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The Constellation Canes Venatici - The Hunting Dogs

As Spring heralds the coming of warmer weather, the Realm of the Galaxies comes into view. As the winter Milky Way sets in the west, the obscuring clouds of dust and gas set with it, giving us a relatively unobstructed view into deepest space. Here we find some of the finest and most difficult objects in the sky: galaxies. Galaxies require special techniquess such as averted vision and shaking the telescope tube, to coax detail out of them. Patience and practice will reward the persistent observer with details unseen by more casual observers. Canes Venatici lies between the constellations of Ursa Major and Coma Berenices. While it has only two stars brighter than the fifth magnitude, it is rich in galaxies and contains the fine globular cluster, M-3. Most of the galaxies in this area are outliers of the Coma Berenices Galaxy Cluster. Many are small and faint, but there are also some real showpieces in this constellation.

CANES VENATICI

M-3 - This pretty globular cluster is about 12-15' in diameter and handles magnification rather well. There are many stars arranged in curving chains resolved at its edges. The center is very dense, and was not resolved in my scope, which showed a granulated center.

M-51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy. This is probably the finest example of a face on spiral galaxy in the northern hemisphere. It is about 10-15' in diameter, with a bright center and rather easily seen spiral arms. Just a few arcminutes to the northeast is its companion galaxy, NGC 5195. This object is small, about 3x2', with a brighter center, and seemingly connected to M-51 by a bridge of stars.

M-63 - The Sunflower galaxy. This is a large, bright galaxy, about 10x5', extended E-W. The bright center is surrounded by a halo which fades gradually to the edges. Long exposure photography shows an amazingly intricate spiral structure.

M-94 - Another large and bright galaxy. It is about 8-10' in diameter and roughly circular. It is very bright, with a large core and a fainter surrounding envelope. On a superb night in the mountains of New Mexico, I was able to detect its delicate spiral structure at the edges.

M-106 - This large and bright galaxy is about 12x5' with a bright oval core and a fainter surrounding halo. At times in good seeing, faint spiral structure can be seen in this galaxy.

NGC 4631 - This is one of the gems to be discovered by those pursuing the Herschel objects. This remarkable galaxy is large, about 13x2', extended E-W, with a star seemingly imbedded above its center. It is relatively bright, with mottling and streaks very reminiscent of M-82 in Ursa Major.

NGC 4656 - Another fine object. This peculiar galaxy is about 10x2', extended NE-SW. The southeast side is very faint, but the northeastern side is curled to the east as it tapers to a point. An off-center central bulge gives this galaxy an overall comma shape.

Article © Copyright Rick Raasch
Photos © Copyright Edward P. Flaspoehler, Jr.

Messier Objects in Canes Venatici

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