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In this episode of Star Hopping with Kissimmee Park Observatory, we'll finish up our exploration
of the Realm of the Galaxies, and show you how to find these beautiful deep sky objects:
Messier 58 Messier 90
and the Massive Elliptical Galaxy, Messier 87
Alright, Let's Go Star Hopping!
Hey
Hello Hi and welcome to Episode 20 of Star Hopping with Kissimmee Park Observatory! I'm
Dave Hearn, and I'm very fortunate to be your host. In this series of programs we'll show
you the most beautiful sights in the night sky, and explain exactly how to find them
with your binoculars or telescope.
So we’re 20 episodes into the Star Hopping Series. I would really like to get your feedback
on the show thus far - this is YOUR show, and it’s important to us to know that we’re
serving you as best as we can. Your comments and suggestions will let us improve and allow
us to tailor our astronomy content to best meet your needs. So please do take a minute
to send us your comments on the show notes at kpobservatory.org/SH020, or in the comment
section for this episode here on YouTube. We are really thrilled to be here after 20
episodes - Thank you so much for your support of our show!
So let;s move on to our final episode in this series on the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies. This
week we have arrived at the lower (which means Eastern) end of the cluster, and we have three
large galaxies to show you. Since we’re farther down we will have a different starting
point; the bright second magnitude star Vindemiatrix, located about 23 degrees up in the sky at
about 11 PM on Thursday, February 18th. So let’s check it out.
Star Hopping Target #1
Our first target this evening is Messier 58, a barred spiral galaxy, one of only four barred
spirals in Messier’s catalog. So let get started by centering your telescope on Vindemiatrix,
the third brightest star in Virgo.
Our first move is about 4 degrees to the upper right to 5th magnitude 33 Virginis.
Next, we’ll move about a degree and a half upwards to 5th magnitude Rho Virginis. You’ll
also see 6th magnitude 27 Virginis just to the upper left.
So here’s another leap of faith, so make sure you get back to this pair of stars before
you start this next move. Move 2 degrees to the upper left and you’ll run into our target,
Messier 58.
At magnitude 9.7, M58 is one of the brightest in the Virgo cluster. In smaller telescopes,
it looks similar to the Virgo ellipticals that we’ve seen, showing only its bright
nucleus. But in a medium sized scope of 8 inches or more, it may be possible to spy
the central bar that runs in an east-west direction, basically up and down in the sky
at this time of year.
As a bonus, if you move about 3/4 of a degree to the right, you may encounter The Siamese
Twins, NGC 4567 and 68; two smaller spiral galaxies that are in the process of colliding
and merging with one another. After you are done with the Siamese Twins,
move back to M58, check it out a bit more, and then prepare for the move to our next
target, Messier 90.
Star Hopping Target #2
Messier 90 is a large spiral galaxy, extending over 9 minutes of arc in its long dimension,
and it glows at magnitude 9.5.
The star hop to move from M58 to M90 is a bit difficult. Just over a degree to the upper
left lies an 8th magnitude star. Search around a bit from M58 to locate it. Once you have
a general idea of where it is, enter it in your eyepiece.
After you’re there, move just a smidge upwards (that’s the technical term for a quarter
degree). You should then view M90 coming into view.
M 90 was discovered by Charles Messier on March 18th, 1781, the same night he discovered
M 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, and 89. Quite a night for locating non-comets! I’m sure he would
have been quite worried if a potential comet was supposed to pass though this area.
So now let’s check out the brightest galaxy target in the entire Virgo Cluster. Know what
it is? Find out right after this.
Star Hopping Target #3
Our last target this week is none other the Messier 87, the brightest and one of the largest
galaxies in the entire Virgo Cluster. M 87 is famous for multiple reasons: it has a huge
globular cluster system, and also has a spectacular jet of turbulent gas extending several thousand
light years out from its core, as shown in this image from the Hubble Space Telescope.
This galaxy is also a strong radio source, cataloged as “Virgo A”. There is certainly
something very strange going on in the core of this massive galaxy. Since it’s the largest
nearby elliptical galaxy, and one of the brightest radio sources in the sky, M 87 is a popular
target for both amateur and professional astronomers.
To find M87 from our current position at M90, we have to make another leap of faith. Move
about a degree and a half to your upper right, and you will see the large bright glow that
is M87.
Visually, Messier 87 has a diameter of about 7 minutes of arc, and an apparent magnitude
of 8.6. M 87 is nearly spherical; type E0 or E1 in Hubble's classification, as we learned
back in episode 15. It has a very bright, circular halo containing an easily seen nucleus.
Now we are located just a little below Markarian’s chain, so you can move up and start hopping
around the set of Galaxies we discussed last week from the opposite direction! As I mentioned
in the first episode of this series, do all these galaxy hops with a friend - it will
make for a memorable observing session as you move through the Virgo Cluster together,
identifying these island universes together, as they appear in each of your telescopes.
Well, it’s time to review what we’ve seen. We started off from the eastern and lower
side of the Virgo cluster, positioning ourselves on the bright star Vindemiatrix in Virgo,
and first found the tight spiral M58. Then we did a quick side trip to the bonus Siamese
Twins Galaxies, NGC 4567 and 68. Then after a dangerous hop to a faint 8th magnitude star
we quickly located the large spiral M90. Then finally moving up towards our old stomping
ground of Markarian’s Chain, we located the massive elliptical radio galaxy Messier
87.
I hope you had fun in this series checking out the Virgo Cluster. As you’ve seen on
the star charts, we have only scratched the surface of this massive area of galaxies.
If you’ve done all these exercises we’ve outlined here without getting lost, you should
be very proud of yourself, as this is one of the more difficult areas in the sky for
amateur astronomers. Great job!
So that does it for this week’s episode. You can find the show notes on our website
at kpobservatory.org/SH020, where you can comment and leave any questions that you may
have. And as I mentioned at the start of the show, please do give us your feedback on the
first 20 episodes of Star Hopping. It would really mean a lot to us, and let us fine tune
the show so we can serve you that much better.
Thanks for joining us, and I’ll see you here next week with more Star Hopping tips
and tricks.
I hope you've enjoyed star hopping around the Milky Way. We'll continue to bring you
these video astronomy tutorials every week on Thursday, and in their podcast format on
Fridays. They will be designed to help you find deep sky objects that are up in the sky
at the time we post them on the Internet.
The reason we create these video and podcasts is to help beginning amateur astronomers learn
the sky and get more enjoyment out of their telescopes and astronomy in general. If you
have any requests or suggestions of potential targets in the night sky that you would like
to see us present, just let us know down in the comment section below, or on our website
blog.
Don’t miss our free Field Notes for this episode, basically the script of the show,
with all the images and start charts we use for our star hopping activities. You can get
them for free at kpobservatory.org/FieldNotes.
If this is the first time you’re checking out Star Hopping, and if you found this video
useful, please consider Subscribing to our Channel by clicking the Big Yellow Button
down there, click the Thumbs Up on the video, and please share this tutorial out to your
friends who like looking at stars. Also, as I just mentioned, please feel free to leave
any question or comment below, and we will be sure to respond quickly.
Also, please follow KPO on Facebook, where we post all of our astrophotos and keep everyone
informed about upcoming astronomical events. We'd love to hear from you to discuss all
this great stuff up in the sky.
All the links to these places including our website kpobservatory.org, can be found below
in the Episode Notes as well.
And finally, if you feel this video provides you value, and if you'd like to see more,
please consider supporting us on Patreon, where for a small amount per video, you can
support our efforts and let us make even more great astronomy tutorials like this one.
Well thanks again for watching, and we'll see you next time on Star Hopping with Kissimmee
Park Observatory.