M51 and seven other Spring Galaxies

It was a beautiful night: April 16th, 2009. As the sun set, I searched and found the planet Mercury (see earlier blog). As darkness fell, it was one of the clearest nights in recent memory. It was also one of the warmest since acquiring my new 10" Dobsonian - mid to lower 50s with calm wind. I found the following deep space objects between the 9:00 and 10:00pm CST hours.

I found M95 and M96, a pair of Galaxies in Leo. With a 10mm eye piece, both objects can be found in the same view. Both are considered Spiral Galaxies though they both were too dim and distant to effectively make out spiral structure. M96 is brighter and easier to find. Both objects range around 10-11 magnitude.

Next found was M104, the Sombrero Galaxy. I could definitely make out the central bulge on this edge on galaxy using a 5mm eye piece. I look forward to seeing this object in darker skies as more detail could be revealed. At 9.5 magnitude, this Spiral Galaxy in Leo was easily found.

Another worthy pair in Leo is the Leo Triplet which includes M65 and M66. I could not find the third object: NGC3628. Both M65 and M66 are spiral galaxies with a 10 magnitude. Both Messier objects could also be found together within a 10mm eye piece.

I found the Spindle Galaxy, M102 in Draco - a fat dusty oval. A 10 magnitude object considered a spindle galaxy. M102 appeared to be edge on using a 10mm eye piece.

Also cataloged was M51 (whirlpool galaxy), an impressive spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici. At magnitude 8, this object is easily spotted as well as its neighbor NGC 5195 - technically both objects are connected with a bridge of nebulosity - though I could not make out any such bridge at my location. This is another object worth seeing again in darker skies.

The final object was M63, the Sunflower Galaxy. A barred spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici. At magnitude 8.5 this object was very distinct through a 10mm eye piece.

Mercury

Mercury is a tough planet to spot. Not because of size or distance, but its orbit in relation to the Sun and Earth. Mercury is a challenge due to its small angular separation from the Sun. Being that Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, it is never far from the Sun's blinding glare. This means that only a few windows throughout the year allow for decent viewing - normally less than a hour after sunset or just before sunrise - and that window only happens for a few weeks.

Mercury moves around the sun faster than any other planet. Mercury travels about 48 km (30 miles) per second and it takes 88 Earth days to orbit the sun. The Planet Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system. It is named after a roman god. Mercury is dry, extremely hot and almost airless. The planet Mercury is too small for its gravity to retain any significant atmosphere over long periods of time. The weak atmosphere contains hydrogen, helium, oxygen, sodium, calcium and potassium. The surface of Mercury consists of cratered terrain and smooth plains and many deep craters similar to those on the moon - non of this was evident in my observations though.

On a clear evening on April 16th at dusk, I found Mercury while probing the western horizon just after the sunset. Due to the bumpy atmospheric conditions near the horizon, Mercury was jumping in and out of focus and was impossible to photograph with any reasonable results. The view was still impressive. A 3/4 crescent (much like Venus) with discernible orange and yellow coloring. Mercury was viewed using a 10mm and 5mm lense. Due to after glow from the sun and its relation to the horizon, even with a magnitude of .90, Mercury is tough to spot with the naked eye. I had to create search patterns with my view finder scope until the planet was discovered. Again, a worthy and rare find.

Some info from http://www.aerospaceguide.net/