Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 66

ESO / WFI (OPTICAL); MPIFR / ESO / APEX/ A. WEISS ET AL. (SUBMILLIMETER); NASA / CXC / CFA / R. KRAFT ET AL. (X-RAY)

Gargantuan Galaxies

TRICOLEUR This color composite image reveals the jet and lobes of NGC 5128 (Centaurus A). Submillimeter (microwave)
data is shown in orange, X-ray in blue. Visible light data is mapped to the stars and the galaxy's prominent dust lane.

The Greek hero Hercules also carries one of these
hungry "monsters." Lying about 4°° northwest of M13
near the core of Abell 2199, the supermassive cD NGC
6166 has a long history of consuming its smaller brethren. It's been suﬀering a bit of "indigestion," with the
remnants of several "victims" still evident as smaller
nuclei nested deep within the main galaxy. My best view
of NGC 6166 was with a 20-inch scope at 254×, which

NASA / JPL-CALTECH / WISE TEAM

T view a table of giant elliptical and cD galaxies,
To
vvisit http://is.gd/monstergalaxies.

66

SIGHT UNSEEN Mostly hidden from our view by
galactic dust and stars, Maﬀei 1 glows blue in this infrared
mosaic of the southeast region of Cassiopeia.

Januar y 2016 sky & telescope

revealed the multiple cores of this galaxy as bright knots
embedded in the oval halo.
So far, nearly all the ellipticals in this survey have
been high surface brightness objects that can be seen
under suburban skies. But the nearest example of this
class, Maffei 1, is heavily obscured by intervening stars
and the dust of our own galaxy, so although it's rivaled
only by Centaurus A in size, it's diﬃcult to see. Look for
Maﬀei 1 about 6.5° southeast of Epsilon (ε) Cassiopeiae
and 2° south of IC 1805 (the Heart Nebula). Although
it was originally classiﬁed as an emission nebula, Paolo
Maﬀei identiﬁed it as a galaxy in 1968. Today, astronomers consider it a "boxy" E3 giant; it would be one of the
brightest galaxies in the sky if it didn't suﬀer from about
5 magnitudes of extinction from gas and dust. It shines
at magnitude 11.1, but its low surface brightness makes
it a challenge to observe. However, if you have access to a
large scope and dark skies, go for it. With a 20-inch scope
at 254×, I can discern a diﬀuse, misty patch 3′ × 2′ across
oﬀ the eastern side of the weak open cluster Czernik 11.
With their (mostly) high surface brightness, quite
a few giant ellipticals and cD galaxies are well within
the range of the typical backyard observer. To start your
journey, check the core regions of large galaxy groups
for potential targets. With a little research and planning,
you'll be ready to conquer even the most monstrous of
these giant galaxies. ✦
Richard Jakiel is an experienced observer and astrophotographer living in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia.

http://www.is.gd/monstergalaxies

Sky and Telescope - January 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky and Telescope - January 2016

Contents
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - Cover1
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - Cover2
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 1
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - Contents
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 3
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 4
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 5
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - A
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - B
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 6
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 7
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 8
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 9
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 10
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 11
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 12
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 13
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 14
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 15
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 16
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 17
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 18
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 19
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Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 21
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Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 24
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Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 26
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 27
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 28
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 29
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 30
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 31
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Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 40
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 41
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 42
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 43
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Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 45
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 46
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 47
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 48
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 49
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 50
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 51
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Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 53
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Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 56
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 57
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 58
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Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 60
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 61
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 62
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 63
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Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 65
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 66
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Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 78
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 79
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 80
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 81
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 82
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 83
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - 84
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - Cover3
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - Cover4
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - S0
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - S1
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - S2
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - S3
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - S4
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - S5
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - S6
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - S7
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - S8
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - S9
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - S10
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - S11
Sky and Telescope - January 2016 - S12
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