M106 - difficult star hop, but so worth it

[WayBig]

I had real trouble hopping between stars to spot this bright galaxy close to ursa major.

It's so close to zenith that the dob's usual up/down/left/right directions seem much more complicated, it visually rotates the stars in the eyepiece when moving left and right.

After a few attempts taking different routes HP60485 popped into visual view briefly and I started from there.

It didnt then take long before one of the brightest galaxies i've seen came into the field - at mag 8.3 you really know when you've seen this one, the elongation in the shape clearly visible.

It was a nice one to end the night on, after getting half a dozen other new (to me) galaxies in virgo and ursa major.

I also liked NGC4526 nestled between it's two guardian stars, and NGC3953 - fairly easy to find in ursa major, very near to Phad, much more impressive than the nearby M109 which must have it's light spread over a larger area.

I'm enjoying this springtime galaxy hunting.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Great stuff! M106 and environs is nice. I had quite a nice run in Ursa Major yesterday, but have not got NGC 3953 yet, must try that when the clouds buzz off. Isn't NGC 4526 in Virgo, BTW?

[WayBig]

Great stuff! M106 and environs is nice. I had quite a nice run in Ursa Major yesterday, but have not got NGC 3953 yet, must try that when the clouds buzz off. Isn't NGC 4526 in Virgo, BTW?

yes it is in virgo, I spent time in both constellations.

I saw your post too, i'm going to have a look through the list to see which ones I havent seen yet and give them a go