The Best Galaxies for Summer

Peter Ogilvie

Late Spring and early Summer is an excellent time for hunting galaxies. The galaxypacked constellations of Grus, Sculptor, Fornax and Eridanus are high in the sky and with the nights becoming warmer there are fewer excuses for not setting up the telescope. If you're a relatively new observer or you have just not often bothered with the challenge of finding these faint, sometimes elusive objects, then I hope this article will inspire you.

From the Herald-Bobroff atlas, I picked 25 of the brighter galaxies visible over the next couple of months, and after observing these over a couple of nights I have listed what I consider to be the best 12. Most should be visible in a 6 inch scope (or even smaller for the first four), although the last few probably require an 8 inch to be seen well in light polluted skies. I used a 10 inch from suburban Watson. Obviously a night with no moon and good transparency is essential.

The galaxies I've listed are all NGC (New General Catalogue) objects and should appear on most good atlases. If some of them don't appear on your maps you can plot them yourself from the R.A. and Dec. coordinates listed. Unfortunately some of them are in obscure constellations which can make the search a little slower if you are starhopping. If your 'scope is equipped with an equatorial mount and you can achieve a reasonable polar alignment, try using the setting circles. I used this method for all but the first seven of the 25 galaxies I observed, using the bright star Achernar for my initial R.A. reference. (Sorry, all you Dobsonian owners - you'll have to stick with star hopping). Anyway, here's my selection, so have a go at the first few at least.

1. NGC 224 (M31) Andromeda, (position 00h 43m, +41.3deg). Easily visible in binoculars, the closest large galaxy to Milky Way is huge in the telescope. Even at low power it extends well beyond the field of view. It is a massive spiral "only" 2.2 million l.yrs away. Nearly 1/2 a degree south of the nucleus you can also see one of its dwarf companions, M32. Unfortunately M31 is low in the north so is not visible for very long. Have a look before mid December.
2. NGC 253 Sculptor, (00h 48m, -25.3deg). A relatively close spiral tilted like M31 only a few degrees from edge on, it appears as a large cigar shaped object stretching across the entire field of view at 62X magnif-ication. In the 10 inch its nucleus shows a hint of mottling.
3. NGC 55 Sculptor, (00h 15m, -39.2deg). One of the 'Sculptor group' along with 253, NGC 55 appears as a slightly dimmer version of 253. It is almost exactly edge on and shows some unevenness in brightness along its length.
4. NGC 1068 (M77) Cetus, (02h 43m, 0.0deg). More distant than the above galaxies, M77 shows a compact oval with a remarkably bright nucleus. It is a "Seyfert" spiral - that is, it has a violently energetic core. When located, switch to a higher power.
5. NGC 7213 Grus, (22h 10m, -47.2deg). This spiral is not the most impressive of galaxies but is so easy to find. Simply point the scope at the 2nd magnitude star Alpha Gruis using a low power and the galaxy should appear within the same field just a little south-east of the star. Change to a medium power and shift the star out of view.
6. NGC 1291 Eridanus, (03h 17m, -41.1deg). This barred spiral appears as a small but very conspicuous oval with a bright nucleus. Use a higher power to examine.
7. NGC 1316, 1317 Fornax, (03h 23m, -37.2deg). A pair of spiral galaxies, 1316 is the bigger of the two and shows a bright nucleus. Examine at a higher power. It is also a radio source known as "Fornax A", possibly a merger of two systems.
8. NGC 1399, 1404 Fornax, (03h 38.5m, -35.5deg). Two big elliptical systems at the heart of the Fornax cluster of galaxies, through the scope they are small but quite conspicuous ovals. Move less than 1/2 a degree west to find the slightly fainter 1387, 1379 and 1381 all in the same low power view, in fact in the 10 inch I can see five galaxies at once in the same field of approximately 1/2 a degree at 62X. Scan around and you should pick up some more.
9. NGC 1549, 1553 Dorado, (04h 16m, -55.6deg). Two small but conspicuous objects, both with a fairly bright core, 1549 is an elliptical, while the elongated 1553 is classed as lenticular.
10. NGC 1365 Fornax, (03h 33.5m, -36.2deg). Probably the best example of a barred spiral viewed face-on although to see the classic S-shape requires at least a 10 inch under dark skies. From the backyard I see it as a large dim oval haze, brightening toward the centre, with only the vaguest hint of a bar. Try using 'averted vision' (or averted imagination).
11. NGC 1672 Dorado, (04h 46m, -59.3deg). This barred spiral appears as a fair sized, dim circular haze with a sharp, almost stellar nucleus mimicking a couple of stars on the face of the galaxy.
12. NGC 7582, 7590, 7599 Grus, (023h 19m, -42.3deg). Three quite small, faint spirals in the same field, all tilted close to edge on, one at an angle to the other two. 100X shows them better and all three still fit in the view. A scope of 8 inches aperture is required.

Others I looked at are also well worth checking out in scopes of 8 inches or larger. They are : NGC 613 Scl, 300 Scl, 1398 For, 1566 Dor, 1433 Hor, 1559 Ret, 1313 Ret, 1232 Eri.

There are most likely some other good ones which I have overlooked, so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know. I would also be pleased with any feedback about the ones I've listed. Happy hunting.