M101, The Pinwheel Galaxy (NGC 5457), Ursa Major. RA 14:03 13, DEC 54:20 57
M101, The Pinwheel Galaxy is an elegant face on spiral galaxy 27 million light years away, it is also a giant at 170,000 light years across which makes it 70% larger in diameter than the Milky Way. The nucleus is out of centre in M101, the spiral arms seem to have been dragged out on it’s southern side. This is probably due to an interaction with another galaxy, as such near collisions amplify the density waves in the spiral arms that travel through the interstellar dust and gas triggering star formation. Smaller telescopes will only usually only see the bright nucleus of M101, a larger instrument will be needed to get any hint of spiral structure. This galaxy requires very dark skies and is best at low power. M101 is at magnitude 8.3
M101, The Pinwheel Galaxy
M102 The Missing Messier.
M102 has long been thought of as an entry that was mistakenly entered as a duplicate of another Messier object, maybe M101. But evidence suggests that it could be the edge on galaxy NGC 5866, The Spindle Galaxy in Draco. Although other galaxies have been suggested as contenders.
M102 The missing Messier, NGC 5866
M103 (NGC 581), Cassiopeia. RA 01:33 2, DEC 60:42
M103 is a loose open cluster with about 40 stars as members, and about 8,000 light years away which is quite remote for an open cluster in the Messier list. M103 is around 25 million years old, 15 light years across, and approaching us at 37 km/sec. This open cluster is in the band of the Milky Way as it runs through Cassiopeia and quite near some other nice open clusters in the same constellation. One of the main stars in Cassiopeia is named Ruchbah, 0.5 degree north and 1 degree east of this star is M103. This open cluster is best in binoculars rather than a telescope. M103 is at magnitude 7.4
Open cluster M103
M104, The Sombrero Galaxy (NGC 4594), Virgo. RA 12:39 59, DEC -11:37 23
M104, The Sombrero Galaxy is a nearly edge on spiral galaxy famous for it’s dark dust lanes encircling a brilliant white, unusually large bulbous core. This is a massive object in the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, equivalent to 800 billion Suns. X-ray emissions from the core suggest material is falling into a 1 billion solar mass black hole, the largest black hole of any galaxy. M104 is 50 million light years away, receding from us at 1,100 km/sec, and has a very large population of globular cluster. This iconic galaxy is well within the reach of amateur astronomers at magnitude 9.0
M104, The Sombrero Galaxy
M105 (NGC 3379), Leo. RA 10;47 49, DEC 12:34 54
M105 is an elliptical galaxy and one of the members of the M96 group in Leo. It is 38 million light years away, the brightest elliptical in the Leo group, and known for it’s super-massive black hole at 50 million solar masses. M105 is receding from us at 752 km/sec, this standard representation of an elliptical galaxy is at magnitude 10.2
Galaxy M105
M106 (NGC 4258),Canes Venatici. RA 12:18 57, DEC 47:18 14
M106 is a spiral galaxy 25 million light years from Earth, at just 30,000 light years across it’s under 1/3rd the size of the Milky Way, and receding at 537 km/sec. M106 is an active galaxy meaning it is a strong emitter of a strong radio source, as well as a large part of the rest of the electromagnetic spectrum. In 1996 a massive object weighing in at 36 million solar masses was found at the centre of this galaxy, packed into a space 1/24th to 1/12th of a light year in diameter. M106 also emits jets of matter from the core, as seen in other active galaxies. M106 is at magnitude 8.4
Galaxy M106
M107 (NGC 6171), Ophiuchus. RA 16:32 5, DEC -13:03
M107 is a globular cluster 21,000 light years away, is 80 light years across, and approaching us at 147 km/sec. It is quite a loose globular and lies close to the plane of the Galaxy. M107 is at magnitude 7.9
Globular cluster M107
M108 (NGC 3556), Ursa Major. RA 11:11 5, DEC 55:40
M108 is a nearly edge on spiral galaxy 45 million light years away, receding from us at 772 km/sec, and is part of the Ursa Major Cloud, a loose collection of galaxies. M108 has a patchy and mottled appearance due to the dark and dusty regions obscuring the billions of stars behind it. It doesn’t seem to have very much of a central bulge like most spiral do. This galaxy is fairly easy for the amateur astronomer and detail can be seen. It can also be in the same view with the Owl Nebula. M108 is at magnitude 10.0
Galaxy M108
M109 (NGC 3992), Ursa Major. RA 11:57 6, DEC 53:23
M109 is a barred spiral galaxy 55 million light years away, receding at 1,142 km/sec, and like M108 is a member of the Ursa Major Cloud of galaxies which contains 79 members. This galaxy is the brightest of the group. One supernova has been discovered in M109, this spiral is at magnitude 9.8
Galaxy M109
M110 (NGC 205), Andromeda. RA 00:40 22, DEC 41:41 07
M110 is a dwarf spheroidal galaxy that is a satellite of the great Andromeda Galaxy, this makes it a member of our own local group of galaxies. M110 has a mass of between 3.6 and 15 billion solar masses, and has a system of 8 globular clusters in it’s halo. It is obviously the same distance as M31 The Andromeda Galaxy at 2.5 million light years. M110 is the second brightest galaxy after M31 and is at magnitude 8.5
Galaxy M110