M 83

Photo by Pittendreigh

M83 was discovered in 1752 by Lacaille. An unusually large number of supernovae have been observed in M83 in recent years.

HOW TO FIND IT:

Between Beta Centuri and Gamma Hydra, there is a set of 4 stars -- designated h, k, g and l. Draw a line from g, through l and continue at least twice that distance. You will have to pass NGC 5253, another galaxy, which many beginners will not be able to see.

I have been told that M83 can be a challenge for those living in the northern latitudes.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

You should be able to see this through a pair of binoculars.

Through a telescope, look for a bright nucleus surrounded by a haze. See if you can detect any hint of the spiral arms. With an 8 inch reflector or better, you stand a good chance.

M 82

Photo by Pittendreigh

REMARKS: M81 was discovered by J.E.Bode in 1774, and it is sometimes referred to as Bode's Nebula. This is a spiral galaxy tilted at about 32 degrees from being edge-on.

M82 is the brightest and best known of the irregularly shaped galaxies. Because of photographic evidence and the fact that M82 is a strong radio source, many have believed that the galaxy was exploding. The galaxy is certainly in turmoil of some sort. What may have happened is a close passage with M81 some 200 million years ago. The gravitational tidal effects disturbed stellar orbits. Gas clouds were effected, colliding, and creating new stars. Some mass may have been thrown outward.

DIFFICULTY RATING: Level 3

HOW TO FIND IT:

Draw an imaginary line from Gamma Ursae Majoris to Alpha Ursae Majoris. Continue that imaginary line an equal distance beyond Alpha.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

First, be aware that M81 and M82 are close neighbors, but you will be able to distinguish which is which.

When looking at M81, look for an diffused oval shape. You should be able to see the bright nucleus of the galaxy. What you might not see are the spiral's arms. You might need a telescope the size of an 8 inch reflector to see these arms, but some can see hints with smaller telescopes. Look for a string of faint stars around the diffuse area, or a halo.

M82 will be a cigar shaped object in the sky, not far from M81. It will not be as bright as M82. It will have an irregularity of brightness, but without the granular texture of M81.

M 81

Photo by Pittendreigh

REMARKS: M81 was discovered by J.E.Bode in 1774, and it is sometimes referred to as Bode's Nebula. This is a spiral galaxy tilted at about 32 degrees from being edge-on.

M82 is the brightest and best known of the irregularly shaped galaxies. Because of photographic evidence and the fact that M82 is a strong radio source, many have believed that the galaxy was exploding. The galaxy is certainly in turmoil of some sort. What may have happened is a close passage with M81 some 200 million years ago. The gravitational tidal effects disturbed stellar orbits. Gas clouds were effected, colliding, and creating new stars. Some mass may have been thrown outward.

HOW TO FIND IT:

Draw an imaginary line from Gamma Ursae Majoris to Alpha Ursae Majoris. Continue that imaginary line an equal distance beyond Alpha.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

First, be aware that M81 and M82 are close neighbors, but you will be able to distinguish which is which.

When looking at M81, look for an diffused oval shape. You should be able to see the bright nucleus of the galaxy. What you might not see are the spiral's arms. You might need a telescope the size of an 8 inch reflector to see these arms, but some can see hints with smaller telescopes. Look for a string of faint stars around the diffuse area, or a halo.

M82 will be a cigar shaped object in the sky, not far from M81. It will not be as bright as M82. It will have an irregularity of brightness, but without the granular texture of M81.

M 80

Messier and Mechain both made nearly simultaneous discoveries of M80 in January, 1781. M80 is one of the few globular clusters to have had a nova, seen in May, 1860.

HOW TO FIND IT:

Sweep from Sigma toward Beta. M80 is a bright globular cluster about half way between these two stars.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

M80 appears round, with a bright center.

M 79

Photo by Pittendreigh

HOW TO FIND IT:

First challenge -- find the constellation Lepus. It is not one of the most popular constellations and beginners won't be the only ones who might have trouble remembering where it is and what it looks like.

Here's a hint -- forget Lepus and find Orion. It's a lot easier. Look under Orion's feet. Just as Orion's belt is made up of a row of three stars, Lepus is made up of TWO rows of three stars. Unlike Orion's belt, these are not straight, but have a slight curve. These two parallel rows are about the same distance from the feet of Orion as the Orion's feet is from his belt.

Having found those two rows, you have found Lepus. As illustrated in the charts for M79, you want to locate a triangle of stars just below the bottom curving row of stars in Lepus. This triangle seems to point toward Lepus.

Zoom in on the head of that triangle's point. That will be star 41 Leporis. M79 will not be visible in your viewfinder. Look at 41 Lepus in your telescope on low power and slowly scan from there. The cluster may well be in the same field of view as 41 Lepus, but you may have to scan beyond it to find M79.

Another way to find it is to find the center stars in each of the two rows of Lepus mentioned above. These will be Alpha and Beta Leporis. Draw an imaginary line from Alpha and Beta to extend in the direction opposite of Orion. Continue this imaginary line for the same distance that is apparent between Alpha and Beta and you should find M79.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

M79 will appear as a small nebula with a central star. It offers an interesting appearance on an evening with poor viewing. Because of the atmospheric disturbance of the low horizon, it will appear to fluctuate, flutter and change shape.

M 78

Photo by Pittendreigh

HOW TO FIND IT:

This will not be as easy as the Orion Nebula, but it should not take long to locate. M78 and the belt of Orion form somewhat of a right angle. You will not see any hint of the nebula in the viewfinder of your telescope, so once you find the approximate area, slowly scan the area on low power.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

M78 will be a dim nebula. It will have the shape of a faint comet, with two 10th magnitude stars within the "comet's" head.

M 77

Photo by Pittendreigh

HOW TO FIND IT:

To find the constellation Cetus, locate Taurus. The "V" shaped arrow of Taurus known as the Hyades points to Alpha, Delta and Gamma in Cetus. M77 will be near Delta, just outside the triangle's area.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

M77 is a spiral galaxy that we view face-on, but it will still have a slight oval shape.

M 76 - the Little Dumbbell

Photo by Pittendreigh

HOW TO FIND IT:

Be warned: this is one of the fainter objects in Messier's list. It is one of the most difficult to locate.

You will not see it with the viewfinder, sweep the area with your telescope's low power.

M76 is just one degree north and slightly west of Phi Persei. Once you find Phi, you'll want to scan just a little away from the star in the direction toward Cassiopeia.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

Look for a bar that is slightly brighter at the ends. William Herschel thought this was a double nebula, and so it has two numbers in the New General Catalogue. Some say this looks like a smaller version of Dumbbell Nebula, M27, and so is sometimes called the Little Dumbbell.

M 75

HOW TO FIND IT:

With this globular cluster, we move away from any good guide stars to work with. My best suggestion is to draw a line from Epsilon Sagittarii, through Zeta Sagittarii, and to continue for almost twice that distance. Epsilon and Zeta make up the bottom of the teapot.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

Look for a perfectly round haze.

M 74

Photo by Pittendreigh

HOW TO FIND IT:

Draw a line from Alpha through Beta Arietis, leading you to Eta Piscium. Then locate Rho Piscium and star 105. These three will form a triangle. M74 will be in the middle of the smallest leg of that triangle, between Eta and 105. In a low power telescope, such as a 4 1/4 inch reflector, you will be able to see the galaxy and Eta in the same field of view.

You will not see this one with your viewfinder or your binoculars.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

This is one of the most difficult and least observed of the Messier objects. Webb didn't mention it in his survey. Norton simply said it was "faint and elusive."

Look for a faint star. Carefully examine each star in the general area. M74 will appear as a star-like object surrounded by a haze of nebula. What you are looking at is a spiral galaxy's bright nucleus surrounded by its spiral arms.

M 73

Photo by Pittendreigh

HOW TO FIND IT:

This is a hard one to find because there really isn't anything to find. The best guide star is the globular cluster M73. M72 is 1 1/2 degree east, and slightly south.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

You will only have to find this one once. One look and you will have seen all there is to observe. M73 is not a deep sky object. It is an asterism, or pattern created by the alignment of the stars and earth. This apparent cluster of 3 or 4 stars contained what Messier referred to as "very little nebulosity." There is no nebulosity.

Unless you are trying to check off all Messier objects, M73 is not worth the trouble.

M 72

Photo by Pittendreigh

HOW TO FIND IT:

Scan between Theta in Capricornus and Epsilon in Aquarius.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

It can appear grainy, but is extremely difficult to resolve into individual stars. This is one of the smaller of the Messier globular clusters.

M 71

Photo by Pittendreigh

HOW TO FIND IT:

M71 is half way between Delta and Gamma in Sagitta. The big challenge is finding the constellation Sagitta. First, memorize the small pattern of stars in Sagitta. It is supposed to be an arrow, and (with some of that averted imagination) it does look vaguely like an arrow. Once outside, start with Altair in the constellation Aquila. With your eyes, survey the area between Aquila and Cynus. You should be able to locate Sagitta.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

Look for a hazy circle, with one side brighter than the other.

M 70

Photo by Pittendreigh

At an estimated distance of 70,000 light years, M54 is the most distant globular in the Messier list. The other two, M69 and M70, are about half that distance from us and are relatively close to each other.

HOW TO FIND IT:

These three globular clusters are all found by scanning the area between Zeta and Epsilon Sagittarii, which are the two stars that make up the bottom of the "teapot." Draw a line from Zeta to Epsilon, and you will first come to M54, followed by M70. M69 will be somewhat north of the line, in the teapot area.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

M54 will be one of the most densely packed globular clusters in Messier's list. M69 was described by Messier as a "nebula without a star." All three appear rather small. M70 may appear with a slightly irregular outline.