 180x but without the scintillation), unfiltered, I had a clear view of the central and second star within M57. Here's a link to a nice image of M57 showing all these features.
M87's Jet: I tried this out on impulse near the end of my observing and was super surprised at the result. Using the night vision at prime focus and barlow, unfiltered, I had a look at M87. I didn't have a finder image with me, but I remembered there are two faint elongated PGC galaxies on the edge of M87's halo which are often confused with the jet. I noticed these two right away (PGC-139912 & -41342). So I looked closer to the core, and I distinctly saw a small, surprisingly bright (direct vision!) spike poking from the core in a westward direction. I noted it and the relative orientation in my notebook, and today with the finder chart in front of me can confirm it. Here's a link to an image which is a very good approximation of what I saw (but without color). Incredible that the jet is 5000 light years long!
Here's the Small Galaxy Groups:
NGC 3822 (MKW 10, Hickson 58), Virgo, 5 galaxies
Easy group, all pretty bright and direct vision. NGC 3822 was moderately large, with a bright core and 3:1 N-S halo. NGC 3817 close to the NW is smaller, elongated moderately brighter core, diffuse nearly round halo. NGC 3825 to the east, fairly bright core and hazy round halo, did not notice spiral structure. NGC 3819 and 3820 were similar, faint glows, 3819 a bit larger than its companion.
CGCG 12-99 (MKW 3), Virgo, 7 galaxies
Difficult, tight group, all seen with averted vision and higher magnification, 106-260x. The main feature is a central arc of four galaxies starting with 12-98 then moving north and arcing west, all of them faint small glows. CGCG 12-100 was very faint but a longer glow than just a patch, brighter in the middle, ENE-WSW. CGCG 12-97 was similar but elongated nearly E-W. CGCG 12-101 was a distance away (part of the group?) but easy to spot as a non-stellar glow next to a real star.
NGC 4073 (MKW 4), Virgo, 14 galaxies.
Started with NGC 4073 as it is nearly the brightest of the group, easy direct vision as a slightly E-W elongated glow with a brighter core. Everything else on the picture was seen, generally as non-stellar glows. UGC 7042 was extremely faint, averted vision, small elongated glow, very nice small edge-on. NGC 4045 was faint but seen direct vision, with an oval E-W diffuse halo and a N-S bright core. NGC 4045A was a non-stellar glow close by, due south.
M49, Virgo, 12 galaxies
Bright, large M49, with a large bright round core and a diffuse round halo, with a star prominently overlapping the halo due east. All other galaxies seen, the NGCs as faint to very faint non-stellar glows, to the UGCs and MCGs extremely faint and small, needing averted vision and careful matching of the field to the chart (and generally higher magnifications).
NGC 5044, Virgo, 12 galaxies
A very rewarding field! Several really good edge-on galaxies, especially MCG-3-34-41, which was small, extremely faint direct vision, brightening a little with averted, 6:1 N-S with a very slightly brighter core. MCG-3-34-42 was an extremely faint non-stellar glow with averted vision only and careful review of the chart. NGC 5031, 5037, 5038, and 5047 were other edge-ons, brighter and seen directly, all of similar size and scattered like rice. I especially liked NGV 5054, which was large, faint, with a sharply bent spiral arm headed south then a quick turn north and west -- it appeared like a faint chevron in the large diffuse halo. MCG-3-34-40 was a very small non-stellar point.
NGC 5171 (MKW 11), Virgo, 7 galaxies
A nice compact group. NGC 5171, 5179, and 5176 form a triangle and were similarly moderately bright ellipticals. Very close to the north of NGC 5176 was NGC 5177, a small faint edge-on, 5:1 NW-SW, with a brighter core. Below this set was CGCG 72-96, extremely faint, small glow, with averted vision and 200x only. CGCG 72-88 was easy to find since it was to the NE of a star, but an averted vision only elongated glow edge on NE-SW. NGC 5178 to the south, very faint but with direct vision, with a stellar nucleus and slightly bright core in the slightly stretched halo. Just to the NE of 5178 is PGC 3556025, and I had vague hints of it with averted vision only. Directly west of this pair is CGCG 72-79, which I was able to find from the sting of three stars it is near, as a small, NW-SE elongated glow, averted vision only.
NGC 5400 (MKW 5), Virgo, 6 galaxies
NGC 5400 is a pretty bright round galaxy with a large round halo and diffuse halo. It is framed by two close companions, MAC 1400-0252, which appeared as a small, elongated thickening at the edge of 5400's halo, and to the north by MAC 1400-0249, a small, very faint stubby edge-on, best seen with averted vision. Further to the NW is CGCG 18-18, which was moderately large, very faint 3:1 E-W glow -- I'm surprised it's not an NGC. Directly south of NGC 5400 is a close pair IC 986 and MAC 1400-0254, both very faint direct vision and looked like a wedge-shaped smear. During this observation a very faint, slow moving tumbling satellite moved through the FOV!
NGC 5718 (MKW 8), Virgo, 12 galaxies
NGC 5718 and IC 1042 are the central pair, and form one large, long galaxy with two cores. The IC is much fainter, but still visible. NGC 5718's halo is diffuse and bulges along its southern half. Directly to the south is a widely separated triangle of galaxies, IC 1039, IC 1401, which are both faint glows with direct vision, and CGCG 47-140, which is a small non-stellar glow with averted vision only. This triangle points further south to CGCG 47-136, another small, non-stellar glow with averted vision. To the northeast of the main pair is CGCG 47-141, a very faint but still visible direct vision N-S small, elongated glow, located next to a pair of brighter stars. Further in a NE line is CGCG 47-143, more difficult to find as it was in a sparse starfield, and small non-stellar glow with averted vision. CGCG 47-131 appeared the same, but in a NW line from the main pair.
NGC 5846, Virgo, 5 galaxies
An easy, bright group, all of the galaxies are on an E-W line! Starting from the east, NGC 5850 had a large bright round core and very faint, stubby extended bars ENE-WSW, and was surrounded by an extremely faint, large, somewhat mottled round halo -- it's a face-on barred spiral, the round halo are the spiral extensions, though I didn't see any structure. Next to the west is NGC 5846, large, bright round core, round diffuse halo, within which on the southern side is NGC 5846A, which appeared and a small non-stellar knot in the halo. NGC 5845 is next, a small, fairly faint bean-shaped glow, and finally NGC 5839, which had a faint compact core and very faint diffuse round halo.
IC 4349 / Hickson 69, Bootes
My favorite of the night. The central group of IC 4349, 4348, and 4346 form a narrow triangle pointed north, with 4349 at the tip. They were all of similar appearance, faint, with brighter central cores and small diffuse halos, though 4348 was 3:1 elongated NW-SW. Directly east of 4349 was CGCG 132-55, a small glow seen with averted vision and knowing where to look because of the image and finding a wide N-S pair of stars (the galaxy was just to the side of the southern star). CGCG 132-54 was found in the same way, first finding the pair of stars from the image, then using averted vision to see the small non-stellar glow. The real treat was Hickson 69. I first found IC 4345 and IC 4344, two faint mostly round patches with direct vision, and used them to locate the Hickson group. Using 160-280x, 69A was the easiest, a very faint elongated wash, with a barely brighter core. I tried pretty hard for 69D, of which I had a couple of uncertain pops but could not really hold it. 69B and 69C were both very faint non-stellar patches and relatively easy to see. Between the main pair and Hickson 69 is PGC 48523, which I found by associating the star field and seeing the very small non-stellar glow with averted vision only. There's unlabeled galaxy to the west of this, in a compact triangle of stars, and I had the barest of sense of it, but nothing certain.
NGC 5416, Bootes, 20 galaxies
Another very engaging, if difficult, field. The main group of galaxies are in a south-bowing arc. Starting from the NE: NGC 5438, 5436, and 5437 form a triangle and were all moderately bright, small, easy, with different orientations like rice grains. The highlight was to the SW: NGC 5434 and 5434A, a face-on spiral with a small bright nucleus and round diffuse halo, with some very difficult spiral structure seen with high magnification and averted vision. The edge-on's SW tip seems to touch the edge of the main galaxy's halo, and stretches 5:1 NE-SW, faint halo but with a slightly bulging brighter core. In the center of the field is compact grouping of NGC 5424, 5431, and 5423, all seen as small elliptical glows direct vision, with 5424 and 5423 having brighter cores. NGC 5423 was framed by two galaxies to its east and west, PGC 50032 and 50019, both of which were seen with averted vision as small non-stellar glows. Rounding up the arc was NGC 5416, easy if small, with a bright core, and NGC 5409 which was also easy with direct vision, a compact bright core and diffuse oval halo. I saw PGC 49966 as a non-stellar glow with averted vision but did not see the three other PGCs in that area. To the south of NGC 5423 was a row of PGC edge-ons, 50021, 50009, and 50006. I saw 50006 with little difficulty averted vision since it was close to a reference star. 50009 was on the other side of this star and far more difficult, I had just a few pops of it with averted vision and 200x; I could not detect 50021.
NGC 5490, Bootes, 7 galaxies
NGC 5490, Bootes, 7 galaxies
Starting with the stunning IC983: what an amazing galaxy. Bright compact core is off-center in a large, round, diffuse halo which is wound with very subtle spiral structure! The SW edge of the halo is overcome with the magnitude 9 star HD 123930, but the spiral structure is more than hinted at, especially a relatively stronger band along the outer northern rim of the halo. IC 982 is just to the south, bright compact core and faint round thin halo around it. I did not see 983's halo overlapping (interacting?) with 982, but the pair does constitute Arp 117. NGC 5490C (=Arp 79) is to the south, very faint, out-of-round halo slightly extended N&S, brighter in the center -- I did not see spiral arms. This forms a trapezium of sorts, with the very bright elliptical NGC 5490 and two non-stellar small patches which are MCG+3-36-64 and MCG+3-36-67. To the west of NGC 5490, and not marked on the picture, was a very faint non-stellar patch seen with averted vision (MAC 1409+1731). Ended with CGCG 103-94, a difficult, small non-stellar patch with averted vision.
NGC 5629 (AWM 3), Bootes, 7 galaxies
NGC 5629 was easy, bright core and very faint round halo, despite being near magnitude 7.0 SAO 83375 directly west of it. IC 1018 was a non-stellar knot on the SW rim of NGC 5629's halo, seen direct vision with high magnification. To the NW of NGC 562 was the 3:1 NW-SE elongated, faint and small IC 1017, with the very faint and small, but still seen direct vision MCG+4-34-30. To the south of this group I found CGCG 133-67, a small, very weak 3:1 E-W elongated glow, first with averted vision but then I could hold direct, with higher magnification. To the north of the main group was IC 1019, easy with direct vision but small, slightly elongated, with a slightly brighter middle. Finally, to the NW of that (and using a triangle asterism as I guide), I picked up IC 1020 as a small, faint but still fairly easy 5:1 N-S glow with slightly brighter center.
NGC 5714, Bootes, 5 galaxies
Five galaxies in a tight group, with the stunning edge-on NGC 5714 the largest and brightest among them. Faint, moderately large 6:1 E-W, with a pretty bright round core which appears to float in the halo, and long tapering tips. NGC 5717 was small, fairly faint, with a bright core and slightly elongated halo NE-SW, best seen with higher magnification 280x. The higher magnification helped with the compact triangle formed by NGC 5722 (small bright round core, very thin round halo), 5721 (very small non-stellar patch with averted vision), and 5723 (averted vision non-stellar)
NGC 5754, Bootes, 4 galaxies
NGC 5754 (Arp 297) was fairly large, with a small slightly elongated bright core and a fairly bright oval halo (which was orientated at a 90-degree angle compared to that of the core). Extremely faint round patchy halo which hinted at spiral but not certain. NGC 5752 appeared as a small fairly bright elongated knot on the western permitter of 5754's halo. To the north was small and very faint NGC 5755, which had a nearly non-stellar core and very extremely faint contrast change of a halo around it, but no spiral structure distinguished. Near to this is NGC 5753, a non-stellar patch.
NGC 5920 was a small but easy elliptical, and PGC 54838 was a surprisingly easy, if also faint stellar patch to its north, seen with direct vision. What was special about this field was the very compact and challenging ling of galaxies in the center, which looked like an elongated smudge or "lumpy darkness." NGC 5919 was a very small non-stellar patch and not too difficult, but there was also CGCG 49-144, to the south of NGC 5919, and its north, MAC 1521+0744 & MAC 1521+0744A (marked with a red lines), all of which were difficult, seen with averted vision and high magnification.
NGC 6269 (AWM 5), Hercules, 5 galaxies
The last of the groups observed for the night, five galaxies in a "L" shape. NGC 6269 was a fairly bright elliptical and the largest of the group, then going west were NGC 6265 and 6264, both of which were small glows, direct vision. NGC 6263 was easy to find as it lay between two stars, a small round glow, and then up to the north was NGC 6261, which was a weak 4:1 E-W elongated glow, faint but direct vision, with a brighter center.
