Galaxies and More

Finally, after almost a month of high cloud, overcast skies and strong winds, I managed to get an evening of observing. A high RH of about 80% didn’t help but the absence of the Moon encouraged me to go galaxy hunting.

I warmed up observing Venus. It is now approaching half phase as it gets closer to the Earth. Next was Saturn. The view was stunning as always. The Cassini Division was visible as well as the darker cloud band and the shadow of the planet on the rings. I observed four moons. Rhea, Dione and Tethys lay to the West and Titan to the East of the planet.

I started my galaxy observations with M65 and M66. They were both visible but faint. Next I went lower down to one of my favourites, the M104 Sombrero. I am always surprised at how bright this distant galaxy appears even though it lies low in the sky. Then it was time for the Virgo Cluster. I started starhopping from Vindemiatrix (Epsilon Virginis). At first I was somewhat lost but after a while I got going and found M60 which I observed to be quite bright, brighter than nearby M59. Next was the even fainter M58, which is easy to find as it is next to a star. Starhopping northwards was M90, again very faint. I couldn’t see M89 but I certainly found that giant among galaxies, the huge elliptical M87 (Virgo A). At one point, a satellite crossed the FOV as I was observing.

I left the Virgo Cluster and had a look at M57 which had just cleared the rooftops. It was the first time I had a chance to observe it this year and so had my first view of it through the UHC filter. Although it was low, the filter made it stand out nicely.

I resumed galaxy hunting with the M51. I found this easily and could view the two nuclei, M51 and NGC 5195. I also caught a glimpse of the faint M108 near Merak (Beta Ursae Majoris). Close by was another chance to use the UHC filter on M97. Without the filter this nebula was invisible but became very evident with the filter.

Throughout I used the 25mm eyepiece (mag x48) for the galaxies, the 10m eyepiece (mag x120) for the planets and the 15mm eyepiece (mag x80) fitted with the UHC filter for the planetary nebulae. Light pollution excluded seeing anything but the cores of the galaxies but it is always inspiring to see objects many millions of light years away.