48 ASTRONOMY • JUNE 2019
with this one, the
final four images
were reversed.
Seeing NGC 5128 high in the sky
is one of the thrills of Southern
Hemisphere observing. Skygazers there
call it the Hamburger Galaxy because two
stellar regions (the bun) surround a dark,
dusty lane (the burger). Its more common
name is Centaurus A, because it was the
first radio source identified in the constel-
lation Centaurus.
Unfortunately, most northern viewers
get only a taste of this object’s details. For
example, even from southerly Tucson,
Arizona, NGC 5128 climbs to a maximum
altitude of 15°. Viewing any object
through that much of Earth’s atmosphere
presents a distorted view. For best results,
head farther south.
NGC 5128 is a peculiar galaxy that
glows at magnitude 6.7. It’s not quite
round, but it is big, with dimensions
of 31' by 23'. To find it, look 4½° west
of magnitude 3.5 Mu (μ) Centauri.
Scottish astronomer James
Dunlop discovered NGC 5128 in
1826, and published the observation
within a list of 629 objects titled “A
catalogue of nebulae and clusters of
stars in the southern hemisphere,
observed at Parramatta in New South
Wales,” which appeared in volume 118
of the Philosophical Transactions of the
Royal Society.
NGC 5128’s appearance arises from
a galactic collision. The main body of
Centaurus A — a giant elliptical galaxy
— is absorbing a smaller spiral galaxy.
The two objects collided more than
200 million years ago, causing huge
bouts of star formation.
Through small telescopes, NGC 5128
appears round with a wide, dark lane cut-
ting the galaxy in half. Use a 12-inch or
larger scope, and you’ll see a thin wedge of
light shining through the lane’s western
end. That lane widens on both ends.NGC 1300
NGC 1300 in the constellation Eridanus
has a simple shape: that of a squashed let-
ter S. Once you observe it, I’d wager you’ll
find yourself returning to view this celes-
tial wonder again and again. Better yet,
show it to your friends. It’s a classic barred
spiral galaxy with two arms, both of which
originate from the ends of the bar and
move out at right angles to it.
To find NGC 1300, look 2.3° due north
of magnitude 3.7 Tau^4 (τ^4 ) Eridani.
Although, at magnitude 10.4, it’s the faint-
est object on this list, its light covers a small
region of only 5.5' by 2.9', so it’s not hard to
spot even through small telescopes.
If you have an 8-inch or larger scope,
crank the magnification past 200x and look
first for the bright oval nucleus. It’s twice as
long as it is wide. The next features that will
become evident are the beginnings of the
spiral arms. They’re quite clumpy near the
nucleus. Finally, if you’re viewing through a
16-inch or larger scope, try to trace the thin
spiral arms as they tightly curve past the
nucleus on the northern and southern sides.HUBBLE HERITAGE TEAM/ESA/NASA
NGC 1300M31