M51 (NGC 5194, NGC 5195), Whirlpool Galaxy, spiral galaxy, Canes Venatici
92x and 133x: Initial impression is of two fuzzy blobs side by side, both with bright cores, a view not substantially different from the one through a small telescope. But with patience and care, some captivating detail begins to emerge. The spiral arms start to fade in and out of view, defined by the dark “crescents” separating them, with one arm curling out from the core around a foreground star. M51 culminates almost directly overhead from where I live, and this is when the spiral structure is easiest to see (although pointing a dob at the zenith presents its own challenges). On these occasions the spiral arms take on their own milky glow, with hints of brighter spots lurking within. This effect is most prominent on the arm immediately east of the core, which exhibits a definite clumpiness. Some of this detail is also visible at 171x and 240x, but the lower magnifications seem to hit the sweet spot. I wouldn’t normally devote so much time to a single object (clear, moonless nights are a luxury, and there’s so much else to see), but M51 is worth the investment. On a really good night with averted vision it can start to look like a ghostly monochrome photo.
Examined at 133x and 171x, the core of companion galaxy NGC 5195 appears more condensed and stellar than that of M51, with a dark cut-off on the eastern side.
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NGC 5198: faint, round little galaxy roughly south of M51 – not plotted in PSA, but is featured in SA 2000.
M52 (NGC 7654), open cluster, Cassiopeia
133x: Rich, vaguely delta-shaped cluster with a bright orange-hued star on the south-western corner. I should spend more time on this cluster, but there’s a lot to see in this part of the Milky Way.
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NGC 7635, Bubble Nebula, emission nebula, Cassiopeia
50x + OIII filter: Little crescent-moon shaped patch of nebulosity, half a degree southwest of M52. Disappears without the filter.
171x + Ultrablock filter: Bright star associated with a nebula of indistinct shape, but with averted vision it looks a little bit like one half of a Yin-Yang symbol.
NGC 7510, open cluster, Cepheus
92x: Rich, condensed little cluster. Brightest stars form outline of fang or dagger, with fainter spray of stars alongside. This cluster resides in a particularly rich part of the Milky Way; just to the southeast is a small but distinctive crescent-shaped cluster which I later confirmed as Markarian 50. It stands out despite the richness of the surrounding star-fields, so I’m surprised it didn’t make the NGC catalogue.
The nearby nebulae NGC 7538 and IC 1470 are also worth tracking down, although the former requires a filter to be seen well. The latter (IC 1470) is quite small and was best seen at 171x.
M53 (NGC 5024), globular cluster, Coma Berenices
92x, 133x, 171x, 240x: Resolves quite well with averted vision, but not a patch on M3. Has a subtle, very pale blue tinge (compared to M3) and a vague starfish shape. Two field stars east of cluster. Large outer halo of faint stars at 133x. Brightest member of the cluster (assuming it is a member) on the north side of the core. At 171x and 240x this star is seen to be separated from the main body of the cluster by an apparent dark lane.
See also:
NGC 5053, globular cluster, Coma Berenices
133x: Extremely faint globular one degree southeast of M53; took me multiple attempts to see it. Visible as a large, hazy patch of very low surface brightness. A little speckly with averted vision, and a field star to the east. Not impressive.
M54 (NGC 6715), globular cluster, Sagittarius
92x and 133x: Small, round condensed blur. Prominent bright core, but not even a hint of resolution. Very low in the sky from 51.5 N, but the easiest to spot out of the three Messier globulars in the Sagittarius “teapot”. Apparently this cluster is gravitationally bound to the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy (SagDEG).
M55 (NGC 6809), globular cluster, Sagittarius
92x: Very large, low surface brightness globular – like a ghost of M22. With time and averted vision, a faint sprinkling of stars begin to appear, the brightest one located south-east of the core (unsure if this is a true member or a foreground star). Must be an impressive sight from more southerly latitudes (it never gets higher than 8 degrees above my horizon).
M56 (NGC 6779), globular cluster, Lyra
133x: Small, condensed globular residing within a rich Milky Way field. Bright 10th magnitude star to west. Distinctive triangular core and a long “x” shape of stellar arms. Resolves fairly well with averted vision.
240x: Loses its shape a little at this power, but lots of stars resolved across the face of the cluster, particularly with averted vision. Bright star leading.
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If you found your way here by following a line from Beta and Gamme Lyrae, after looking at M56 you might as well push on in the same direction until you reach Beta Cygni, better known as the beautiful double star Albireo. I can split it with 7x50 binoculars (provided I’ve got somewhere to prop my elbows), but it’s through a telescope that it really comes alive, revealing a golden primary and a pale blue secondary separated by a comfortable 35 arcseconds. The Ethos at 92x shows the pair suspended against a sea of stars, one of the loveliest views I’ve had through a telescope.
M57 (NGC 6720), Ring Nebula, planetary nebula, Lyra
133x: Beautiful ethereal ring of light. So vivid in the XT10 that it looks more like a glowing ring of plasma than the classic “smoke-ring” seen in smaller scopes. Bright outer "donut", gauzy central region, brighter edge on one of the long sides. Faint star clearly seen adjacent to nebula. With the OIII filter the nebula is brighter still, seeming slightly more elongated compared to the unfiltered view.
171x: Bright oval ring of light, elongated northeast-southwest. Faint 12th or 13th magnitude star just off the eastern edge (when M57 is high and the transparency is good, an even fainter 14th magnitude star is just visible beyond this one). The northwest and southeast edges (on the minor axis) are noticeably brighter than the rest of the ring. The central portion of the ring is not completely dark, but has a somewhat glazed appearance.
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| Pastel sketch of M57 at high magnification. |
240x: Holds its brightness well at this magnification and even at 333x (9mm Nagler + 2.5x Powermate), but not much difference in detail. Slight green-grey colour. Ultrablock filter doesn’t really add anything. With careful use of averted vision it’s possible to see a couple of very faint stars on the northern side of the ring (opposite the 13m and 14.1m stars noted previously). One of these is the combined light from a multiple star, but the other is listed as magnitude 14.7, the faintest (confirmed) star I’ve yet seen with the XT10.
M58 (NGC 4579), barred spiral galaxy, Virgo
92x: Large, bright extended galaxy with bright star to west. Tough to make out any detail other than a bright core.
M59 (NGC 4621), elliptical galaxy, Virgo
92x: Bright, round galaxy in same field as M60 (but not as bright). Stellar nucleus, field star to north. M59 and M60 occupy an impressive field at low power – there’s a lot going on.
M60 (NGC 4649), elliptical galaxy, Virgo
92x: Bright, round galaxy; very bright core. Shares field with M59. Large hazy galaxy (NGC 4647) immediately north-west of M60.
See also:
NGC 4638: Small, lens-shaped galaxy roughly west of M60. Bright, bar-like core.
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