SPRING GALAXY TOUR

Take a galactic excursion this spring with All About Space

here was a time when we thought that our Milky Way galaxy was all there is. In the 18th century, when astronomers like Charles T Messier began spotting faint, fuzzy patches of light between the stars, it was thought they must be clouds within our own galaxy. The alternative didn’t bear thinking about, that they were faint because they were incredibly far away, much further away than the astronomers of the day could reconcile with their idea of the scale of the universe. This belief was widely held right up until the early 20th century. Eventually, Edwin Hubble was able to show that these foggy smudges were indeed incredibly far away – many millions of light years from us, in fact. Fast-forward to the modern day and amateur observing equipment has never been so accessible. This has brought these distant galaxies into the realm of the beginner, meaning you too can marvel at these far-off spectacles for yourself. What’s more, spring is the best time to begin, as the sky is littered with these cities of stars.

This time of year is particularly favourable because Earth is positioned around the Sun such that at night we are looking towards many distant galaxy clusters. Draw a triangle between the bright stars Spica in Virgo, Arcturus in Boötes and Regulus in Leo, and many of the galaxies to look to fall within that space. A few others sit slightly higher around the famous stars of the Big Dipper. We’ve set out a tour of 25 galaxies for you to find, starting near the Big Dipper and ending up inside that triangle in the constellation of Virgo.

First things first, you’re never going to get as good a view as professional telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope. The distances of these galaxies mean that they’re very faint, and it’s often hard to pick out details unless you have more advanced imaging equipment. Nonetheless, many of these galaxies can be located using just a good binocular. In some cases you’ll need a small telescope. The bigger the aperture and the wider the telescope mirror the better. Think of your telescope as a light bucket. The more light you can collect in your bucket, the more distant galaxies you can pick up.

You can also employ some useful tips to boost your chances of seeing galaxies. The first trick is called averted vision. This is where you don’t look directly at the galaxy but slightly off to the side. This lets the light into the parts of your eye that are more sensitive to dim light. Another useful tip is to try tapping the tube of your telescope slightly so that it vibrates just a little. This will cause the galaxy to wobble in the field of view, often making it easier to see. You should also be aware that galaxies aren’t always spirals like our Milky Way, and even then some spirals are seen edge-on, so they aren’t as bright or detailed.

“ The distances of these galaxies mean that they’re very faint , and it’s often hard to pick out details”