First Galaxy

[SwampStar]

After being blown away by the planets and my first Messier not long ago, I'm planning on spotting my first galaxy tonight.

Forecast looks good and if it's as clear as last night, I'll be gutted not to see any!

Any tips of where to start, or which are the 'easiest' to see?

Cheers...

[perrin6]

M81 & M82 in Ursa Major almost overhead and M65,66 in Leo, M64-the black eye galaxy in Coma Berenices and M63 the sunflower in Canes Venatici are all fairly bright

[Double Kick Drum]

Easiest to find; NGC 2903 (Leo), M94 (Com), M51 (Com) - the Whirlpool galaxy and M109 (UMa, not so easy to see).

Easiest to see; M81 and M82 (UMa), M65 and M66 (Leo), M64 (Com) and M104 (Vir) - the Sombrero galaxy (if you have a good Southern horizon).

Happy hunting!

[SwampStar]

Thanks...

Heading out soon!

[LukeSkywatcher]

I just spent about an hour observing the triplet in Leo.

[SwampStar]

Well, so far...

Next door (to the left) have got their conservatory lights on...

T'other side have got security light on...

Might spend half an hour with Pleiades and come back to it..

[m_j_lyons]

Good luck...lots of bright galaxies available this time of year.

Happy hunting.

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[SwampStar]

After all that, I didn't see ANY galaxies at all.

Well, I might have done, but I'm not really sure. I think the LP in my garden is more than I thought!

However, I did see Pleiades (plus the shooting star!) and a cracking little double star just to the left of Vega.

Will have to find somewhere a bit darker...

[Bat502]

Good luck...lots of bright galaxies available this time of year.

Happy hunting.

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Just got myself a Skywatcher Explorer 130P Telescope, please advise what bright galaxies I would see this time of year as I am new to astronomy.

[mdstuart]

That is the double double you saw in Lyra.

On the galaxy front do try M31 low down to the West early evening and then I would try M94 which is relatively easy to find and has a bright core..

M81/82 are brighter but are harder to locate..

Mark

[rory]

yep, got to agree with the others, most have been ultra faint in my small scope ,but m81/82 do stand out well. can be troublesome to find , but worth the effort.

happy hunting...

[Bat502]

Thanks, much appreciated.

[m_j_lyons]

Wow, the list is long this time of year...m65, m66, m95, m96, m105, ngc2903....just to throw out a few. Key thing is to be patient and not get frustrated...the longer you do it the more you'll see.

Happy hunting.

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[Bat502]

Wow, the list is long this time of year...m65, m66, m95, m96, m105, ngc2903....just to throw out a few. Key thing is to be patient and not get frustrated...the longer you do it the more you'll see.

Happy hunting.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

You`re a gent thanks.