| Barred
Spiral Galaxy
aka PGC 39346, MCG 12-12-4, Uppsala 7306 RA: 12h16m41.8s Dec: +69°28'10" (Draco) Integrated Visual Magnitude: 10.1 Angular Diameter: 22.9' x 7.2' Mean Surface Brightness: 24.3 Mag/arc-sec² Minimum requirements to detect: 8-inch under dark skies |
This
galaxy is large and diffuse. It is considered something of a deep
sky challenge. The mean surface brightness of 24.3 mag/arc-sec²
does appears daunting, but there is a brighter inner bar that can
be glimpsed in scopes as small as 8 inches (and perhaps smaller).
To detect this galaxy you will need a dark site. Use the lowest magnification you have. Look for an oval patch of sky that appears just a bit brighter.
In my 18-inch f/4.5 at 94x NGC 4236 appears as a large oval diffuse glow, barely brighter than the sky background. Averted vision revealed what appeared to be a nuclear bulge, but was probably just the brighter portions of the fainter disk. I was also struck by what appeared to be a fairly hard edge to the eastern side. I was very much reminded of a miniature M31.
Tom Polakis writes, "Mostly uniform, except for a tiny faint spot on the S end and a brighter glow, 1' across, on the N end. The center has a very subtle slight brightening, broadly concentrated. The glow on the S end "blinks" with an OIII filter. A 14.5 mag. star is embedded in the center."
The field in an 8-inch at
74x. North is down and east is to the right.
| Millennium
Star Atlas Vol II Chart 535
Sky Atlas 2000 Chart 2 Uranometria 2000 Vol I Chart 25 Herald-Bobroff Astroatlas B-01 C-03 |
