Spring is prime time for galaxy observing. Look into the deep recesses of space to find galaxies strung one after another across the spring constellations.
Amateur astronomers love the onset of spring. Temperatures get warmer and the Milky Way shifts off to the side, exposing a deep view into the universe. Take a tour of the spring galaxies this season. The regions around Ursa Major, Leo, and Virgo are clustered with every galaxy type you could wish for.
Ursa Major Region
- Let's start with the two well-known galaxies just above the Big Bear's head. M81 (sometimes called Bode's Nebula) and M82 (the Cigar Galaxy) are magnitude 6.9 and 8.4 respectively. M81, the bigger and brighter of the two, will be the easiest to spot. The pair, which lie about 12 million light-years away, are not just visual partners but physical partners as well. They show evidence of a past interaction in their structures.
- M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy, and M63, the Sunflower Galaxy, lie under the Big Bear's tail (or the first star in the handle of the Big Dipper). Both are 8th magnitude spiral galaxies and part of a small group of galaxies 37 million light-years distant. M51's spiral arms can be seen under dark-sky conditions in some smaller scopes, and it has a small companion, NGC 5195 at magnitude 9.6, at the end of one of its spiral arms.
- M101, the Pinwheel Galaxy, lies above the tail of the Big Bear. About 24 million light-years away, the M101 shines at a fairly bright 7.7 magnitude.
Leo Region
- M65, M66, and NGC 3628 are known as the Leo Triplet. The galaxies are located about 35 million light-years away. They are all spirals but because NGC 3628 is edge-on it is dimmer at 11th magnitude, compared to the other spirals at 9th magnitude. The Leo Triplet can be found by the rear "knee" of Leo the Lion.
- The Leo I group contains M95, M96, and M101. Located below the belly of Leo the Lion, the group contains a number of smaller and fainter galaxies. The group is about 38 million light-years away and the brighter members are 9th magnitude. M95 is notable for its large central bar, giving it an appearance a bit like a steering wheel.
Virgo Region
- M64, the Blackeye Galaxy, is an 8th magnitude spiral with a dark dusty band that can even be seen in smaller scopes. The galaxy's distance is still a matter of debate. It lies between Virgo and Ursa Major, in Coma Berenices. It lies very close to the Virgo Cluster
- The Virgo Cluster is the nearest large cluster of galaxies to us. 16 Messier galaxies are a part of the Virgo Cluster, but when all the fainter galaxies are counted, the total comes to more than 2000! The Virgo Cluster is attracting and pulling in not only members of its own group, but it is sucking in our Local Group of galaxies as well (of which, the Milky Way is a member). Due to its large mass and gravity, it has high velocities and some of the galaxies show blueshifts, indicating they are speeding toward us, unlike almost every other object in the universe. The galaxies in the Virgo Cluster include M49, M58, M59, M60, M61, M84, M86, M87, M88, M89, M90, M91, M98, M99, and M100. You can find this group straddling the border of Coma Berenices and Virgo, directly behind the tail of Leo the Lion.
The copyright of the article Spring Galaxies in Stargazing is owned by Kelly Whitt. Permission to republish Spring Galaxies in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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