#137: 2022 Observing Summary

 It was not a great year, but some decent work got done with the 12" Dob.  I skipped out on the entire summer skies, despite some very good nights, for personal reasons.  Spring was almost a total washout due to clouds and wind.  Autumn was fairly good, especially October.  And my lone December outing was with binoculars to watch Mars slip behind the moon, amidst mostly cloudy skies.  So I ended up with 40 hours of observing time at the telescope, and 14 separate outings.  Compare that to 2021 with 22 outings, and 2020 with 45!  In Spring I only managed 6 hours of observing; that's how bad the weather was.  Autumn was much better, with 34 hours logged at the eyepiece.

In Spring skies work continues in Coma Berenices, a constellation I have observed years ago with my Edmund 8" reflector.  I am now observing it in much more detail, aiming for all the NGC objects and as many IC objects as my scope can reach.  In addition, I am including many UGC and M galaxies, and a large selection of double stars.  It is a project that will take many years to complete, like my similar one in Leo.  I also managed a small start on Canis Major in early Spring, before getting clouded over and postponed till 2023.  Autumn work includes Sextans, Aquarius, and Cetus, and some good progress was made there.  Sextans and Cetus have challenges due to low boundaries, but at certain times I get good southern skies, and was able to use them this year to advantage.

It was not a year of incredible discoveries from the NGC list, though I did retakes of some of the good ones seen previously with the 8".  Eg 210 in Cetus stands out as worth a stop on a fine night, as does pn 246.  This is the only NGC object in Cetus that isn't a galaxy.  It's an odd planetary nebula, with some bright stars within.  It's not that great an object until a filter is added; I used the Orion sky glow filter to good advantage to see this very large, often overlooked object.  Eg 255 is very close, and quite a good sight in a 12" scope, too.  And eg 217 looks like a tiny version of M 31.

eg 210 in Cetus.

Pn 246 (2nd above) and eg 255, in Cetus.

One of the trickiest and most disappointing views was of gc 7492 in Aquarius.  Good luck finding this faint globular in our southern skies!  Other decent galaxies in Cetus include NGC 273, 74, and 75, the last two an actual pair.

Saturn and Jupiter were on full display, especially fine in early autumn.  Virtually every night that I set up, I would begin and often end with these two planets.  I was able to get decent views of Mars in late autumn, too (along with the December occultation).

Mapman Mike

#136: A Six Galaxy Gathering in Aquarius

My first outing since early May was a grand success!  In addition to late night views of Saturn and Jupiter (which were spectacular!), my 12" Dob and I went galaxy hunting in Aquarius, and later in Cetus.  My main objective was a six galaxy NGC group in Aquarius.  I ran out of time last autumn and had to set aside the project until this year.  With temps in the mid 60s F, and humidity quite low, the transparency was perfect for southern sky galaxy work.  A few double stars were thrown into the mix as well.

Uranometria Chart 104 (left side) shows the group crammed into a small area between 00 and +01 degrees declination, and between 20 hr 44' and 20 hr 48' right ascension.  Fortunately, there are a few faint guide stars quite close by to help locate the group.  Here is an image to help with identification.  All objects were viewed with a 12" Orion Dob.  Five of them fit into a wide angle field of view at 166x.

A six galaxy group in Aquarius. 

NGC 6959:  0'.7 x 0'.3; Vis. mag. 13.7, Surface Brightness 11.9:  Easily located north of 6961, first find a small asterism of 3 faint stars in a curving line preceding the galaxy, and 2 others following.  The galaxy lies amidst the stars on the north edge.  Seen well at 166x, it is pretty small but very elongated and surprisingly bright.  Views improve at 231x, and are still good at 333x.  It is in the same low power field with three galaxies south of it.

NGC 6961:  0'.6 x 0'.5; Vis. mag. 13.7; SB 12.4:  This member is pretty small and faint, and slightly farther from 6962 than is 6964.  All three galaxies form a straight line.  Though later seen at 120x, it was first located at 166x.  Even at 231x it is a ghostly object, round.

NGC 6962:  2'.9 x 2'.3;  Vis. mag. 12.1; SB 14.1:  Both galaxies make a fine close pair, and can

NGC 6964:  1'.7 x 1'.3;  Vis. mag. 13; SB 13.8:  likely be seen in 8" scopes.  The size and brightness difference is easily noted.  62 really jumps out first, and then 64 is picked out just south following.  Both are easy to see and bright at 120x.  Views begin to get remarkable at 166x, and remain good at 231x and 333x.  Both have very bright centers and much fainter envelopes (the surface brightness stats appear to be accurate only for the outer envelopes).  62 is the largest and brightest of the six galaxies in the region, with 64 holding down the #2 spot.

NGC 6965:  0'.6 x 0'.4; Vis. mag. 14; SB 12.4:  The most northerly of the six, this is also the trickiest to locate.  However, by using a line of 3 faint stars near it (see above photo--one is south following, one is preceding, and one is north preceding) the area of its exact location can be easily found.  First located at 166x, better views were had at 231x and 333x.  It is faint, appears to be round, and has a center that is brighter than its tiny envelope.  Difficult, but in a good sky not a real problem.  Of course use averted vision.

NGC 6967:  1' x 0'.6; Vis. mag. 13.1; SB 12.4:  Located at 120x, the galaxy is bright and conspicuous, likely suitable for an 8".  It presents an elongated haze between two faint stars, with a very faint and tiny star seen preceding, and nearly attached, at 166x.  The galaxy remains bright at 231x, where the elongation shows up even better.

Mapman Mike

 

#135: Still Breathing

Yes, I am alive and well.  Why no observing reports?  Observing just hasn't been happening very much this spring.  Weather was the biggest problem, with a truly terrible spring session due to rain and clouds.  More recently, the price of gas has interfered with my observing program, too.  It's a 50 minute drive each way to my dark sky site, so that adds up even going out 3 or 4 times per month.  And I tend to avoid heading out near Summer Solstice anymore, as darkness arrives too late for this old duffer.  If I want to put in a solid 3 hours of observing, I would start around 10:45 pm EDT, finish up at 1:45, pack up the gear and drive home, not hitting the sack until around 3 am.  I used to be able to pull that kind of thing off, but it gets harder and harder with age.  I spend my days practicing piano, but I am too burnt out after a late night out to practice successfully.

Also in the summer, there is the bug problem.  Of course I use bug spray, and it's not too bad where I observe, but the twilight drive there, and the late night drive home, means that for each trip I make it leaves hundreds of squashed and dead bugs all over my car and windshield.  So next morning first thing after breakfast, I have to wash the car.  I mean really scrub it.

Sure, you might say, those are only excuses for not observing.  But taken together, this is no longer a season in which I observe.  I will likely crank up operations again in the latter half of August.  Also of note is the fact that my observing club (RASC Windsor) no longer publishes a newsletter.  I used to write articles for that publication 5 times per year, and it kept me on my toes.  Many of those articles are published here, but no longer.

I had begun a massive project related to my goal of seeing all the northern NGC objects, namely discussing each one and posting about it here.  That project was a tiresome thing to undertake, but it might get revived.  I like to take a chart from Uranometria and run through all the objects I was able to observe with my 12" reflector.  Of course some of the charts are so dense with objects (Coma B. and Canes V. for instance) that the very thought of writing about each object I have observed sends shudders up and down my spine.  I had left off in the middle of talking about Leo, so I might resume there in a few weeks.

Clear skies!

Mapman Mike 

#134: Some Objects in Orion

 At The Eyepiece, by Mike Ethier

December and January are the two least productive months for this observer. December seems to be perpetually cloudy, and January clear nights, when they appear, are usually bitter cold. However, by the latter part of February and early March things begin to seem hopeful again, and regular observing often resumes at this time. This is good news for those of us who like to study objects in Orion. While beautifully situated in January, unless you are in the Florida Keys waiting later in the season is a more practical viewing option. Most of my deep sky work in Orion takes place at the end of February and early March. Much of Orion is still well placed in the sky into late March. I have selected a few smaller and out of the way sights this month. There is more to Orion than its Messier wonders! So if you don’t want to tackle the following objects now, be patient and wait a week or two.

The four open clusters and lone planetary nebula I will talk about this month can be found on Chart 96 of the Uranometria 2000 Atlas, All Sky Edition. This is by far the best hands-on sky atlas available, useful in the field and infinitely fun to browse at home. North of Betelgeuse and Bellatrix is a wide asterism of bright stars, centred on Meissa. The southern-most bright star of this group is Phi-2 Orionis, also numbered as 40. South following this star is pn 2022. The nebulae is very bright in a 12” mirror, and obvious at 100x. No filter is necessary. Observed at 100x through 272x, the edges appear dimmer and less evenly lit than the central area. Though a good object for a 12”, an 8” should also show it well. It’s small size seems to aide its brightness. Use a moderately high power.

NGC 2022

Moving 3 degrees north of Betelgeuse and about 8 minutes following, oc 2141 appears at low power as a low surface brightness haze. I enjoy the challenge of this kind of cluster, having hopes that a 12” mirror will show its secrets at higher powers. At 60x and 100x the cluster is quite large, sitting among a few brighter stars laid over top. At 136x there is some resolution of the faint haze, including a tight knot of stars near centre. More stars come out to play at 200x, including many that are very, very faint (16^th mag.?). At 272x more clumps and knots are seen, popping out right down to visual threshold. A night with good transparency is a big help with this faint but rewarding group.

NGC 2141 

2 degrees N of oc 2141, and about 11’ following, is oc 2194. Already resolving nicely at 60x and 100x, this is a very enticing cluster in a 12” mirror! A notable arm of stars extends south preceding. At 136x the cluster is rich and bright. However, with my mirror stopped down to 8” the stars are now pretty faint. 187X and full aperture gives a very remarkable view, showing many brighter stars (mag. 13) overtop reams of much fainter ones. This is a highly recommended group, and would be stunning in the club’s 14” scope. Immediately following oc 2194 is oc Skiff J0614.8+1252. Two separate star groups are noted, almost adjacent, and just north following the larger cluster. The actual cluster is the group closest to oc 2194. At 136x and 187x, it is a faint, circular group of stars just north of 3 brighter stars. The other separate group, a brighter asterism, is in the same field of view at moderately high power. The Skiff group is fainter than this, and richer in stars.

NGC 2194. 

North preceding oc 2194 is oc 2169, an interesting object as it also receives designation as a multiple star in the Struve catalogue, #848. At least half the interest is the multiple star, which could be extended with even more than its 5 main members. The cluster is bright and well resolved at 60x. It is an attractive cluster, and appears in two distinct sections. 100X and 136x show 10 stars in the main group, and 7 in the secondary section. Struve 848 has a main pair of mag. 7.5-8 stars at 2.6” apart. These were split nicely at 100x and 136x. A mag. 12 star is 14” away, seen at 136x. In addition, there is a mag. 8 star at 28”, and a mag. 9 star at 43”.

NGC 2169

Object Statistics

pn 2022: Size 39”; Vis. Mag. 11.6; Central star mag. 15.8.

oc 2141: Size 10’; Vis. Mag. 9.5; Brightest star mag. 15.

oc 2194: Size 9’; Vis. Mag. 8.5; Brightest star mag. 13.

oc Skiff: Size 5’; About 20 stars.

Oc 2169: Size 6’; Vis. Mag. 5.9; Brightest star mag. 6.9.

Messier Of The Month: Messier 78 in Orion

Definitely an object that does not receive as much love as M 42, it is best to study M 78 before observing its more famous and spectacular cousin. Discovered by Mechain in 1780, it is a reflection nebula, part of a group of similar objects lying about 1350 light years away. Nebula filters don’t help much with this kind of object, and fortunately aren’t required for good visual views. When taken on its own (without comparing it to M 42), M 78 is bright, pretty large, and impressive at high powers, where good detail shows in its varying brightness and irregular shape. 60X and 100x show a moderate-sized, moderately bright irregularly shaped haze surrounding two mag. 10 stars. These stars act as the illuminators of M 78. It appears to extend south, and narrows in that direction. 136X shows it well. Just north of M 78 lies gn 2071, a nebula surrounding two bright stars that is obvious at 60x and 100x. The brighter star is V 1380, a variable, and is the star with the most notable haze around it. At 136x the star splits into a double (9.7-11.5/10”?). A third nebula, gn 2067, is immediately north preceding M 78. It is small and faint, located just south of a faint star. I use this one to demonstrate just how wonderful M 78 is by comparison. A 4^th nebula lies just south preceding (gn 2064), but I have yet to see this one visually. I shall try again later in the winter. The objects are shown on Chart 116 of Uranometria 2000, along with many other small, faint nebula.

Messier 78, NGC 2068.  2067 is the fainter cloud above right of M 78.  2064 is the smaller, brighter cloud below and to the right of M 78.
 

NGC 2071

Object Statistics:

Messier 78—gn 2068: 8’ x 6’; Reflection nebula.

Gn 2071:--7’x 5’; Reflection nebula.

Gn 2067:--8’ x 3’; Reflection nebula.

Gn 2064:--1.5’ x 1’; Reflection nebula.

Mapman Mike

#133: Day Trips and Night Trips, and Messier 15

At The Eyepiece, by Mike Ethier

Many of us enjoy day trips, being easy-to-arrange travel getting us there and back in the same day. Nearby Ontario places like Point Pelee, the city of London, Sarnia, and smaller centers and parks in between, offer good options for a quick and easy mini-vacation. When the US border is open, Detroit offers a virtual Milky Way of day trip options, from concerts, sporting events, and art galleries, to shopping, dining, and whatever else one might wish to do in a large city. Ann Arbor, Toledo, and many interesting suburbs offer the day visitor many more options. Windsor and Essex County citizens are fortunate to have so much on offer so near to home.

Now imagine if our local environment changed gradually over the year. Slowly, Chicago emerges across the river instead of Detroit, and next season it’s New York. Point Pelee then changes to a mountainous national park for totally different experiences for the hiker, photographer, and nature lover. The following year Detroit is back, and so the cycle of seasons go. Imagine all that there would be to do for the day tripper if such things really happened.

Well, it sort of does happen, only at night, and in the sky. As the seasons change, so does our view looking outwards from Earth. A day trip becomes a night trip, and while some sights can be viewed well from city and suburban yards, to get the full spectrum of what is on offer, it is best to take a little drive into the country, where skies are darker and more welcoming to the amateur astronomer. While we might think nothing of driving two hours to a daytime destination for a pleasure outing once in a while, why not consider doing the same for astronomy’s sake? I would love to find a usable dark sky sites beyond Essex County, but not too far away. A once per month small group outing for a long observing session might be just the ticket to refresh ourselves. While Point Pelee is a valid option, it has to happen on a certain night, and if that night is cloudy, all bets are off for another month. A bit more flexibility is needed, with the weather conditions we have to live with here. Hallam has improved a lot with the gradual dimming of greenhouse lights, but the south sky is still a mess, and of course the northwest and west is worse.

Here are some celestial places where I have spent fun times so far in 2021. In late winter I observed in Canis Major and Orion. In the early spring I spent time visiting and observing objects in Sextans and Coma Berenices, as well as Serpens Caput. Later in the spring and into early summer I visited Ophiuchus, Sagitta, and Hercules. In late summer and early autumn (so far) I have been to Cassiopeia and Aquarius. While I haven’t travelled much on day trips during the pandemic, I have managed quite a few excursions into the night sky. There is so much to see, and so little time.

Messier of the Month: M 15 in Pegasus

I first made the acquaintance of this fine globular star cluster in mid-August, 1977. I was using my Tasco 4.5” reflector, and this marked my 51^st Messier object at that time. At 72x I was able to resolve 4 or 5 stars on the outer limits of the central mass. I mentioned at the time the beauty of the bright white center against a perfectly black sky background. That observation was made at the family camp on Lake Penage, west of Sudbury.

Jump ahead to November 8^th, 1991, and to my backyard in old Anderdon Township. This was my first view of it using the Edmund 8” reflector. My view was hampered that night by a brilliant display of aurora. Many members will remember that night, as red aurora flooded Essex County skies. Check back into your observing notes. In Sudbury, aurora were frequent and mostly annoying, but have proved to be quite rare in Essex County. This was a major display.

The following night I was able to resume normal observations. Stars were resolving nicely at 112x, which was not possible the previous night. 169x gave the best view, with stars resolving all across the cluster. Higher powers were applied, but focussing became quite tricky.

Now jump to October 25^th, 2014. From Hallam Observatory I was able to view M 15 with my newly acquired 12” reflector. Here are some quotes from my notes from that night: “A 12” scope is a most useful tool when it comes to resolving globular star clusters. [M 15] was observed tonight at all magnifications, from 43x through 250x. Each step up is an adventure, and one worth repeating... It begins to resolve at 60x, and at 100x stars are resolving to near the core... At 187x a notable clump is north preceding the bright core. 250X breaks up the core, with dark areas just south. The center blazes and is still very dense...”

M15 is easily viewed in October skies, seen well ahead of the Great Square.

M 78

Messier 15, or gc 7078: 18’; visual mag. 6.3; Brightest stars mag. 12.6. It was discovered in 1746, and lies about 34,00 light years away. There are about 100,000 stars in this densely packed group. In small telescopes (my 2” Space Eye refractor, for example), it could easily be mistaken for a comet.

Mapman Mike

 

#132: Messier 24 Star Cloud

 

This month I am combining my two articles, At The Eyepiece, and Messier of The Month into one. Also known as the Sagittarius Star Cloud, M 24 has a somewhat confusing history due to a wrong R.A. assigned to it by Barnard. It wasn’t until 2001 that the mistake became well known, and Messier’s original discovery could be acknowledged (see the longer explanation at cseligman.com, under the IC 4715). There is only one other Messier object with an IC designation, that being M 25/IC 4725. Easily seen with the naked eye, M 24 is very large, extremely star-rich, and beautiful in binoculars and a joy in a rich field telescope, such as the Edmund Astroscan. While much of Sagittarius provides rich sweeping at low power, there is no denying the intensity of M 24.

While it appears stunning with any sort of visual aid, I spent over an hour here one September night in 2014 with a 12” Dob, exploring every nook and cranny of this colourful, star-filled area. Within the cloud are three other small open clusters, as well as a planetary nebula. So if you have some time to spend one fine summer or early autumn evening, M 24 is a recommended stop. The cloud’s size is given as 120’ of arc, so I began exploring with my lowest possible magnification, which is 43x. Oc 6603 is conspicuous right away. Immediately south of the cluster are 6 bright stars, arrow shaped. These stars appear to be involved with the richest and most splendid area, and seem to be at the heart of the cloud. The sweeping continues to be exceptional if moving south preceding to variable star V4387 (see map). A bright yellow star, V4387 leads south to another beautiful area of thousands of stars. Moving back to the original arrowhead, the star just south of oc 6603 is a deep orange. South following is a bright double star, yellow and blue, one of many doubles within the cloud. There is so much more to discover about the cloud itself, but I will move on to some of the other named points of interest.

 Oc 6603 (Size 4’; Visual Mag. 11; brightest star mag. 14; 100 stars) is hazy, bright, and not too small at 43x. It looks so much like a comet that no wonder some people still mistake this cluster for M 24 itself. Even at 43x it begins to resolve. We were also able to resolve some of it in Deb’s 6” reflector at 125x. At 60x and 12” the cluster is still bright, and still in the beginning stages of resolving. At 100x there is some resolution all across the cluster, similar to that of a globular cluster. A bright line of unresolved haze runs through the middle, NE to SW. 125X gives decent resolution, with the central hazy bar narrowing. The cluster is finally fully resolved at 250x, including the bar, now seen as a line of tiny stars. There are dark patches on either side of the line, as well as many tiny stars. This object is a real beauty in a 12” scope!

Collinder 469 is a compact cluster ( Size 2.6’; Visual mag. 9.1; 15 stars) preceding oc 6603 by 2’ of R.A., and just a tiny bit north. I located it at 60x, noting several bright stars in a tight V-shape, with background haze. At 100x it is very compact, with few faint stars resolving. At 200x 15 stars can be counted, several being very faint.

Oc Mrk 38 (2’) shows three bright stars at 60x, one of them being yellow and quite bright. At 200x 10 stars are seen very close to the bright three, with a few others close by.

Planetary nebula 6567 lies just south preceding Mrk 38. At a minuscule size of only 12” of arc, the object appears virtually stellar at 250x. A tiny bit of fuzz can be discerned around it, being a grayish-blue colour. It is bright, at mag. 11, and I have seen it with an 8”. The central star is mag. 14.3, though it is washed out by the brightness of the haze.

While sometimes passed over for the wondrous nebulae and clusters in Sagittarius, M 24 is worth spending time exploring.   I haven’t visited yet with Space Eye, my 2” refractor, but it’s on the list for summer.  Clear skies.

Mapman Mike

#131: The Box in Coma, and M 99

 At The Eyepiece, March 2021

As I finish up work on Orion, which has taken me several winter seasons to do, I am readying my charts for spring work. For astronomers, spring is a season that zooms past at breakneck speed. These galaxy heavy constellations are visible for far less time than their summer and autumn counterparts. This is because the amount of daylight is increasing rapidly at this time of year, and the constellations appear to move across the sky much faster.

My early spring work is in the constellation of Sextans, and I will have more to say about this area in a future article. For seven years my main spring constellation was Leo, and I still return each year to view favourite objects in that area. But a few years ago I moved on to another constellation that promises to keep me occupied for many more spring observing sessions. Coma Berenices is quite a playground for observers who love galaxies. And the galaxies come in all sizes, shapes, levels of brightness, and groupings. While preparing my pre-observing notes and stats for Coma, I was intrigued to find “The Box” labelled on my Uranometria charts (#54 and #72 of the all-sky edition), and couldn’t wait to see what that was all about.

The Box is a group of four galaxies, roughly in rectangular shape, and can be found in the far north preceding area of Coma, close to the border with Ursa Major. While groups of four galaxies are anything but rare in Coma, photographs certainly do show an interesting group. All of the galaxies are pretty faint, though in good skies a 25cm scope should show three. Here is a list of galaxies and their specs, and a photo from cseligman.com:

eg 4169: 1’.8’ x 0’.9: Visual magnitude 12.2; surface brightness 12.6.

eg 4173: 5’ x 0’.7: Vis. 13; SB 14.2.

eg 4174: 0’.6 x 0’.3: Vis. 13.4; SB 11.4.

eg 4175: 1’.8 x 0’.4: Vis. 13.3; SB 12.8

 The Box, a group of four galaxies, in Coma Berenices.  North is at the top.

Image from cseligman.com 

I had my chance to view these galaxies on May 5^th, 2019, using my 30cm Orion Dob. It is a push-to scope, and the group was found easily enough using the little computer. Though all four galaxies can be seen at 136x, 4173 is very faint. Thus it seems more like a triplet. The brightest part of this very faint member lies just north of 4169. And 4169 is the first galaxy one sees, and it remains bright and very oval up to 250x. At 187x a few decent glimpses of the very long and thin 4173 are enjoyed, using averted vision. 4174-75 are easily viewed at 136x, both objects appearing pretty bright, pretty small, with notable stellar cores. At 200x and 250x 4175 becomes quite a bit larger now, and very elongated. In this range 4174 appears a bit brighter that 4175, becoming oval in shape but quite small. I hope you get a chance to view this minor but fun little group someday. The club’s 35 cm scope would be an ideal instrument.

Messier of the Month: Messier 99

Staying within the boundaries of Coma Berenices, but moving about 14 degrees south and a few minutes following The Box, Messier 99 pops into the eyepiece, a bright and nearly round galaxy easily viewed with small telescopes. It was discovered in mid March 1781 by Pierre Mechain, and seen a month later by Charles Messier. My first look came considerably after that, in mid May of 1980. I was at Lake Penage west of Sudbury, and it was a humdinger of a night! It was 3 C and spectacularly clear. I was able to see the galaxy with my 8” scope stopped down to 4”, at 36x. Full aperture showed it relatively large and round. At 56x the galaxy is surrounded by tiny stars, one just within the outer haze of the arms. 72X offered the best view. While the centre remains bright at higher powers, the envelope itself starts to fade.

 

Messier 99.

Jump to May 26^th, 2020. On May 26^th the temps were hovering around 20 C, and conditions were excellent at my Kent County viewing site. I began by using my 20 cm (8”) aperture stop, locating the galaxy at 60x. It had been just over 40 years since I had last seen this object! At full aperture (30 cm) and 100x the core is stellar and very bright. The galaxy is large, showing a very bright centre around the brilliant core, surrounded itself by a large, fainter envelope of haze. Viewing M 99 is like seeing an unresolved globular cluster. 187X and 272x show the envelope to be unevenly lit, no doubt hinting at the spiral arms. A bright area of haze seems to precede the very bright central area, followed by a darker area, and then a brighter area again. It is such views that often give us aperture fever, and makes me wish I had a 1 metre scope (in high Earth orbit)! Longer views are rewarding at high power, so stay with Messier 99, and use as much magnification as conditions allow. Messier 99 is about 50 million light years away, something to think about when viewing it.

Messier 99 (eg 4254): 5’.4 x 4’.7: Visual mag. 9.9; Surface Brightness mag. 13.2.

Mapman Mike