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Date of Observation ...... May 12, 2020 Instrument ............... 13.1" f/4.5 dobsonian Magnification ............ 76x Location ................. Fredericksburg, VA (light pollution map) Observer ................. Eric David Skies .................... clear, cold, somewhat humid, no Moon |
This galaxy was not too difficult to locate; after finding NGC 4339, I went back to the pair of stars to the southwest of 4339, then due north to a field star, then continued north to an uneven pair of stars that made a line oriented southwest to northeast. Continuing the line the same distance to the northeast even more, I was able to see NGC 4343 fairly easily. It appeared to be somewhat smaller than 4339, but just as bright, so overall it seemed to have a higher surface brightness. Don't confuse this one with NGC 4365, which is a Herschel 400 i galaxy, and which is much more prominent in the eyepiece than 4343, because you can sweep up NGC 4365 by going past 4343 in the same direction from the two field stars that point to 4343. |