10 Targets

Top 10 Objects of April
-C.J. Wood

It's April, spring is here. Know what that means? Galaxies! Springtime is primetime for all the galaxies in Ursa Major, Leo Major, and Virgo. There's plenty of great galaxies and plenty of hidden treasures. This is the first article of the forevermore series of "Top 10 Objects of the Month". What we want to do is encourage people to look for non-messiers. There's alot of novice astronomers that think they can't see anything besides messiers with their small apertures. Every one of the Top 10 Objects are not a messier and visible in small scopes. Good luck!


NGC2903
Object type: Galaxy
Magnitude: 9.0
Size: 12.6'x6.0'
Constellation: Leo Major
RA: 09h 32m 09.9s
Dec: +21 30' 07"
Info: This is a very bright galaxy in Leo. It's infact one of the brightest non-messier galaxies. It's visible in telescopes as small as 70mm in a fairly dark sky. In a small 70-90mm telescope you'll see a bright "grey" haze. With a 100mm-127mm you'll see a tiny bright core with a bright "grey" haze. Scopes from 5"+ You'll see it even better. With my 14.5", I can see a tiny but very bright core with dusty detail surrounding it. It's a superb galaxy in any aperture and very easy to find.

 
NGC3242
Object type: Planetary Nebula
Magnitude: 7.7
Size: 45"x36"
Constellation: Hydra
RA: 10h 24m 46.2s
Dec: -18 38' 34"
Info: This is gorgeous, blue planetary in Hydra. It's usually called the "Ghost of Jupiter". Why? It's about the size of the planet in telescopes. This planetary nebula is very bright with a very high surface brightness. It'll appear brighter then any of the messier planetary nebulas(M27, M57, M76, and M97)! If you look closely, you will be able to make out it's 12th magnitude central star. The nebula will appear blue in most telescopes, some people may see it green. It's visible to see in all apertures, even in a good pair of binoculars with good eyes! With larger apertures, you can see a turqouise oval surrounding the central star. This is another easy to find object.

NGC4490
Object type: Galaxy
Magnitude: 9.8
Size: 6.3'x3.1'
Constellation: Canes Venatici
RA: 12h 30m 36.1s
Dec: +41 38' 33"
Info: This is another bright non-messier galaxy. Located in Canes Venatici, a 2 star constellation right next to Ursa Major. It's located right in the midst of a large galaxy chain with hundreds of great galaxies. NGC4490, aka Cocoon Galaxy, is one of them. It's an Irregular Galaxy, meaning it has no shape or a core. This perticular galaxy is potato shaped, it's companion NGC4485, Is perfectly round. It's companion is a challenge for small telescopes, but the Cocoon Galaxy is no problem. It's visible in telescopes as low as 70mm as a grey blob. In larger telescopes you can define it's shape and detailed surface. This is very easy to find, just above the top star of Canes Venatici, Chara.

 
NGC2301
Object type: Open Cluster
Magnitude: 6.0
Size: 12'
Constellation: Monoceros
RA: 06h 51m 45.3s
Dec: +00 27' 33"
Info: This is a bright open cluster that's visible in all apertures(including finders and binoculars). It's even naked eye at dark places. This open cluster very much resembles a nebula called Thor's Helmet, or NGC2359. The main center of this cluster is curved, making a helmet shape. There's 2 strings of bright stars coming out of the helmet making the "horns". It's very neat. This object is a little more difficult to find then the past 3 objects in this list.

NGC2392
Object type: Planetary Nebula
Magnitude: 9.1
Size: 47"x43"
Constellation: Gemini
RA: 07h 29m 10.8s
Dec: +20 54' 42"
Info: This planetary, also known as the Eskimo Nebula or Clown Face is very bright. It appears turquoise in most eyes and telescopes, only a few people see it green. This bright planetary is visible in all apertures, including binoculars with very good eyes. You'll see what seems to be a double star, but one looks "out of focus". With a medium magnification of 75x, you can see a hint of detail and it's bright 10.5 magnitude central star. With high magnification, You can see what seems like an inner "bubble" with an outer shell. It's a marvelous object in large telescopes.

NGC2362
Object type: Open Cluster
Magnitude: 3.8
Size: 8'
Constellation: Canis Major
RA: 07h 18m 41.5s
Dec: -24 57' 15"
Info: This is a gorgeous, bright open cluster in Canis Major. It's magnitude 3.8 because of the bright 3.8th magnitude naked eye star, Tau Cma, it surrounds. The cluster itself is still bright, visible with just binoculars! It's a real treat in a telescope. It's quite packed together, but very easily resolved. It has a square-like shape to it, which makes it interesting. For it surrounding the bright naked eye star, It's very easy to find. This should definately be checked out!

NGC4631
Object type: Galaxy
Magnitude: 9.1
Size: 15.5'x2.7'
Constellation: Canes Venatici
RA: 12h 42m 08.1s
Dec: +32 32' 26"
Info: This is a large, bright, edge on galaxy in Canes Venatici. I've seen it clearly in scopes as small as 70mm. I've not yet to see this in binoculars, but it's possible to be glimpsed at dark locations with large binoculars. With a small telescope, You'll see a grey elongated, long haze. In a larger aperture, 6"+, you can see the hints of the dusty surface. You can also glimpse it's companian, The Pup. This galaxy is a little tough to find at first. You can make a system that'll make finding in much easier. My secret is to center your red dot finder or telrad between the two naked eye stars Cor Caroli and 15 Gam Com. It'll either be in your field of view or just outside.

 
NGC2158
Object type: Open Cluster
Magnitude: 8.6
Size: 5'
Constellation: Gemini
RA: 06h 07m 25.6s
Dec: +24 05' 46"
Info: Ever looked at M35 and noticed a little "puff" right next to it? That's NGC2158! This unusual packed, rich open cluster can easily be mistaken for a globular cluster. With small apertures, it appears a small "Puff" with some stars resolved at moderate power. With larger apertures with high power, it's a beautiful star cloud. This cluster is very easy to find, Just move over from the naked eye star Propus 1 Gem and center M35. With low power, Both clusters will share the field of view.

NGC2438
Object type: Planetary Nebula
Magnitude: 10.8
Size: 73"x68"
Constellation: Monoceros
RA: 07h 41m 50.4s
Dec: -14 44' 09"
Info: This is a neat, large planetary nebula inside the open cluster, M46. This planetary nebula is not as bright as the other 2 in this list. The surface is slightly lower and only visible in small apertures with a nebula filter. The nebula appears as a large smokey ring, Like M57. It's a tough to see the annularity of this nebula with apertures under 90mm. 90mm+ is more noticable. It's a real treat to see this planetary inside the beautful star field of M46.

NGC4449
Object type: Galaxy
Magnitude: 9.8
Size: 6.2'x4.4'
Constellation: Canes Venatici
RA: 12h 28m 11.1s
Dec: +44 05' 36
Info: This is another Irregular Galaxy, just like NGC4490 already in the list. They're both nearly identical. Both are exemptionally bright and have plenty of detail. This galaxy, just like NGC4490, is visible in scopes as low as 70mm as a grey puff. With apertures larger then 4", you can see hints of detail.

 
Those are the top 10 objects in small apertures this month, Good luck and clear skies everyone!