NGC 3486 -- Barred Spiral Galaxy in Leo Minor
Leo Minor Galaxies & Clouds
The weather forecasts that I rely on for astronomy all promised clear skies for the night of May 12,
2020. It was not the first time that they were wrong, but at least the clouds were intermittent and
were more a nuisance than a showstopper. Many times, I just left the telescope for several
minutes and waited for the clouds to clear.
Fortunately, the sky in the direction of Leo Minor remained mostly clear of the pesky clouds even
when they were at their worse, so it took a little longer to observe/draw, but I eventually got a few
of the targeted deep-sky objects I had planned on for the night.
The Spiral Galaxy NGC 3486 was my first target. Through the 155mm refractor its large circular
glow appeared somewhat mottled with a slightly brighter core. The drawing shows the view at
84x with details of the galaxy at 137x.
2020. It was not the first time that they were wrong, but at least the clouds were intermittent and
were more a nuisance than a showstopper. Many times, I just left the telescope for several
minutes and waited for the clouds to clear.
Fortunately, the sky in the direction of Leo Minor remained mostly clear of the pesky clouds even
when they were at their worse, so it took a little longer to observe/draw, but I eventually got a few
of the targeted deep-sky objects I had planned on for the night.
The Spiral Galaxy NGC 3486 was my first target. Through the 155mm refractor its large circular
glow appeared somewhat mottled with a slightly brighter core. The drawing shows the view at
84x with details of the galaxy at 137x.