Introduction and Monthly Reminders
The first half of April was a mixed bag as far as the weather was concerned. The first week consisted of massive snow storms, bringing the total snow accumulation of the season well above previous records. The second week gave Utahns a taste of spring weather, with temperatures in the 70s, which melted most if not all of the snow in the valleys. That same week brought cooler temperatures, allowing more snowfall in the mountains. I have often heard the saying, "If you don't like the weather in Utah, wait five minutes."
The weather predictions for the second half of April look to be mixed as well, with temperatures ranging from the 70s down to the mid-40s. Hopefully, there will be some breaks in the clouds to enjoy some stargazing! There are still a few things to look forward to in April as far as astronomy is concerned. Coming up on the 20th is the New Moon, followed by the Lyrid Meteor Shower on the 22nd. This should be a great shower to warm up to for other meteor showers this year. During the Lyrids, an observer should expect to see around 20 meteors per hour.
Messier Targets 🔭
The Messier Catalog is a collection of 110 objects that can be seen throughout the year. March and April offer observers the unique opportunity of allowing observers to see all 110 objects in a single night! Astronomers refer to this event as a "Messier Marathon." Many of the objects can be seen with a pair of binoculars, all becoming visible through a 3-inch or larger telescope. The larger the telescope, the more detail an observer can see! I have not been able to highlight all of the objects yet. Still, I encourage interested observers to take the opportunity to participate in this marathon if the weather allows it. Start by viewing the constellations in the west after sunset, then move eastward until sunrise. Feel free to use my Messier List file to aid in the hunt for these objects. Don't forget that there are tabs at the bottom of this spreadsheet to easily find objects according to Season, Constellation, Magnitude, and Classification.
The Messier object hunt will continue with Coma Berenices, a constellation that can be found near Leo and Ursa Major. Coma Berenices contains a total of eight Messier objects, most of which are classified as spiral galaxies, but also contain an elliptical galaxy and a globular star cluster. I have included an image of what the night sky will look like from a dark sky location and a separate image with the constellations and major stars labeled.
 |
| The night sky as an observer faces East after sunset. The bright star is Arcturus. |
 |
| The night sky as an observer faces East after sunset with constellation lines and labels and major stars labeled. |
The first target will be the globular cluster, M53 (aka NGC 5024). This object can be found just off the star Diadem, the star closest to the constellation Virgo. M53 is about 60,000 light years away, meaning it has taken the light 60,000 years to reach our planet. See the image below for the location of M53.
 |
| Location of M53 in Coma Berenices. |
The next target is M64 (aka Black-Eye Galaxy, NGC 4826) one of the spiral galaxies belonging to Coma Berenices. The Black-Eye Galaxy lies about 17 million light-years from Earth. This object can be found by centering the previous object, M53 in your scope and then slowly guiding it upwards towards the center of Coma Berenices. See the image below for the location of M64.
 |
| Location of M64 in Coma Berenices. |
Following M64, nudge your scope to the right until M85 (aka NGC 4382) is centered in the eyepiece. This object is an elliptical galaxy that lies about 60 million light-years from Earth. See the image below for the location of M85.
 |
| Location of M85 in Coma Berenices. |
Next up is M88 (aka NGC 4501) a spiral galaxy. This object can be found by guiding your scope a little further to the right of M85. The image below can aid in locating M88.
 |
| Location of M88 in Coma Berenices. |
Moving along, M91 (aka NGC 4548) can likely be found in the same field of view as M88. M91 is a spiral galaxy located about 63 million light-years from Earth and is part of the local supercluster with our Milky Way Galaxy, both of which are a part of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. See the image below for the location of M91.
 |
| Location of M91 in Coma Berenices. |
The next spiral galaxy on the list, M98 (aka NGC 4192) can be found near the edge of our target constellation, Coma Berenices. To find M98, first center the bright star Denebola in your field of view. This star represents the tip of Leo the Lion's tail. After centering this star, continue guiding your scope down and towards Coma Berenices until M98 is located. This galaxy is about 14 million light-years from Earth. See the image below for the location of M98.
 |
| Location of M98 in Coma Berenices. |
M99 (aka NGC 4254) can be found by continuing to guide your scope along the same path as that which was used to find M98. If using a low-power eyepiece, M98 and M99 will likely be in the same field of view. M99 lies about 49 million light-years from the Earth. See the image below for the location of M99.
 |
| Location of M99 in Coma Berenices. |
The final Messier target in Coma Berenices is M100 (aka NGC 4321). This galaxy lies about 55 million light-years from Earth and is also one of the brightest galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. M100 is a spiral galaxy that is perpendicular to our line of sight and offers a great view of what a spiral galaxy looks like. After viewing M99, guide your scope to the left, towards the center of Coma Berenices. M100 should quickly come into view. See the image below for the location of M100.
 |
| Location of M100 in Coma Berenices. |
That completes the list of the Messier objects located in Coma Berenices. Below, I have included two images that show the locations of the eight objects belonging to this constellation. The first image shows only the stars while the second image has the constellations labeled as well as Arcturus, Diadem, and Denebola.
 |
| Location of the eight Messier objects in Coma Berenices. |
 |
| Location of the eight Messier objects in Coma Berenices with constellation labels and major stars labeled. |
May will highlight the Messier objects belonging to Ursa Major. This constellation contains seven different objects and will be split up between the Night Sky Report and Midmonth Check-In posts. The above images were provided by Stellarium, a free planetarium software that can be found online, downloaded, or installed as an app on your favorite mobile device. My updated Messier list can be found here.
Remember to follow me on Instagram @CosmicLure01 to receive notifications for new posts. You may also follow me on Twitter @CosmicLure.
 |
| Now get outside and look up! |
No comments:
Post a Comment