Object of the Week March 6th, 2016 - NGC4111

[Dragan]

NGC4111
UGC7103

Canes Venatici

Galaxy

RA 12 07 2.7
DEC 43 04 02

Mag 10.6

Size 5.2' x 1.2

Class SA(r)0+:sp

An edge-on lenticular class galaxy, NGC 4111 was discovered by William Herschel in 1788. Approximately 50Mly away and located in Canes Venatici, this beautiful edge on makes for a great target in a variety of telescope sizes.

Online reports claim this galaxy has been bagged in scopes down to 6" of aperture. Not flat galaxy standards, the disk of 4111 is inclined about 3° to our line of sight giving us a flattened view with a bulging nucleaus. NGC4111 provides the observer with a high surface brightness core and dustlane that extends NW- SE. Reports of a mottled halo has also been noted. Stephen O'Meara cites a "peanut shape" core - resulting from possible dust lying perpendicular to the galaxy's disk plane. A quick image search revealed such dust in the Hubble image posted below. My own observing notes make no mention of such a uniquely shaped core while using either Jimis 48 or my own 25" here in Illinois.

When in the area of NGC4111, don't just scan over some of its neighbors. NGC4109 5° to the SW and the pair NGC4117 & 4118 8° to the E-NE offer up some challenge! And for the big boys, UGC 7089 & UGC7094 make for even tougher challenges!

So next time you're out be sure to point your scope towards the Hunting Dogs and give this galaxy a shot. Be sure to look for some of the unique characteristics as well as the other targets listed above . And as always,

"Give it a go and let us know!"

ngc4111.jpg
©HAS

ngc4111vHST.gif

©HST

[kisspeter]

I drew this galaxy in 2009 (April 21/22) from Kerepes, Hungary using a 4.3" f/7.3 Newtonian.
ngc4111_kisspeter.jpg
It's a really good looking galaxy even in my small telescope. I saw a tiny and bright but non-stellar core. Moving away from the core the galaxy is getting faint very soon. I noted that I saw NGC 4117 as well as a small diffuse spot without any details. But I'm not sure, it was on the edge of visibility.

I would also like to say hello to Everyone! This is my first post here at the DeepSkyForum.

[Jimi Lowrey]

What I like about this galaxy is the blue and gold double star that is in the same field of view as the galaxy.

[Uwe Glahn]

Can contribute a sketch of the nice group with 8".

8", 160x, NELM 6m5+
NGC4111-Gruppe.jpg

With 14.5" and 16" I noted "1:4 elongated, bright core, unsteady spread of brightness" I could definitely not see the dark structures directly.

[Steve Gottlieb]

Here are two of my observations with an 18-inch.

18" (5/14/07): this striking edge-on is extends 6:1 NNW-SSE, ~3.5'x0.6'. Dominated by a small, sharply concentrated, intense core. The core is only 24"x15" and brightens somewhat to the center. The eastern flank possibly has a sharper edge, but no dust lane was visible. Located 4' SW of a wide double star (8.2/10.7 at 34").

18" (6/4/05): fairly bright, fairly large, excellent edge-on at least 6:1 NW-SE. Sharply concentrated with a very bright 20" core that increases to the center. The extensions are very thin, ~3'x0.4', with a slightly bulging core. A wide double star (8.2/10.7 at 34") to the northeast is collinear with the core.

[Clear Skies]

Only one observation logged using a 12" SCT (179x / 27') under moderately light polluted Dutch skies. Quite "late in the season" on 25 May 2012, a time of year when the sun does not get below -16.5 degrees elevation in this part of the world (-14 at time of observation):

Elongated NNW to SSE, brighter in a slightly elongated central part with a bright nucleus that is visible without AV.
To the ENE is the double star hj2596: A mag. 8 star with a mag. 10 star to its WSW (quite wide).
To the SW, slightly farther than hj2596 is the galaxy NGC4109. PGC2210517 and PGC2210701 are not visible.
To the ENE, slightly farther than twice the distance to hj2596, are the galaxies NGC4117 & NGC4118, although only one small patch is visible.

Will definitely observe again as I have plenty of galaxies left in my observing plan for CVn.

[Ivan Maly]

Excellent observations above. I first saw NGC 4111 in 4". Subsequently it was reobserved with 12 (125-375x, SQM 21.65). "A very bright and large edge-on. Bright core, sharp nucleus, fainter and very long extensions. The extensions seem to be in a spiral shape: one above, the other below the major axis. (This feature is far from obvious even in best photos, such as the one in the de Vaucouleurs Atlas. The galaxy is classified as lenticular.) NGC 4117: a slightly extended edge-on lenticular."

[RolandosCY]

This is a brilliant object for small scopes. I had a go last night with my 4.7" f5 achromatic, and was way easier than I expected, being visible even at a very low magnification. Increasing the magnification to 86X showed a nice spindle with a very bright core. I could also spot NGC 4119, albeit as a much much fainter small roundish patch.


This galaxy should be a nice object for the popular 4" refractors, and I suspect should be very doable in even 80mm!

[skyraider]

I observed this galaxy Tuesday night April 5, 2016 from a moderately dark site with my Zambuto powered 25" f4 Obsession. The transparency was above average and the seeing was excellent. This is a really cool edge on that has a bright core. The bright core mimics the edge on shape as it extends quite a bit in both directions from the center of the galaxy. No sign of a dust lane. In the 10 Ethos there are 2 other galaxies in the fov. These companion galaxies are NGC 4117 a highly inclined gx, which lies at a 45* angle to 4111 and sits on the same side of the galaxy as the pair of bright stars (pale yellow and light blue) and NGC 4109 a round evenly illuminated galaxy.
Then I used the 5 Pentax to see the nearby galaxies NGC 4118 and LEDA 2210701 at 17.1 mag!

[Jimi Lowrey]

New Hubble image of NGC 4111

ngc 4111.jpg