AAQ Visual Observing Section

Selected Deep Sky Objects In Centaurus

For this month I thought we would continue with this interesting south east area of the night sky. There are so many fine sights here as the Milky Way rises ahead of winter. Be sure to spend as much time as you can making the most of what it has to offer. Just a reminder that I use Sky Atlas 2000 and Hartung's Astronomical Objects for Southern Telescopes in preparing these articles.

J Centauri/Dunlop 133 (13h 23.1m RA -61° 00' Dec) Set in an attractive star field, this pretty double is an easy split with 40x.

NGC 5286 (13h 46.4 m RA -51° 22' Dec) This small condensed globular is easily found very close to a 4.5 magnitude star. Although a relatively bright object, I was unable to resolve any individual stars with 120x.

NGC 5460 (14h 07.6 m RA -48° 19' Dec) Use a wide field eyepiece to fully appreciate the curious looping chain of stars that make up this open cluster. Look for the delicate double located at the centre of the group. If you have a dark sky you may be able to glimpse the close by galaxy E221-26 with 40x. With 120x some central brightness was visible.

NGC 5292. (13h 47.7 m RA -30° 56' Dec). An interesting contrast to NGC 5460, this faint galaxy; the first challenge is to find it. Now compare it with the close by M83 "just over the border" in Hydra. This is an absolutely stunning galaxy aligned face on to us, with a very bright compact core surrounded by a magnificent glowing halo. Definitely a "must see" on your tour through Centaurus.

4h Centauri (13h 53.1m RA -31° 57' Dec) Using 40x I could just separate this double also known as HN 51. A fine sight with 120x, look for the blue/green colour of the secondary. For a complete contrast, try the nearby 3 Centauri or H 3101, I was unable to split with 320x.

NGC 5128 (13h 25.5m RA -43° 01' Dec) With a dark sky you should just be able to locate this galaxy (Centaurus A) with your finderscope, and is a distinctive hazy glow with 40x. The dark lane dividing the object in two is plainly visible with 120x. Look for the two stars transposed over one half.

ω Centauri/NGC5139 (13h 26.8m RA -47° 29' Dec) In contrast to NGC 5286 this magnificent globular easily resolves into individual stars with 120x. Visible with the naked eye, omega Centauri it is one of the truly outstanding sights of the southern sky.

NGC 4945 (13h 05.1m RA -49° 28' Dec) This galaxy is very prominent and distinctive with 40x. Because it is almost edge on, look for a long elongated shape with a hint of brightening near the centre. While using your wide field eyepiece you should easily resolve in the same field a beautiful unequal double star (Xi 2). The stunning combination of these two objects in the same field of view is my personal favourite of this constellation.

RMK 18 (13h 52.0m RA -52° 49' Dec) This bright double is easy to find not far from Epsilon Centauri. Easily split with 40x, it makes a fine sight set among the background star field.

Dunlop 159 (14h 22.6m RA -58° 28' Dec) Just resolvable with 40x, this pair near The Pointers has a strong colour contrast between the yellow/orange primary and blue secondary. Using 120x gave me a better view of these colours, and makes an interesting comparison with the previous RMK 18.

NGC 5316 (13h 53.9m RA -61° 52' Dec) Almost overwhelmed by the surrounding profuse star fields you will find this attractive open cluster close to Beta Centauri.

Dunlop 141 (13h 41.7m RA -54° 33' Dec) Also known as Q Centauri, using 120x comfortably splits this pair - look for the attractive yellow colour of the primary.

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