52 AUSTRALIAN SKY & TELESCOPE May | June 2017
TARGETS
MESSIER GALAXIES: FRED ESPENAK; SKETCH: JEREMY PEREZObjects in the Lion’s den
Object Type Surface Brightness Mag(v) Size/Sep RA Dec.
M105 Elliptical 12.8 9.3 5.4′ × 4.8′ 10 h 47.8m +12 ° 3 5′
M96 Spiral 13.1 9.3 7.6′ × 5.2′ 10 h 46.8m +11° 4 9′
M95 Barred spiral 13.5 9.7 7.5′ × 5.0′ 10 h 44.0m +11° 4 2′
NGC 3384 Barred lenticular 12.6 9.9 5.5′ × 2.5′ 10 h 48.3m +12 ° 3 8′
NGC 3389 Spiral 13.2 11.9 2.8′ × 1.3′ 10 h 48.5m +12 ° 3 2′
NGC 3377 Elliptical 13.3 10.4 5.2′ × 3.0′ 10 h 47.7m +13 ° 5 9′
NGC 3367 Barred spiral 13.2 11.5 2.0′ × 1.6′ 10 h 46.6m +13 ° 4 5′
NGC 3338 Spiral 14.2 11.1 5.9′ × 3.6′ 10 h 42.1m +13 ° 4 5′
Angular sizes and separations are from recent catalogues. Visually, an object’s size is often smaller than the cataloged value and varies according to the aperture and
magnification of the viewing instrument. Right ascension and declination are for equinox 2000.0.a moderately faint halo; a bright,
relatively large, oval interior; and
roundish core that intensifies toward
an indistinct nucleus. The galaxy also
presents subtle mottling indicative of
its spiral structure, although I see no
suggestion of its arms. M95 reveals a
starlike nucleus ensconced in its core,
which sits at the centre of a bar that’s
contained by the galaxy’s bright, nearly
round interior. The whole shebang isenfolded by a diaphanous halo that
tilts north-northeast. M95’s bar points
nearly toward the fainter of the two
stars (magnitudes 10 and 12) that rest
off the galaxy’s western flank.
I used a power of 117× to pin down
some details. M105 appears about 3½′
long and nearly as wide, while nearby
NGC 3384 is about 4′ × 2 ′. NGC 3389
is roughly 2′ long and one-third as
wide. M96 bridges about 6′ and isaccompanied by a dim star near its edge,
west-northwest of the galaxy’s centre.
The halo leans a tad west of north, but
the bright, oval interior tips northwest.
M95 covers about 5′ × 3 ′, and its pallid
halo slants east of north.
Through my 25-cm scope at 192×,
M105 gains a tiny but brilliant nucleus.
The core of M96 now looks slightly oval,
and it’s skewed counter-clockwise with
respect to the galaxy’s bright interior,WTHREE TO FIVEThe Messier galaxies M95,
M96 and M105 are relatively easy targets for
small scopes. Upping the power may reveal
two dimmer galaxies east-northeast and east-
southeast of M105: NGC 3384 and NGC 3389.SSMALL-SCOPE SKETCHA 15-cm f/8
reflector reveals the bright cores and dimmer
halos of M96, M105 and NGC 3384.M96M105NGC 3384NGC 3389M105HD 93273M96
M95NGC 3384WSEN