| The Integral Sign Galaxy | ||
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This galaxy subtends 3.5' x 0.2' and is listed as 13.1 magnitude, but it appears to be to be somewhat fainter and will probably require excellent conditions to glimpse in an 8-inch. Its mean surface brightness is relatively high (22.5 mag/arc-sec2) so it may help to use as much magnification as conditions will permit. Users of larger aperture instruments (> 16") should look for the curving ends to the disk that are so obvious in photographs and which lend this galaxy its name. I observed Uppsala 3697 with my 18-inch Dob in January 2000. Here are my notes from that session: This tiny, 13th-magnitude, edge-on spiral galaxy is a wonderful discovery. It lies between two 6-7th magnitude stars, which makes it an easy find. At 100x all I could make out was the hint of something nebulous at this position. The best view was at 165x, where it appears as a long, very thin streak. It gave the impression of a dark lane running along its length, but I think that was probably an illusion. I could hold the galaxy visible with averted vision. 425x proved to be too much magnification, at least on this night. The light was spread out such that the galaxy would only appear intermittently with averted vision.
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