Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 25

YANNICK JUILLET
IC 1101
light-travel
time:
1.04 billion
years
So that's the Distant Dozen - the 12 most distant galaxies
found by visual observers in the NGC/IC catalogs. For a
deeper dive, you can download a copy of my " Far-Out Galaxy
List, " which includes all 94 galaxies with a light-travel time of
1 billion years or more at https://is.gd/DSF_ObservingLists.
It's been a long road since my conversation with Steve
on that foggy night several years ago in my living room. I've
spent many hours observing these Distant Dozen galaxies
and researching their historical and technical data. It's been
quite an adventure. When I'm out under a dark sky viewing
a faraway galaxy, I often try to wrap my mind around the
mind-boggling distances of the universe. I'm reminded of
what Dorothy told her little dog in The Wizard of Oz: " Toto,
I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore! "
¢ JIMI LOWREY has been chasing faint, distant galaxies since
the early 1970s. The more obscure and unusual the object, the
better! He looks forward to your comments and questions at
jimilowrey@gmail.com.
NOTES OF APPRECIATION
SUPERGIANT ELLIPTICAL IC 1101, at a light-travel time of 1.04 billion
years in Virgo, is one of the largest galaxies known, spanning nearly
400,000 light-years. If you've just visited IC 1103, drop down a bit less
than 13½° along the western border of Serpens and slide over into Virgo.
IC 1101 lies less than 1° east-northeast of 6.2-magnitude HD 134047.
It is humbling for me as an amateur to get professional telescope
time at McDonald Observatory and to make a scientific
contribution with the corrected redshift for NGC 1262. I want
to thank Ann Isaacs who shared her most-valuable telescope
time and collected the data. I would also be lost without the
help and guidance of my friend and professional astronomer
Stephen Odewahn, who reduced the data and measured the
new redshift for NGC 1262.
Distant Dozen (Plus an Imposter)
Object
NGC 1262
NGC 5609
IC 2221
IC 685
NGC 3908
IC 30
IC 1614
IC 1757
IC 1103
IC 1101
IC 886
NGC 3950
NGC 5285
Constellation
Eridanus
Boötes
Lynx
Leo
Leo
Cetus
Pisces
Cetus
Serpens
Virgo
Virgo
Ursa Major
Virgo
Type
Barred spiral
Spiral
Elliptical
Elliptical
Elliptical
Lenticular
Elliptical
Peculiar
Elliptical
Elliptical
Elliptical
Elliptical
Elliptical
Mag(v)
14.2
15.6
15.2
15.2
15.0
15.1
15.2
15.7
14.4
13.7
15.3
15.7
14.2
Size
0.9′ × 0.7′
0.4′ × 0.3′
0.2′
0.4′ × 0.3′
0.4′
0.7′ × 0.4′
0.3′
0.6′ × 0.2′
0.5′ × 0.3′
1.2′ × 0.6′
0.3′
0.3′
0.8′
Distance
(G l-y)
0.686
1.32
1.18
1.14
1.11
1.09
1.08
1.07
1.06
1.04
1.02
0.995
0.960
RA
Dec.
03h 15.6m
14h 23.8m
08h 05.1m
11h 22.1m
11h 49.9m
00h 34.2m
01h 05.1m
01h 57.2m
15h 11.6m
15h 10.9m
13h 24.0m
11h 53.7m
13h 44.4m
-15° 53′
+34° 51′
+37° 27′
+17° 45′
+12° 11′
-02° 05′
+33° 11′
-00° 28′
+19° 12′
+05° 45′
-04° 24′
+47° 53′
+02° 07′
Angular sizes are from recent catalogs. Light-travel times calculated using H0=69.6. Visually, an object's size is often smaller than the cataloged value and varies
according to the aperture and magnification of the viewing instrument. Right ascension and declination are for equinox 2000.0.
sk yand tele scope .o r g * DECEMBER 2023 25
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Sky & Telescope - December 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - December 2023
