As usual when I am on the road (which will happen more than a few times this summer), you are mostly being cheated out of your accustomed Sunday read. That may be all to the good this time, however. It gives you a chance to get out and observe the star object in my next batch of Messiers, M51. The Whirlpool Galaxy is one of the greats, and I’d like to compare notes with you.
What do you need for this spectacular but nevertheless somewhat challenging galaxy? It can look good in almost any telescope, but it cries out for a dark sky. Assuming you have that dark sky, my telescope choice is a balance of aperture versus hassle, a 10 – 12-inch Dobsonian, with the pick for (lazy) me being a 10-inch.
Anyhow, get out to your club dark site or whatever and see what you can see of its spiral structure, dust lanes, and other features and those of its companion galaxy, NGC 5195. Can you maybe even spot some of the other galaxies in the field or nearby (they are admittedly dim and small and likely a challenge for a 25-inch big gun)? You’ll find out what I was able to scope out next week, and I’m hoping you will post your observations in the comments section thereafter.
