Springtime observing for small telescopes

Astronomy magazine Senior Editor Michael E. Bakich highlights the objects you can see this
spring using a small telescope. Highlights include the star Mizar, spiral galay M!"!, open cluster
M#$, and the Sombrero %alay &M!"'(.
By Michael E. Bakich
Mizar
Let's start with an easy target. Look high in the northeast. At the bend of the Big Dipper's handle,
you'll find the star Mizar. Nearby, and visible to ost observers without opti!al aid, is Al!or. But
point a sall teles!ope at Mizar, and you'll split that star into two !oponents. "he brighter of
the two outshines its partner by nearly # ties.
If you are viewing from mid-northern latitudes, the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear, rides high overhead on spring
evenings. Located far from oscuring dust clouds, Ursa Major is a picture window into the universe!s depths. "hile hundreds
of gala#ies lie within its orders, only a few are in the range of most inoculars. M$% &right' and M$( &left' are two of these
challenging e#ceptions.
Photo by Christian Viladrich
M81 and M82
Above and to the northwest of the Big Dipper's bowl, you'll find our first two gala!ti! targets$
M%& and M%'. "hrough your lowest(power eyepie!e, you ay be able to spot both of these
gala)ies at on!e.
M%& is a spiral gala)y, but its ars lie !lose to its !ore. A *(in!h teles!ope won't allow you to
see the well.
M%' lies half a degree north of M%&. Astronoers !all this gala)y, whi!h sees to be e)ploding,
a starburst gala)y. +ere, you'll find u!h ore than a gala)y's noral aount of star foration.
Look !losely at these two ob,e!ts. M%& is brighter, but M%' is easier to see be!ause its surfa!e
brightness is greater than M%&'s. "hat eans its light isn't spread out over su!h a large area.
Owl Nebula (M97)
+ead ba!k ,ust below the Big Dipper's bowl to find the -wl Nebula, also known as M./. "his
large, round planetary nebula has two dark spots, giving the ob,e!t the appearan!e of an owl's
fa!e. 0ou'll need a dark site to pi!k out the low(!ontrast eyes. Be patient, and try all your
eyepie!es.
)hillips used a *-inch +a,ahashi -./ refractor at f01.2 and .BIG .+-%34M5 667 camera. +he image is the product of
L8GB processing - 9 luminance images at 1 minutes each, 2, 1-minute red, 2, 1-minute green, and 2, $-minute lue
e#posures.
Photo by Daniel Phillips
M101
-ur ne)t ob,e!t akes a ni!e triangle with the two stars at the end of the Dipper's handle. 1t's
spiral gala)y M&2&. "hrough a sall s!ope, you'll see this ob,e!t as large and round. 1n!rease the
agnifi!ation as u!h as sky !onditions allow, and look for faint dark streaks within the !ir!le.
"hose areas divide M&2&'s spiral ars.
The Whirlpool Galaxy (M1)
Ne)t on our list is one of the sky's true wonders 3 the 4hirlpool 5ala)y, also known as M#&.
"o find it, start at the end of the Big Dipper's handle and ove 6 degrees southwest. "ake your
tie observing the 4hirlpool 5ala)y. Note its bright !ore and the two ain spiral ars. At ost
agnifi!ations, you'll also see M#&'s !opanion gala)y, N57 #&.#.
+he .unflower Gala#y &M:2' displays a right core and tightly wound spiral arms, although the latter are hard to see in
ac,yard scopes.
Photo by John Chumack
The !un"lower Galaxy
Now ove a bit ore than #8 south of M#& to find the 9unflower 5ala)y, also !alled M:6.
"hrough a *(in!h s!ope, look for an oval halo that surrounds a bright !ore. Although M:6 is a
spiral gala)y, you won't see its tightly wound spiral ars until you triple the size of your
instruent.
M#7
+ead over to 7an!er the 7rab ne)t to observe open !luster M:/. "his !luster lies ,ust outside the
range of ost observers' vision but appears easily through bino!ulars. "hrough a *(in!h
teles!ope, M:/ appears !opa!t. 0ou'll resolve a dozen or so of its stars.
+his color image of ;G6 (932 was ta,en with a %:-inch Meade L4(33 and multiple 667 e#posures.
Photo by Ryan Branch / Robin Milner / Adam Block / ARA / !"A" / !#$
NG$ 290%
-ur ne)t ob,e!t, barred spiral gala)y N57 '.26, lies not ;uite *8 southwest of the 6rd(
agnitude star <psilon Leonis. 1t shines at a relatively bright agnitude %.., but you !an't see
ost of its details through sall teles!opes. Astronoers !lassify N57 '.26 as a =hotspot=
gala)y, a ter that des!ribes a ring of infrared(luinous knots near a gala)y's !ore. "hrough a *(
in!h s!ope, look for the brighter bar surrounded by an epheeral haze.
&l'eiba
Before you leave Leo, head to the double star Algeiba, also known as 5aa Leonis. 1nsert an
eyepie!e that gives a agnifi!ation of &22) or ore, and you'll separate this star into two
!oponents. -ne shines at agnitude '.6, while the other is slightly fainter, glowing at
agnitude 6.#. Algeiba akes a fine sight through sall teles!opes.
The !o(brero Galaxy (M10))
"he final ob,e!t on our list is the 9obrero 5ala)y, also known as M&2*. "his ob,e!t's lens
shape and the dark dust lane that splits it are easy to spot through any teles!ope. As you observe
M&2*, note that the gala)y's two se!tions have une;ual brightnesses. "he northern half outshines
the southern be!ause the gala)y in!lines :8 to our line of sight. "hrough a *(in!h teles!ope, you
ay dete!t the dust lane only near the 9obrero's !enter. "he !ore is large and bright. "ry to
pi!k out the large halo that surrounds it.