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The Black Eye Galaxy (Messier 64)
A dark lane of dust curved around this distant
spiral galaxy gives it its nickname, but you will
only appreciate its ‘black-eye’ appearance through
the high-power eyepieces of large telescopes.
1
Messier 53
At magnitude 7.6 this globular cluster is bright
enough to be seen in small telescopes, but larger
instruments will resolve its small, hazy ball into a
mottled disc of stars.
3
The Needle Galaxy (NGC 4565)
This is one of the most prominent and
famous edge-on galaxies in the sky. Large
telescopes best show its bright core silhouetted
against its dark disc.
4
NGC 4559
The spiral arms of this obliquely viewed
ninth-magnitude galaxy are tightly wound, so
hard to see properly, but a large telescope will reveal
their star-forming regions as brighter patches.
5
The Whale Galaxy (NGC 4631)
This ancient globular cluster is visible even in
small telescopes as an out-of-focus star. Larger
instruments reveal its mottled core.
6
The Silver Needle Galaxy
(NGC 4244)
You’ll need a large telescope, powerful
eyepiece and a perfect sky to see this edge-on spiral
galaxy – even then it will only look like a pale, thin,
ghostly streak of grey with a slightly brighter core.
The Whale Galaxy (NGC 4631) © NASA;ESA
Deep sky challenge
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