WWW.ASTRONOMY.COM 61(lens-shaped) galaxy, rather than a strict
elliptical. Cranking up the power will
reveal M86’s starlike core.
Staying in Virgo, we can find another
of Messier’s ellipticals, M49, which glows
at magnitude 8.4 and measures 8.1' by
7.1'. Its oval shape is easy to see. The core
occupies the central two-thirds of this
object, and a fainter outer region envel-
ops it. Because this galaxy is relatively
bright, you can crank up the power and
reveal this outer halo.
Our next target, also located in Virgo,
is one of the best known ellipticals in the
sky: M87. To astronomers, M87 is a
treasure-trove of science. It’s a colossal
object with a mass in excess of 3 trillion
Suns and a diameter that may reach half
a million light-years. M87 also possesses
a huge array of globular clusters, perhaps
numbering in the tens of thousands.
Visually, however, you could do better.
Through any telescope up to 20 inches in
aperture, M87 appears circular, about 7'
across. Its core stands out as bright, and
it spans about one-third of the galaxy’s
overall size. To see the famous jet ema-
nating from M87’s nucleus, you’ll have
to use a 30-inch or larger telescope under
a pristine sky.
Two more Messier objects in Virgo,
M89 and M59, follow. They glow at
magnitudes 9.8 and 9.6, respectively. M59
is slightly larger, measuring 4.6' by 3.6',
compared with M89’s 3.4' diameter.
Through large amateur telescopes, M89’s
outer regions form a faint ring that fades
rapidly with increasing distance from its
center. M59 shows an oval glow and uni-
form illumination that only begins to
diminish close to the galaxy’s edge.
Our final Messier object, also in
Virgo, is M60. This bright (magnitude
8.8) but under-observed galaxy lies 1.4°
north-northeast of magnitude 4.9 Rho
(ρ) Virginis. Through medium-size tele-
scopes, M60 easily shows as a double gal-
axy. Its companion, spiral NGC 4647,
glows three magnitudes fainter, but it’s
still well within the grasp of a 6-inch
scope. M60 appears just slightly out-of-
round (7.1' by 6.1'), but is otherwise fea-
tureless and lies less than half a degree
east of M59. A low-power telescope/eye-
piece combination will reveal them both.
At magnitude 9.2, NGC 4697 in
Virgo ranks as one of the sky’s brightest
galaxies. A small telescope will reveal its
hazy nature and oblong shape (7.2' by
4.7'). Step up to an 11-inch scope, and
you’ll see much more detail. Regions out-
side this galaxy’s core show a threefold
variance in brightness, getting fainter as
you move farther away. The shape of the
bright central region may remind you of
a spiral galaxy. In fact, astronomers cat-
egorize NGC 4697 as a lenticular galaxy
— one with characteristics of both an
elliptical and a spiral.
You’ll find the Ursa Minor Dwarf
(UGC 9749) in the southernmost part
of the northernmost constellation. It lies
4.7° south-southwest of magnitude 3.0
Pherkad (Gamma [γ] Ursae Minoris). To
view this satellite of the Milky Way, use
at least an 11-inch telescope, but don’t
crank up the power.
In fact, you’ll want to use the lowest-
magnification, widest-field eyepiece you
own. That’s because this galaxy covers
one-and-a-half times more area than the
Full Moon. It measures 41' by 26'. It has a
respectable magnitude, 10.9, but because
that light is so spread out, the Ursa
Minor Dwarf has a miserably low sur-
face brightness.
The best approach for viewing this
object is to head to the darkest observing
site you can get to. Then, disengage your
telescope’s drive and slowly sweep the
dwarf ’s region of sky. What you’re look-
ing for is an ever-so-slight increase in the
background glow of your eyepiece’s field
of view.
Our final target, the magnitude 12.0
elliptical NGC 5982, teams up with two
spirals — magnitude 11.1 NGC 5985 and
magnitude 13.2 NGC 5981 — for oneremarkable view. These three objects lie
in Draco in an east-west line less than 14'
long. You’ll find them 1.8° east-northeast
of magnitude 3.3 Iota (ι) Draconis.
NGC 5982 is round, small (3' across),
and featureless. NGC 5985, meanwhile,
sports faint spiral arms, though you’ll
need at least a 12-inch telescope to spot
any detail. NGC 5981 is another of the
universe’s “needle” galaxies: Thanks to
its edge-on orientation, it simply looks
like a white line. To see this trio, use a
magnification around 100x.Go observe them
As this list shows, elliptical galaxies can
offer observers of all experience levels a
wide variety of objects. Just set up at a
dark site, take your time viewing each
object, and try a variety of eyepieces. Oh,
and have fun!M60
M87
Michael E. Bakich is a contributing editor
of Astronomy who has been observing
ellipticals since the 1960s.ADAM BLOCK/MOUNT LEMMON SKYCENTER/UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONAADAM BLOCK/MOUNT LEMMON SKYCENTER/UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA