2011-07-30

M 96


Photo by Pittendreigh

HOW TO FIND IT:

Sweep between Alpha and Theta. You should be able to locate star 52. Moving away from the brighter stars of Leo, you will find star 53. These galaxies can be found sweeping the area between 53 and 52. M95 and M96 are 9 degrees east of Alpha, or Regulus. M95 and M96 can be viewed together at a low power.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

M95 and M96 can be viewed in the same field, if the power is low enough, but many will want to view each separately.

M95 will appear very circular. M96 will appear somewhat more oval. Look for a dark lane in M96. I've seen the dark lane in an 8 inch telescope, but not in smaller instruments.

M96 will be the brighter of the two galaxies.

M105 is nearly a degree northeast of M96 and is in another visual cluster of galaxies.

M105 has one of the smallest apparent diameters of the Messier objects. It will look like a circular nebula with a bright center. Actually, it may look similar to a globular cluster.

When observing M105, look for two other galaxies in the field of view. These will be NGC 3384, which will appear as a slightly elongated nebula, and NGC 3389 which is very difficult to see with a shape that is difficult to discern.




2011-07-29

M 95


Photo by Pittendreigh

HOW TO FIND IT:

Sweep between Alpha and Theta. You should be able to locate star 52. Moving away from the brighter stars of Leo, you will find star 53. These galaxies can be found sweeping the area between 53 and 52. M95 and M96 are 9 degrees east of Alpha, or Regulus. M95 and M96 can be viewed together at a low power.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

M95 and M96 can be viewed in the same field, if the power is low enough, but many will want to view each separately.

M95 will appear very circular. M96 will appear somewhat more oval. Look for a dark lane in M96. I've seen the dark lane in an 8 inch telescope, but not in smaller instruments.

M96 will be the brighter of the two galaxies.

M105 is nearly a degree northeast of M96 and is in another visual cluster of galaxies.

M105 has one of the smallest apparent diameters of the Messier objects. It will look like a circular nebula with a bright center. Actually, it may look similar to a globular cluster.

When observing M105, look for two other galaxies in the field of view. These will be NGC 3384, which will appear as a slightly elongated nebula, and NGC 3389 which is very difficult to see with a shape that is difficult to discern.




2011-07-28

M 94



Photo by Pittendreigh

HOW TO FIND IT:

All your guide stars will be in Canes Venatici.

Find Alpha and Beta first.

Then find 20, which will form a triangle of stars with Alpha and Beta. Actually, 20 will be a set of four stars, which are designated as 18, 19, 20 and 23. They form a distinctive pattern which will help you correctly identify 20.

Now draw an imaginary line from 20 to Beta.

M94 is along that line, and is closer toward Beta.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

Look for a slightly oval shaped nebula with a bright center. Some observers see a comet like appearance. You may be able to see a bright nucleus, surrounded by a halo or ring.



2011-07-27

M 93



HOW TO FIND IT:

Find Canis Major. Chi Puppis is not far from the triangle formed by Epsilon, Eta, and Delta Canis Majoris. You will need to locate Chi Puppis in the sky and zoom in on that star. In a telescope's viewfinder that is focused on Chi, you will probably be able to see M93 as a small nebulous object.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

You will see a nice compact cluster at low power. Some have seen shapes, such as a star, starfish, or butterfly.



2011-07-26

M 92



Photo by Pittendreigh

HOW TO FIND IT:

You will be looking between Beta Draconis and Pi Herculis.

1. Find the keystone of Hercules.

2. Zoom in on Pi at the corner of Hercules.

3. Notice the triangle, formed by Pi, Rho and 69.

4. Rho and 69 form the base of an asterism that looks likes a child's line drawing of a house.

5. Off to the side of that house, in the direction opposite the direction the triangle Rho, 69 and Pi point towards, there is a pair of stars.

6. These two stars point in a GENERAL direction of M93.

7. The pair will remain in most view finders when M93 is located.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

I believe M92 is brighter than its neighbor, M13, but its about half the size. It is fairly noticeable in the telescope as you sweep by. It's fairly small in binoculars.




2011-07-25

M 91



Photo by Pittendreigh

M91 was a "missing" Messier object for many years. At one time, it was believed that M91 was a duplicate of the observation of M58. Others suggested M91 was an unrecognized comet of 1781. Most lists now identify M91 with NGC 4548.

HOW TO FIND IT:

M88 is not that hard to spot, but there are no guide stars in the area. I still begin with 6 Coma as my starting point. I slowly scan the area shown on the chart.

Once you have found M88, slowly and carefully scan for M91.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

M91 has an irregularly shaped oval.



2011-07-08

M 88



Photo by Pittendreigh

HOW TO FIND IT:

M88 is not that hard to spot, but there are no guide stars in the area. I still begin with 6 Coma as my starting point. I slowly scan the area shown on the chart.

Once you have found M88, slowly and carefully scan for M91.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

With M88, you will see a miniature Andromeda Galaxy. The nucleus is bright, and there is a varying amount of brightness around the edges hinting at its arm structures.


2011-07-02

M 85


Photo by Pittendreigh

Return to the arrow point with 6 Coma in it. Draw an imaginary line from the head star to the base star opposite 6 Coma, as shown on the chart.

M85 is one of the Realm's brightest galaxies.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

A faint halo around a star-like object. You may be able to see this one with binoculars.