This
section focuses on to the constellation
Canes
Venatici, the Hunting Dogs. The dogs, named Asterion and Chara can be seen in the sky with their master, Icarius
(Bootes) in the spring.
As you can see from the accompanying chart, Canes Venatici is just below the handle of the Big Dipper. So...when looking for it, remember that it is very high in the sky... probably overhead and slightly to the east just after dark.
Ok, let's start things off with one of the most impressive
Globular Clusters in the sky, M3(mag6.3). With a diameter of over 16', this globular is about 1/2 the width of the full moon. It's also packed with hundreds of thousands of stars. Needless to say... this is one of my favorite deep sky targets. I've been on it several times already this spring... and am planning to view it right on through the summer.M3 is located so far south in Canes Venatici that its almost easier to use the stars of Coma Berenices as guides. Regardless, its not that difficult a find. Using the stars of Coma Berenices, follow the line from gamma thru beta Coma Berenices for about 3/4 of that distance then move up about 1°. Using the stars of Canes Venatici, follow the line from beta straight through alpha Canes Venatici for about 2.5x that distance and you should be there. Yet another way is to look just slightly south of the halfway point between Cor Caroli and Arcturus. M3 is then slightly west of this line.
Checkout this awesome shot of M3 as imaged on 2005/03/01 by Utah Skies own Don Brown under Park City skies.
Next we'll hit another of the finest deep sky objects...
Irregular Galaxy M51(mag8.4). Also known as the Whirlpool Galaxy, this is one of the most beautiful galaxies to be viewed in an amateur astronomer telescope. To find M51, make a right triangle from the handle of the dipper. Star at Mizar and go to Alkaid... then hang a left for about 2/3 of the distance between the two stars. You can't miss it :)
Actually, M51 is a fairly bright object. It shows well in most telescopes from about 85mm and up. Obviously if you want to see the extra details, you're gonna need significantly more aperture.
The accompanying image was taken by Anthony Arrigo of Utah Skies this past weekend under beautifully clear skies from my home in Park City. This is the result of a 12 minute unguided exposure through a 10" f/4.5 reflector using ASA800 film.
Here
is Don's effort, also taken under (Park City) Utah Skies...
Ok...
you didn't think I was going to jip you image-wise, did you?
The accompanying image is another awesome effort by Robert
Gendler. In case you've forgotten, Robert is a past Utah
Skies Astrophotographer of the Month.
Continuing along we come to another fine
Spiral Galaxy, M63(mag8.6). Also known as the Sunflower Galaxy... for obvious reasons :) this galaxy is pretty easy to find, and looks great in small to medium sized telescopes. In larger apertures, it'll simply blow you away.Of course the fact that this is a
Robert Gendler shot only adds to the beauty.
Moving along, we come to another beautiful
Spiral Galaxy, M94(mag8.2).Here is another incredible image from Robert Gendler. I feel like a broken record sometime :) But... This guy is one of the best out there. If you haven't checked out his site, I'd highly recommend that you do. You'll be amazed at what can be accomplished from the comfort of your home. That's right... Robert does his imaging from his driveway!
Next up is yet another beautiful
Spiral Galaxy, M106(mag8.3) Given all the show stoppers in the area, this galaxy is often overlooked. I know I'm guilty of that. Still, M106 is an interesting object in the eyepiece.This is a beautiful shot of M106 by former Utah Skies Astrophotographer of the Month, Robert Gendler.
Next up is
Irregular Galaxy NGC4449(mag9.45) This is an odd shaped galaxy. It almost looks boxy next to all the spirals and ellipticals we usually se. Checkout all the clumping in this image. These
are likely regions of intense star formation.This beautiful image was captured by Al Kelly. Look at how many of those regions Al's captured. Al is also a past Utah Skies Astrophotographer of the Month. Checkout his work... it's really quite impressive.
Continuing on, we come to another nice
Spiral Galaxy NGC4244(mag10.2) This is one slender galaxy. It's as long as your typical edge-on galaxy, but.. probably less than 1/2 the usual width. Not much of a dust lane visible in this galaxy.
Continuing on, we come to
Spiral Galaxy NGC5005(mag9.9) Looking very much like an elliptical galaxy in the eyepiece, this galaxy should be an easy find for you... given it's proximity to the Alpha star, Cor Caroli.
Let's wrap things up with this weeks
Utah Skies Challenge Object, Spiral Galaxy NGC4631(mag9.4) This galaxy is tough to find... if you start from Canes Venatici. If, however, you star from Coma Berenices, it should be fairly easy. After viewing the previous edge-on, this galaxy ought to look plump. With a comparable length, it has almost 50% more width.The accompanying image was taken by Anthony Arrigo of Utah Skies from his home in Park City late Saturday night, 3/29/2003. Again, this was a 12 minute unguided exposure through a 10" f/4.5 reflector using Fuji ASA800 film.
Ok... you know the deal...the accompanying awesome image of NGC4631 was taken by Robert Gendler.