NGC 4845 -- Spiral Galaxy in Virgo
A Most Difficult Herschel 400 Galaxy
I consider this one of the most difficult of the Herschel 400 objects for small to medium-sized
telescopes. Yes, it is a dim and small galaxy, but I believe that its real difficulty rests with it
being so thin. In the above drawing I was not able, at first, to see NGC 4845 at the power
(84x) used to make the drawing. It was only after I had developed a feeling of what I was
looking for, by using a much higher power (232x), and then returning to the lower power was I
able to see its tiny sliver-like glow. I found it far harder to see/observe than its 11.2 magnitude
implies. I am surprised it made the Herschel 400 list!! On the upside is that if you can locate
this galaxy in your telescope, you will likely not have too much difficulty with the other 399
objects on the Herschel list.
What NGC 4845 looks like with my 155mm refractor from my suburban backyard is very
misleading. If you have the time, look up how this galaxy appears in the Hubble Space
Telescope – it will shock you. This galaxy contains numerous dust lanes and an active core
fueled by a 300,000 solar mass black hole. A magnificent Island Universe indeed!!
telescopes. Yes, it is a dim and small galaxy, but I believe that its real difficulty rests with it
being so thin. In the above drawing I was not able, at first, to see NGC 4845 at the power
(84x) used to make the drawing. It was only after I had developed a feeling of what I was
looking for, by using a much higher power (232x), and then returning to the lower power was I
able to see its tiny sliver-like glow. I found it far harder to see/observe than its 11.2 magnitude
implies. I am surprised it made the Herschel 400 list!! On the upside is that if you can locate
this galaxy in your telescope, you will likely not have too much difficulty with the other 399
objects on the Herschel list.
What NGC 4845 looks like with my 155mm refractor from my suburban backyard is very
misleading. If you have the time, look up how this galaxy appears in the Hubble Space
Telescope – it will shock you. This galaxy contains numerous dust lanes and an active core
fueled by a 300,000 solar mass black hole. A magnificent Island Universe indeed!!