| Designation(s) | M49, Arp 134, NGC 4472 |
| Object Type(s) | Galaxy |
| Relevant Catalog(s) | All (Chron), Arp, Messier, NGC |
| Arp Category | Galaxies with nearby fragments |
| Obs. Lat/Long | 42° 17', 073° 57' |
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Date and Time Observed | 2024-05-03 21:53:00 |
| Instrument | Seestar S50 f5.0-250mm FL |
| Camera | SeeStar built in IMX462 sensor |
| Image Details | Up is 19.6 degrees E of N. Transparency: Fair. Seeing: Fair. Total integration time was 11m. Exposures 10s. Darks subtracted, no flats. Alt/Az mount. |
| Description | This was the fourth and final addition, and another original discovery (#21), on February 19, 1771. It was also Messier's first elliptical galaxy in the catalog, though undoubtedly it would have appeared to him as a dim GC: "Nebula discovered near the star Rho Virginis. One cannot see it without difficulty with an ordinary telescope of 3.5-feet [FL]. The Comet of 1779 was compared by M. Messier with this nebula on April 22 and 23: The comet and the nebula had the same light. M. Messier has reported this nebula on the chart of the route of the comet, which appeared in the volume of the Academy of the same year 1779. Reviewed on April 10, 1781." <--> This galaxy was selected by Halton Arp for his atlas, though I ended up not using it as part of my AL Arp Observing award because this image does not show the "fragments" which Arp identified as the peculiar feature. On the night I observed this target, the weather forecast was for clouds. It was cloudy at sunset. But when I stuck my head outside a few hours later, I discovered it was quite clear. So I quickly set up the Seestar looking for unobserved Messier targets. I found that M49 was visible and in a clear part of the sky, and off we went. Captured 11m before clouds started to cause stacking to fail and I moved to another part of the sky. Given that this is a very bright elliptical galaxy with essentially no visible structure other than a bright center, I think it worked out OK as far as Messier observing. However, the Arp features in M49 are exceedingly challenging and well beyond the capabilities of the Seestar (and potentially of my 8" EdgeHD). We will pursue when conditions are optimal. |
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