First I need to mention a Lunar Eclipse that will happen on Thursday and Friday March13/14. For Pacific times click on the image below.
Leo is high in the southern sky during the spring. We will visit some of the constellation’s brighter galaxies. Leo contains many bright galaxies; M65, M66, NGC3628, M95, M96 and M105,. The most notable of these is the Leo triplet made up of the spiral galaxies M66, M65, and NGC3628. The three galaxies don't just appear close together in the night sky, they are actually gravitational bound dwelling around 35 million light-years from Earth. Another worthwhile triplet of galaxies is M95, M96 and M105. One of the easiest groups to find, the NGC3227 with NGC3228 is located ¾° east of Algieba. In a dark sky, even a 8-inch scope will show two galaxies in contact with each other. Located in the tail of Leo the NGC3607 group has two galaxies, one centered on NGC3607 and the second on NGC 3684, some 2.7° to the southeast. NGC3607 is a spiral galaxy and the group's brightest and member at magnitude 9.9, and forms a tight trio with NGC3608 (magnitude 10.8).
Ursa Major contains many galaxies but we will limit to the brighter ones including M109, M108, M101 and M81 and M82. M81 or Bode's Galaxy is among the brightest galaxies in the night sky. Shining at almost 7th magnitude, it lies around 12 million light years away. The Cigar Galaxy, M82 is near near M81; the two galaxies are visible in the same telescope, depending on your field of view. They are a wonderful sight in my 12½ʺ Dob. Another fine sight in my 12½ʺ is M101 known as the Pinwheel Galaxy. This face-on galaxy needs a dark sky do to its low surface brightness even though it shines at magnitude 8. At times I pick up a hint of spiral arms. M108 is a barred spiral galaxy around 10th magnitude that is seen nearly edge-on. Look for the nearby planetary M97, the Owl Nebula. Another barred spiral in M109 that can be seen south-east of the star Phecda. M109 is a little more face-on compared to M108. Both galaxies are worth a look.
Drag out your big Dob to a dark site and enjoy the season of the galaxies!
Clear and Dark Skies, Dave Holland
