Autumn is a season for galaxies and the constellation Pegasus sets the table. There are several impressive galaxies in the winged horse, including NGC 7331, Stephan's Quintet and NGC 7479. Although this little galaxy pair is not impressively bright, it is worth seeking out, especially if you enjoy observing at the edge with moderate aperture. NGCs 7346 and 7347 resides about 28' northwest of 3.4 magnitude Homam, Zeta (42) Pegasi. NGC 7347 is the brighter of the two, with a photographic magnitude of 14.6. It appears elongated northwest-to-souteast over a 120"x30" area in my drawing, which represents the view at 129X in my 10-inch Newtonian. NGC 7346 lies 5'.5 to the northwest. A 13.3 magnitude GSC star is embedded along the northern edge of this 60"x30" smudge. NGC 7346 has a photographic magnitude of 15.6. Thirty-two field stars were recorded during the observation. |