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.