March - May: Middle Latitudes

Due to the earth's rotation, which is more noticable in the northern sky (for southern hemisphere observers), the relative positions of constellations appear to change more quickly.

For example, a star that is on the eastern horizon at 10 pm on 1 December, will be 30 degrees above the horizon on 1 January, and 60 degrees above it on 1 February. Or alternatively, the star on the eastern horizon at 10 PM on 1 December will appear to be in the same place at 8 PM on 1 January, etc.

[360 degrees = 12 months = 24 hours...]

For Southern Hemisphere observers with small telescopes, the autumn northern sky is not terribly exciting -- mostly galaxies need 6 inch telescopes or larger... (but just wait until early winter when Scorpio and Sagittarius arrive on the scene!) However, if you have dark nights, a moderate-sized telescope (say 8 inch aperture) and patience, you can have great fun chasing galaxies! There are also some interesting open star clusters, including M 40, M 46, M 47, M 67 and M 93 (but they aren't as interesting as the stuff in the southern sky).

We'll start with M 104 (NGC 4594), the Sombrero Galaxy:

which looks a bit like this in a small telescope:

and like this in a large one:

Then we find M 83 (NGC 5236), the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy (magnitude 8.5 and nearly 1/4 degree in width):

which looks like this in a small telescope:

and like this in a large one:

There are four interesting galaxies in Leo:

More info from AAO

Virgo Galaxy Cluster... For the bold and patient, with dark nights and moderate telescopes...

The Virgo cluster of galaxies is visible mid-evening starting in late March; it includes 17 galaxies on the Messier list, all within about 12 x 12 degrees of sky. This cluster of galaxies is 70 million light years away.

Most of them are 10 - 11th magnitude, so a dark night is important; they are within reach of a 4 1/2 inch telescope, although (obviously) are easier to find, and brighter, in larger telescopes. None of them are visible in binoculars.

Here are what the individual galaxies look like in a 8 inch telescope on a perfect night:

Note: Each photo is an image map -- click on it to get an enlarged view (as seen with a LARGE telescope...

M49 (NGC 4472) Mag 10, RA 12h 30m, dec +08 deg 00'

M58 (NGC 4579) Mag 11, RA 12h 38m, dec +11 deg 49'

M59 (NGC 4621) Mag 10, RA 12h 42m, dec +11 deg 39'
M60 (NGC 4649) Mag 10.5, RA 12h 44m, dec +11 deg 32'

M61 (NGC 4303) Mag 10.5, RA 12h 22m, dec +04 deg 28'

M64 (NGC 4828) Mag 9, RA 12h 57m, dec +21 deg 41'

M84 (NGC 4374) Mag 11, RA 12h 25m, dec +12 deg 53'
M86 (NGC 4406) Mag 11, RA 12h 26m, dec +12 deg 57'

Another view:

M87 (NGC 4486) Mag 11, RA 12h 31m, dec +12 deg 24'

Another view:

And another:

Two more views of the vicinity:

M85 (NGC 4382) Mag 10.5, RA 12h 25m, dec +18 deg 11'

M88 (NGC 4501) Mag 11, RA 12h 32m, dec +14 deg 25'
M91 (NGC 4548) Mag 11.5, RA 12h 35m, dec +14 deg 30'

M89 (NGC 4552) Mag 11.5, RA 12h 36m, dec +12 deg 33'
M90 (NGC 4569) Mag 11, RA 12h 37m, dec +13 deg 10'

M98 (NGC 4192) Mag 11, RA 12h 14m, dec +14 deg 54'
M99 (NGC 4254) Mag 10.5, RA 12h 29m, dec +24 deg 25'

M100 (NGC 4231) Mag 10.5, RA 12h 23m, dec +15 deg 49'

Three more views of M100:

Written by Stephen R. Kessell
Updated 8 February, 2001