Imaging the Messiers for the Astronomical League
(Imaging Messier Observing Program)
Updated 07/21/24 07:26 PM -0400

Seeing what the ZWO SeeStar S50 can do for this classic list of star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies!
All images are 2-5 minutes of live stacking of 10' exposures unless otherwise noted.

 All images are taken using a ZWO SeeStar S50 (50mm refractor at 202mm FL with the IMX462 imaging chip) at Deerlick Astronomy Village, Sharon GA (33.553879, -82.761069) unless noted otherwise. Time and date stamps, plus total stack times, are usually shown in the image watermark. The images below are just the jpgs produced by the SeeStar (not the fits files) and are minimally post-processed. Initially I only tweaked them using my phone apps but as the project progressed I discovered that it actually took less time (<5 minutes total) and gave better results to do a 1-click Topaz DeNoise followed by 1-3 clicks of simple adjustments in Photoshop CS5.

Base chart from https://astropixels.com/messier/messiercat.html

Messier Catalog

M	Type	Mag.	Date Observed	Time (ET)  Observed	S/T	Image	Comments	Size arcmin	Distance (ly)	Right Ascension	Declination	Con	Viewing Season	Common Name
M1	Sn	8.4	1/11/24	21:49	T4/5 S2/5		Rather than a crab, I think this nebula looks more like a member of Casper's ghost family. It's an oblong oval of semi-transparent, multicolored nebulosity, bent in somewhat of an "S" shape. Bonus: Asteroid Vesta was travelling through the neighborhood and graced us with a cameo appearance! I've labeled her in the shot.	6x4	6300	5h 34.5m	+22° 01′	Tau	winter	Crab Nebula
M2	Gc	6.5	1/4/24	19:42	T4/5 S3/5		Bright glob, really stands out in the field! Intense core surrounded by gold & white stars. Pretty.	12.9	37900	21h 33.5m	-00° 49′	Aqr	autumn
M3	Gc	6.2	3/14/24	02:03	T2/5 S2/5 (smoke)		What a stunner! This rich globular cluster simply takes my breath away. It sparkles with gold, white, and blue stars streaming out of a dense glowing core.	16.2	33900	13h 42.2m	+28° 23′	CVn	spring
M4	Gc	5.6	5/29/24	01:03-01:07 3 images stitched; glare on left is from Antares	T2.5/5 S2/5		The marvelous M4 is sitting to the right of this field so that I could include its sweet neighbor, globular cluster NGC 6144, in the upper right. They make a nice contrast with the bold glory of M4 vs the subdued presence of dimmer (but quite lovely) NGC 6144.	26.3	7200	16h 23.6m	-26° 32′	Sco	summer
M5	Gc	5.6	4/29/24	01:27	S1/5 T2/5 66°F thin clouds		M5 is another fabulous globular cluster. Slightly larger and brighter than M3, this glob has a brilliant core with interesting strings of stars dangling down.	17.4	24500	15h 18.6m	+02° 05′	Ser	summer
M6	Oc	4.2	7/3/24	22:53	S3/5 T2.5/5		Strings of stars make sparkling wings, with one brighter star shining out on the left tip. My favorite part is the pair of little antennae made up of tiny mag 10//11 stars.	25	1600	17h 40.1m	-32° 13′	Sco	summer	Butterfly Cluster
M7	Oc	3.3	7/3/24	22:59	S3/5 T2.5/5	3-image mosaic	Known as Ptolemy's Cluster because the Greek astronomer first described it in the 2nd century. It's large and rich open cluster, technically made of of ~80 stars, but the 20 brightest stars form an eye-catching chair-like structure, or perhaps a mini-Hercules.	80	800	17h 53.9m	-34° 49′	Sco	summer	Ptolemy's Cluster
M8	Di	6.0	7/3/24	23:37	S3/5 T2.5/5		This beautiful emission nebula is lit up by bright star 9 Sgr (to the right of "the river"). A lovely sprinkling of evenly-bright stars forms an open cluster in the cloud on the opposite side. Rosy pink clouds of nebulosity set off the dark winding "river" cutting through in the middle.	90x40	5200	18h 03.8m	-24° 23′	Sgr	summer	Lagoon Nebula
M9	Gc	7.7	7/3/24	22:47	S3/5 T2.5/5		This is a moderately sized globular with a bright round compressed core. It stand out well in the field, and sits on the side of an impressive dark nebula known as Barnard 42.	9.3	26700	17h 19.2m	-18° 31′	Oph	summer
M10	Gc	6.6	5/2/24	00:29	S3/5 T3/5		As the galaxies leave us in the spring, the magnificent globs return! M10 is big, bright, and bold with nicely resolved stars. Its round core has a three-dimensional appearance, like a snowball of stars.	15.1	14400	16h 57.1m	-04° 06′	Oph	summer
M11	Oc	6.3	7/4/24	01:31	S2.5/5 T2/5		This loose cluster is popularly known as the Wild Duck Cluster because of the flying "V" shape of the stars compressed in the center. Otherwise it's a bit disorganized, with a small triangular gap in the core at the top.	14	6000	18h 51.1m	-06° 16′	Sct	summer	Wild Duck Cluster
M12	Gc	6.7	5/2/24	0:22	S3/4 T3/5		Dimmer and looser than M10, this glob still sparkles! It is rather asymmetrical and looks like a cross between an open cluster and a globular cluster. It has short stubby strings of stars crossing the center at different angles. An interesting arm of 4 stars curves up around one side (at the bottom right of the core in this framing).	14.5	16000	16h 47.2m	-01° 57′	Oph	summer
M13	Gc	5.8	5/1/24	23:46	S3/5 T3/5		A summer classic! This is a big and bright glob with a condensed core and beautiful ribbons of stars running outwards from the center. Its brilliant golden stars give it a regal touch.	16.6	25100	16h 41.7m	+36° 28′	Her	summer	Great Hercules Globular
M14	Gc	7.6	6/7/24	22:42	S4/5 T2.5/5		Big and bright, this is the largest of the three globulars in Ophiuchus. Its compact core is surrounded by a glowing haze with many resolvable stars. It is very slightly out-of round.	11.7	29000	17h 37.6m	-03° 15′	Oph	summer
M15	Gc	6.2	11/3/23 Mansfield GA	21:23	T3/5 S3/5		M15 is another of my favorite globular clusters, especially for outreach. It has a compact, dense core with a lovely scattering of halo stars surrounding it. This is a much longer exposure than the other images here; it demonstrates the field rotation due to the alt-az mount.	12.3	33600	21h 30m	+12° 10′	Peg	autumn	Great Pegasus Globular
M16	Oc	6.4	7/4/24	01:08	S2.5/5 T2/5		Made famous by the Hubble's "Pillars of Creatio" photo, this beautiful fan-shaped nebula spreads out its wings and almost fills the field. Knotty columns of gas can be seen rising vertically in the middle. It is topped by an open cluster of 80-100 stars of mixed sizes.	7	7000	18h 18.8m	-13° 47′	Ser	summer	Eagle Nebula
M17	Di	7.0	7/4/24	01:26	S2.5/5 T2/5		I see these colorful clouds more as "The Salmon" or "The Swan" rather than its other nickname, the Omega Nebula. Much depends on its orientation - in this image "the swan" is upside down! Loads of Milky Way stars fill the field.	11	5000	18h 20.8m	-16° 11′	Sgr	summer	Omega Nebula
M18	Oc	7.5	7/7/24	00:57	S2.5/5 T2/5		Hardly a cluster, more like a small compact grouping of less than a dozen stars. A milky sea of stars floods the lower portion of the field.	9	4900	18h 19.9m	-17° 08′	Sgr	summer
M19	Gc	6.8	7/3/24	22:41	S3/5 T2.5/5		This is a rather delicate and hazy globular that appears somewhat elongated veritically. The stars are clustered loosely with many individually resolved. Pretty.	13.5	28400	17h 02.6m	-26° 16′	Oph	summer
M20 (NGC  6514)	Di	9.0	7/3/24	23:19	S3/5 T2.5/5		The Trifid Nebula is such a beauty! Most attention is given to the brighter pink cloud with its stunning wiggling dark lines dividing it into three part. Don't overlook the pale blue misty cloud above it. Each cloud is illuminated by a bright star.	28	5200	18h 02.6m	-23° 02′	Sgr	summer	Trifid Nebula
M21	Oc	6.5	7/3/24	23:42	S3/5 T2.5/5		To me this is a similar cluster to small, sparse cluster M18, although it has a handful more stars. I lke the arching spray of about 10 stars coming out of the top.	13	4250	18h 04.6m	-22° 30′	Sgr	summer
M22	Gc	5.1	7/4/24	01:56	S2.5/5 T2/5		What a majestic globular cluster! It's so bright, and rich, and it sparkles like a golden orb. Swirling strings of star field stars above and below it give movement to the field.	24	10400	18h 36.4m	-23° 54′	Sgr	summer	Sagittarius Cluster
M23	Oc	6.9	7/3/24	23:24	S3/5 T2.5/5		The large open cluster looks like a moving swarm of bees. The stars are fairly even in size and spacing. One bright star sits in the top right of the field.	27	2150	17h 56.8m	-19° 01′	Sgr	summer
M24	MW	4.6	7/3/24	23:50	S3/5 T2.5/5		I first stumbled across M24 when I accidently swept throuh it with binoculars and gasped out loud with amazement - so many stars!  Here we see M24 as a swath of the Milky way passing diagonally through the field. I intentionally framed this so that part of dark nebula B93 showed on the upper right and a corner of dark LDN 322 at the bottom. If you look carefully you can see tiny cluster NGC 6603 hiding as a little denser clump of stars right in the middle of all of this!	90	10000	18h 16.9m	-18° 30′	Sgr	summer	Sagittarius Star Cloud
M25	Oc	6.5	7/4/24	01:43	S2.5/5 T2/5		This open cluster is a simple arrangement of a dozen or so medium-bright stars plus another couple dozen of smaller stars. Four of the medium-bright stars form a 4-cornered tumbler shape containing the rest of the cluster's members.	40	2000	18h 31.6m	-19° 15′	Sgr	summer
M26	Oc	8.0	7/4/24	01:37	S2.5/5 T2/5		This is a modest cluster in a busy field, without its four brightest stars, I would probably have overlooked it. Overall it's slightly rounded in shape and compact.	15	5000	18h 45.2m	-09° 24′	Sct	summer
M27	Pl	7.4	12/6/23	20:52	T3/5 S3/5		This is one of my favorite Messiers because it is so bright and beautiful. This apple core of brilliant aquamarine and rose fans out in dramatic fashion from the central star, a vivid remnant of that star's collapse thousands of years ago.	8.0x5.7	1250	19h 59.6m	+22° 43′	Vul	summer	Dumbbell Nebula
M28	Gc	6.8	7/4/24	01:48	S2.5/5 T2/5		Now this is a nice textbook globular cluster! With a bright concentrated core, it is surrounded by a flurry of little halo stars, all well resolved.	11.2	18600	18h 24.5m	-24° 52′	Sgr	summer
M29	Oc	7.1	6/8/24	00:32	T4/5 T2.5/5		This small open cluster is easy to overlook, but once you find it you can't "unsee" it. Four stars form a distinctive square box, with two sharply angled pairs of stars siting on opposite sides of the top. With a little imagination, you can see why this is called the "Cooling Tower Cluster". Lots of tiny Milky Way stars fill the top half of the field.	7	4000	20h 23.9m	+38° 32′	Cyg	summer
M30	Gc	7.2	7/4/24	02:39	S2.5/5 T2/5		This is an interesting globular cluster, with a little bit of that "squashed bug" look. it has a very bright center, with three strings of halo stars extending upwards like a Burger King crown. A 4th string of stars running out from the left gives it yet another look - that of an open hand, with this 4th string being the thumb. Bright star 41 Cap sits off to the lower left.	11	26100	21h 40.4m	-23° 11′	Cap	autumn
M31	Sp	3.4	1/4/24	20:43	S2.5/5 T2/5		This is just the center of our massive sister galaxy M31. Prominent dust lanes are evident, giving nice spiral structure to the arms. M32 lies to the upper left and M110 to the lower right. I hope someday Seestar will have mosaic mode to make it easy to combine all three galaxies into one large panorama.	178x63	3 million	0h 41.8m	+41° 16′	And	autumn	Andromeda Galaxy
M32	El	8.1	1/4/24	20:24	T4/5 S3/5		The edge of master galaxy M31 can be seen on the right edge of the field. This is an elliptical galaxy with a slight oval tilt to it and a bright core.	8x6	3 million	0h 42.8m	+40° 52′	And	autumn
M33 (NGC 598)	Sp	5.7	1/4/24	20:14	T4/5 S3/5		This is a beautiful face-on spiral, very large and faint. Exquisite details in arm structure can be seen, with lots of clumpy regions and darker dust lanes present. A pretty string of 5 field stars dangles just to the left of center.	73x45	3 million	1h 33.9m	+30° 39′	Tri	autumn	Triangulum Galaxy
M34	Oc	5.5	1/4/24	22:33	T4/5 S3/5		This is a lovely, loose open cluster with brighter pairs of stars hopping through it. A nice drizzle of 10-12 medium size stars flows down from a bright star to the upper left of center.	35	1400	2h 42m	+42° 47′	Per	autumn
M35 (NGC 2158)	Oc	5.3	1/11/24	22:09	T4/5 S2/5		The was the first star cluster I could reliably find in binoculars when I started learning the sky. I just looked for Castor's fuzzy soccer ball, sitting just off of his foot. Overall the cluster is elongated, almost vase-like in shape at low mag and manages to stand out in a busy field.	28	2800	6h 08.9m	+24° 20′	Gem	winter
M36	Oc	6.3	1/29/24	19:43	T3/5 S2/53		The Pinwheel Cluster - lines of stars give it a "legs and arms" look. Very angular, with a noticeable asymmetry (a thicker "arm") unbalancing the upper half.	12	4100	5h 36.1m	+34° 08′	Aur	winter
M37	Oc	6.2	1/11/24	22:01	T4/5 S2/5		This cluster is even more dense than M38, with a bright wedge-shaped concentration of stars in the center. This elongated triangle of tightly packed stars is readily visible in even the small thumbnail image (left)!	24	4400	5h 52.4m	+32° 33′	Aur	winter
M38	Oc	7.4	1/11/24	21:30	T4/5 S2/5		Another nice open cluster, more concentrated and with more uniformity of stars than M39. A few strings of tightly lined-up stars add interest.	21	4200	5h 28.7m	+35° 50′	Aur	winter
M39	Oc	4.6	1/11/24	19:35	T4/5 S2/5		A dozen brighter stars are scattered about in this large, loose open cluster in a very busy field crowded with lots of smaller stars. Pretty!	32	825	21h 32.2m	+48° 26′	Cyg	autumn
M40	Ds	8.4	2/3/24	00:15	T4/5 S3/5		Messier 40 is simply an evenly-matched pair of stars, now known as Winnecke 4. This duo sits underneath small galaxy NGC 4290 - could that possibly be what Charles Messier meant to record? (Seems too small & dim to me for his possible detection but I could easily be wrong!)  Four other NGC galaxies are in the field. I had not noticed the lower three NGC objects before.	0.8	510	12h 22.4m	+58° 05′	UMa	spring	Winnecke 4
M41	Oc	4.6	1/4/24	22:26	T4/5 S3/5		This beautiful loose cluster has a rough wing-like shape. Member stars are of varying sizes. The image also features a Quadrantid meteor passing through!	38	2300	6h 47m	-20° 44′	CMa	winter
M42	Di	4.0	1/4/24	22:09	T4/5 S3/5		I've never seen the Orion Nebula look so lovely in such a short time through a telescope. (it started appearing like this in less than 1 minute of live stacking!) Gorgeous pink and cream clouds of nebulosity billow out from the region of Theta Ori.	85x60	1600	5h 35.4m	-05° 27′	Ori	winter	Great Nebula in Orion
M43	Di	9.0	1/4/24	22:09	T4/5 S3/5		M43 is the often-overlooked sibling of M42. It is a round bubble oF rosy clouds surrounding an embedded star. It can be found just above a dark, spectre-like dust cloud at the upper left edge df M42	20x15	1600	5h 35.6m	-05° 16′	Ori	winter	De Mairan's Nebula
M44	Oc	3.7	1/4/24	23:00	T2/5 S3/5		This is "the Beehive" open cluster, where I'm assuming the dozen brighter stars might represent the closest/bigger individual bees and the dimmer ones represent the buzzy bee cloud (!). It is a loose cluster and has been known since ancient times. It can be spotted as a fuzzy spot by naked eye (in good skies). It is thought to be roughly the same age as the Hyades (625-790 myrs old) and shares the same proper motion direction.	95	577	8h 40.1m	+19° 59′	Cnc	winter	Beehive Cluster
M45	Oc	1.6	12/4/23 taken in Atlanta GA	21:51	T2/5 S2/5		The Pleiades are always a welcome sight in the fall, signalling that mighty Orion is not far behind. This "teeny tiny dipper" shows a touch of nice glow around the primary blue-white stars of the asterism. I plan to get a larger FOV image once mosaic mode is implemented in the capture software.	110	380	3h 47m	+24° 07′	Tau	winter	Pleiades
M46	Oc	6.0	1/4/24	23:50	T1/5 S2/5		(Ground fog rolling in!) Look at the plantary nebula inside of this open cluster! I tend to forget about this foreground PN so it's always a delight to find it again! The M46 cluster is grainy and rather dense (for an open cluster), crowded with evenly bright stars.	27	5400	7h 41.8m	-14° 49′	Pup	winter
M47 (NGC 2422)	Oc	5.2	1/4/24	23:40	T1/5 S2/5		(Ground fog rolling in!) Much more distinct than M46, this cluster features 5-6 brighter stars scattered among smaller stars. Four of these bright stars sit in trapezoid shape and define the center of the cluster.	30	1600	7h 36.6m	-14° 30′	Pup	winter
M48 (NGC 2548)	Oc	5.5	1/4/24	23:30	T2/5 S2/5		(Ground fog rolling in!) This large cluster has a "finger of darkness" reaching through its center! More of the brighter stars are above the dark lane than are below it and sit in a loose clump, more or less at the OC's center.	54	1500	8h 13.8m	-05° 48′	Hya	winter
M49	El	8.4	3/31/24	00:27	T2/5 S2/5	The above image is a 3 minute stack, with galaxy labels. The above image is a 5 minute stack (no labels).	Messier 49 is a bright slightly elongated elliptical galaxy with an even, diffuse haze surrounding it. No other detail can be detected. I was surprised to see however that it is neighbored by at least five other tiny galaxies. The first image has these surrounding galaxies labeled; the second image is a longer stack and gives a better view of all of the galaxies in the field.	9x7.5	60 million	12h 29.8m	+08° 00′	Vir	spring
M50	Oc	6.3	1/4/24	22:50	T2/5 S3/5		Very loose, but a nice and bright grouping. A few smaller/dimmer stars are mixed in with larger/brighter ones. An angled rough arc of stars sits askew below the cluster's center.	16	3000	7h 03.2m	-08° 20′	Mon	winter
M51	Sp	8.4	03/20/24	05:51	T3/4 S1/5		Stunning M51 never fails to delight! Its beautiful spiral arms sparkle with stars. Dust lanes and bright streaky areas add further interest. It's fascinating to see its grip on smaller spiral neighbor, NGC 5194. It appears doubtful that the companion galaxy can escape the likely fate awaiting it.	11x7	37 million	13h 30m	+47° 11′	CVn	spring	Whirlpool Galaxy
M52	Oc	7.3	1/4/24	21:09	T4/5 S3/5		A dense fine grained cluster with a wedge-shaped concentration in its lower right. A few brighter stars are seen, but most of the others are medium to small, packed closely together. Overall it has a wind-blown look, with stars seeming to waft off towards to upper right.	13	5000	23h 24.2m	+61° 35′	Cas	autumn
M53	Gc	7.6	3/31/24	00:42	T2/5 S2/5		Two remarkable but very different globulars - M53 (top) and NGC 5053 (bottom). M53 is round and brilliant, beautiful and bright. NGC is more straggly, scattered, and dim; it is less dense, irregular, and maybe even a bit mysterious.It was a challenge to fit them both into the field but I waited until they rotated to opposite corners of the same field with this alt-az mount.	12.6	59700	13h 12.9m	+18° 10′	Com	spring
M54	Gc	7.6	7/4/24	02:14	S2.5/5 T2/5		While bright, this globular cluster is somewhat unremarkable because it it so compact that it could easily be mistaken for a very bright star. It is surrounded by a dim haze. Only 4 stars are easily resolvable, and those form a rough triangle around the rim of the bright core.	9.1	88700	18h 55.1m	-30° 29′	Sgr	summer
M55	Gc	6.3	7/4/24	02:19	S2.5/5 T2/5		Now this is what I'm talking about! This fabulous glob is large and glowing with sparkling stars. A peculiarly dim section along the edge between 6 & 9 o'clock gives it a unique look.	19	17600	19h 40m	-30° 58′	Sgr	summer	Summer Rose Star
M56	Gc	8.3	6/8/24	00:06	T4/5 S2.5/5		This globular in Lyra is not as compact or as bright as many of the other Messier globs. Its core has a faint glow to it, with many stars resolvable across its face. The halo is less defined and holds fairly closely to the center.	7.1	32900	19h 16.6m	+30° 11′	Lyr	summer
M57	Pl	8.8	5/2/24	00:46	S3/5 T3/5		The cosmic cheerio! I wasn't sure how this would photograph, being so small in diameter, but it was nice, crisp, and bright, and showed off its aquamarine center. It is somewaht asymmetrically oval in shape. I used the telescope's built-in LP filter (OIII 30nm/Hα 20nm) which added a greenish cast to the background.	1.4x1.0	2300	18h 53.6m	+33° 02′	Lyr	summer	Ring Nebula
M58	Ba	9.7	3/31/24	00:27	S2/5 T3/5 68°F		M58 (seen here in the upper left) is a spiral galaxy with an elongated, bright core. The surrounding outer haze appears to have a slight gap below the core. In this same field at the lower left we have the pretty galaxy line-of-sight pair, the Siamese Twins, NGC 4567/4568.	5.5x4.5	60 million	12h 37.7m	+11° 49′	Vir	spring
M59	El	9.6	4/28/24	22:20	S1/5 T2/5 66°F 18% clouds		This nice Messier duo is located just east of spiral galaxy M58. First up is M59, a bright, elongated elliptical galaxy with a long broad core. its neighbor, the luminous spherical galaxy M60, sits further to the east (left) and has its own fainter companion, spiral NGC 4657 (not labeled) sitting almost on top of it. This field is packed with galaxies - 9 other smaller ones are labeled in this field!	5x3.5	60 million	12h 42m	+11° 39′	Vir	spring
M60	El	8.8	4/28/24	22:20	S1/5 T2/5 66°F 18% clouds	see above image of M59	see above	7x6	60 million	12h 43.7m	+11° 33′	Vir	spring
M61 (NGC 4303)	Sp	9.7	4/28/24	23:27	S1/5 T2/5 66°F 18% clouds		M61 is a face-on spiral galaxy with a small (but bright) round core. Its arms are unusually angled and crab-like. Two tiny galaxies, NGC 4301, left, and NGC 4292, right, sit just above it.	6x5.5	60 million	12h 21.9m	+04° 28′	Vir	spring	Swelling Spiral Galaxy
M62	Gc	6.5	7/3/24	22:34	S3/5 T2.5/5		This is a sweet hazy globular with a multitude of easily-resolved stars all around it. A gentle glow seems to emanate from it. If globs had gender, I would consider this one a female. :)	14.1	22500	17h 01.2m	-30° 07′	Oph	summer
M63	Sp	8.6	3/14/24	01:04	T2/5 S2/5 (smoke)		M63 is an elongated spiral with its face tilted slightly away from us.(I suppose it could look like a sunflower turning its face towards the sun.) Its swirly interior is mottled and indistinct but motion can be sensed. The lower part of the spiral face is noticeably drawn out into thin clumpy wisps. Its upper end is marked by a bright mag 9 star.	10x6	37 million	13h 15.8m	+42° 02′	CVn	spring	Sunflower Galaxy
M64	Sp	8.5	3/30/24	23:49	T3/5 S2/5		M64 is called the "Black Eye Galaxy" for obvious reasons - it is sporting a a dark semi circle of dust that blackens one side of this galaxy's small bright nucleus. A bright egg-shaped haze surrounds the core; this bright haze is itself surrounded by a thinner haze that extend s with diffuse blunt tips on from each end.	9.3x5.4	19 million	12h 56.7m	+21° 41′	Com	spring	Black Eye Galaxy
M65	Sp	9.3	3/14/24	01:16	T2/5 S2/5 (smoke)		M65 is part of the magnificent Leo Triplet.  In this orientation M65 is the elongated galaxy on the lower right. The other members are M66 (lower left) and NGC 3628 (upper left). M65 is sitting at an oblique angle to us, appearing tight and condensed. A dark dust lane is visible on one side and there are clumps and knots in the arms. Description continues for M66, next.	8x1.5	35 million	11h 18.9m	+13° 05′	Leo	spring	Leo Triplet
M66	Sp	8.9	3/14/24	01:16	T2/5 S2/5 (smoke)		M66 is the lower left member of the Leo Triplet.It is by far the brightest of the three. It has a disturbed interior, with sharp angles, knots, and dust entwined in its bright spiral arms. It seems to have been in a wrestling match with one of its neighbors at some time in the past. Very striking!	8x2.5	35 million	11h 20.2m	+12° 59′	Leo	spring	Leo Triplet
M67	Oc	6.1	1/4/24	23:18	T3/5 S2/5		A tightly-packed open cluster with one bright star sitting alone to the left and a pacman-like gap of darkness at the lower right edge.	30	2700	8h 50.4m	+11° 49′	Cnc	winter
M68	Gc	7.8	4/29/24	00:07	S1/5 T2/5 66°F thin clouds		Even at its highest here, M68 sits low in the sky due to its location in Hydra. M68 is a relatively modest globular cluster, with good resolution of the individual stars as they are sprinkled over the silvery core. Rather pretty!	12	33300	12h 39.5m	-26° 45′	Hya	spring
M69	Gc	7.6	7/4/24	02:49	S2.5/5 T2/5		This is a small, very compact glob, with a tight star-like center and tiny halo stars buzzing around it. Save for a long mag 8 star nearby on its upper right, the busy field is crowded with smaller stars.	7.1	28000	18h 31.4m	-32° 21′	Sgr	summer
M70	Gc	7.9	7/4/24	02:08	S2.5/5 T2/5		Another petite globular, M70 is similar in size to M69 but is not quite as bright.its center is stellar in appearance, with two short dangles of stars emerging out of it. Towards the left edge of the field, two irregular strings of fairly evenly spaced brighter stars stand out (one vertical line of three stars, the other a diagonal of four).	7.8	29400	18h 43.2m	-32° 18′	Sgr	summer
M71	Gc	8.2	5/29/24	00:24	T2.5/5 S2/5		Globular cluster M71 is off-center here so that I could also get Harvard 20 (Ha20) in the field of view. Ha20 is the very loose and sparse open cluster to the far right of the frame, slightly lower than M71.	7.2	12700	19h 53.8m	+18° 47′	Sge	summer
M72	Gc	9.3	7/4/24	02:28	S2.5/5 T2/5		This glob has a slim, somewhat triangular center with a loose scattering of nicely resolved halo stars around it.	5.9	55400	20h 53.5m	-12° 32′	Aqr	summer
M73	As	9.0	7/4/24	02:34	S2.5/5 T2/5		Neighboring M72 is M73, an oopsie grouping of four bright stars that with poor optics must have been mistaken at some point as a comet. Three of the stars are evenly bright and form an equalateral triangle, with the fourth smaller one twinning closely to the star at the upper right corner.	2.8	2000	20h 59m	-12° 38′	Aqr	summer
M74	Sp	9.4	1/4/24	20:03	T4/5 S3/5		What a dainty face-on spiral! It is quite dim, but comes in nicely with live stacking. I love the pretty spiral arms, dressed-up with a few sparkling stars.	10.2x9.5	35 million	1h 36.7m	+15° 47′	Psc	autumn
M75	Gc	8.5	7/4/24	02:23	S2.5/5 T2/5		This globular has an extremely bright core with no resolvable stars, but it is surrounded by a busy halo of nicely resolved outer stars. For some reason it does not appear perfectly round but has a touch of angularity to it.	6	61300	20h 06.1m	-21° 55′	Sgr	summer
M76	Pl	10.1	1/4/24	21:38	T4/5 S3/5		What a difference a decade of technology makes! Nine years ago in 2015 (almost to the day), I described this as a "faint, tiny "whiff" of a smudge" when I star-hopped to it with my 8" dob. Now with EAA it jumps into view as a bright two-lobed barbell surrounded by wafts of iridescent aqua  It sits paired with a bright (mag 6.7) orange giant star just above it to the north.	2.7x1.8	3400	1h 42.4m	+51° 34′	Per	autumn	Little Dumbbell Nebula
M77	Sp	8.9	1/4/24	19:52	T4/5 S3/5		This is a condensed galaxy with a bright oval core, sourrounded by a gauzy haze. Zooming in, clumpy spiral structure can be seen. This galaxy has an active nucleus which is a radio source known as Cetus A. Mag 10 spiral galaxy NGC 1055 is its neighbor in the upper right of the field.	7x6	60 million	2h 42.7m	+00° 02′	Cet	autumn
M78	Di	8.3	1/4/24	22:44	T4/5 S3/5		This is a fairly bright relection nebula illuminated by a close pair of mag 10/11 stars. A curved arc of darkness curls above the glowing clouds like an eyebrow. A dark kidney-shaped splotch floats just above the eyebrow.	8x6	1600	5h 46.7m	+00° 03′	Ori	winter
M79	Gc	7.7	1/4/24	21:52	T4/5 S3/5		Such an interesting look to this globular cluster! The core is extremely bright and condensed. The core sits within an arc of evenly-spaced stars that, in turn, is part of an a backwards question mark asterism.	8.7	42100	5h 24.5m	-24° 33′	Lep	winter
M80	Gc	7.3	6/7/24	23:10	S4/5 T2.5/5		This rich globular sits right above M4, and although it is almost ¼ the size of its more southerly cousin, it has a similar beauty. The core is tight and compact, and is surrounded by a swarm of easily resolvable stars many of which have a golden color. Many of these stars drape the core in string-like strands. Very pretty.	8.9	32600	16h 17m	-22° 59′	Sco	summer
M81 (NGC 3034)	Sp	6.9	2/14/24	00:37	T4.5/5 S2/5		A fabulous pair! M81 is a large spiral that is not quite face on, tilted at roughly 35° away from us. A pair of cloudy arms reach out on opposite sides (top and bottom as seen here). A tight bright core is condensed in the galaxy center.	21x10	12 million	9h 55.6m	+69° 04′	UMa	spring	Bode's Galaxy
M82	Ir	8.4	2/14/24	00:37	T4.5/5 S2/5		The smaller of the paired galaxies, M82. is thin and elongated, cigar-shaped just as its nickname (Cigar Galaxy) implies. It has a disturbed interior with knots and dust lanes evident. The galaxy appears to be almost split in half by one of these dark alleyways. A delicate haze wisps out from both tapered end.	9x4	12 million	9h 55.8m	+69° 41′	UMa	spring	Cigar Galaxy
M83	Sp	7.6	4/29/24	00:37	S1/5 T2/5 66°F thin clouds		M83 is a beautiful but dim face-on spiral known as the Southern Pinwheel. Its inner arms are disturbed and somewhat chaotic looking. It is encased by a bubble of faint haze.This Messier object is even lower in the sky than M68. I was glad to capture this one before it sinks back into the southern hemisphere.	11x10	15 million	13h 37m	-29° 52′	Hya	spring	Southern Pinwheel
M84	Ln	9.1	3/30/24	23:17	T3/5 S2/5	The above image is a 2 minute stack, with galaxy labels. The above image is a 5 minute stack (no labels)	M84 and M86 are two very bright lenticular galaxies that anchor a striking field known as Markarian's Chain. I can see 16 or more galaxies surrounding this pair. The first image has major galaxies in this group labled. Some smaller unlabeled ones can also be detected. It was tricky trying to get all of these squeezed into the frame!	5	60 million	12h 25.1m	+12° 53′	Vir	spring
M85	Ln	9.1	3/30/24	22:33	T3/5 S2/5		M85 is a bright lenticular galaxy with a blazingly luminous core. It is surrounded by an oval bulging haze. A bright star sits just next to its left tip (roughly North). Smaller NGC 4394, a mag 10 spiral glaxay, sits to its lower left. Together they make a pretty pair.	7.1x5.2	60 million	12h 25.5m	+18° 12′	Com	spring
M86	Ln	8.9	3/30/24	23:17	T3/5 S2/5	The above image is a 2 minute stack, with galaxy labels. The above image is a 5 minute stack (no labels)	M84 and M86 are two very bright lenticular galaxies that anchor a striking field known as Markarian's Chain. I can see 16 or more galaxies surrounding this pair. The first image has major galaxies in this group labled. Some smaller unlabeled ones can also be detected. It was tricky trying to get all of these squeezed into the frame!	7.5x5.5	60 million	12h 26.2m	+12° 57′	Vir	spring
M87	El	8.6	4/28/24	22:31	S1/5 T2/5 66°F 18% clouds		So bright but so featureless in the camera! M87 is the home of a supermassive black hole and is known as the radio source Virgo A. A few other tiny galaxies are nearby.	7	60 million	12h 30.8m	+12° 24′	Vir	spring
M88	Sp	9.6	4/28/24	22:42	S1/5 T2/5 66°F 18% clouds		M88 is a sweet spiral galaxy that appears elongated, its face tilted slightly away from us. A dark lane can be detected inside the outer(right spiral arm. The core is a small, tight, and star-like.	7x4	60 million	12h 32.1m	+14° 26′	Com	spring
M89	El	9.8	4/28/24	23:20 (2 images stitched)	S1/5 T2/5 66°F		M89 and M90 make a lovely pair here. M90 is the striking spiral galaxy with a small, but bright, round core, seen in the upper left of the frame. The spiral arms near its core stand out nicely. M89 is the glowing elliptical galaxy to the lower right of center. Although classified as an elliptical galaxy, M89 appears to be almost perfectly round.	4	60 million	12h 35.7m	+12° 33′	Vir	spring
M90	Sp	9.5	4/28/24	23:20 (2 images stitched)	S1/5 T2/5 66°F	(with M89, see above image)	With M9, see above.	9.5x4.5	60 million	12h 36.8m	+13° 10′	Vir	spring
M91 (NGC 4548)	Ba	10.2	3/30/24	23:30	T3/5 S2/5		M91 is a pretty, barred spiral with a bright candy wrapper shaped core. Two tufted tails are being spun off from each tip in circular arc, being sweept clockwise in the surrounding hazy envelope. Another bright but slightly smaller galaxy, NGC 4571, sits directly below M91, next to a  bright mag 9 star.	5.4x4.4	60 million	12h 35.5m	+14° 30′	Com	spring
M92	Gc	6.4	4/29/24	1:34	S1/5 T2/5		Sometimes considered M13's lesser known sibling, M92 is a much smaller and more compact globular. Its core is extremely bright and tightly formed. I've often used this nice glob for outreach - it's easy for new observers to see in the eyepiece.	11.2	26700	17h 17.1m	+43° 08′	Her	summer
M93	Oc	6.0	1/4/24	23:56	T1/5 S1/5		This is a bright pizza-slice of stars sitting in a very crowded Milky Way field. Ground fog has almost reached the scope; had to refocus several times.	22	3600	7h 44.6m	-23° 52′	Pup	winter
M94	Sp	8.2	3/14/24	00:57	T2/5 S2/5 (smoke)		M94 is a celestial three-tiered bullseye. It has a blazingly bright center surrounded by a slightly less bright ring, and then by a much dimmer and dusty outer halo. The outer ring has a small curved area of darkness or void (to the lower left of center in this image). The middle ring has some jagged edges which might be arms separating slightly outwards.	7x3	15 million	12h 50.9m	+41° 08′	CVn	spring
M95	Ba	9.7	2/2/24	23:52	T3.5/5 S3/5		M95 and M96 are neighboring spiral galaxies, both just barely fitting into in the same field here. M96 is larger and more oval in shape than is its smaller, more circular partner. A hint of spiral arms can be seen in M96 despite the low magnification. M96 appears to have dark voids on opposite sides of its bright core, all encircled by a thick outer haze.	4.4x3.3	38 million	10h 44m	+11° 42′	Leo	spring
M96	Sp	9.2	2/2/24	23:52	T3.5/5 S3/5		(See M95 notes above)	6x4	38 million	10h 46.8m	+11° 49′	Leo	spring
M97	Pl	9.9	3/14/24	01:55	T2/5 S2/5 (smoke)		The Owl (nebula, M97) and the Surfboard (galaxy, M108) finally rotated around just right to fit in the same shot. Happy to capture them together. The Owl is a cutie and the Surfboard is forever floating along nearby!	3.4x3.3	2600	11h 14.8m	+55° 01′	UMa	spring	Owl Nebula
M98	Sp	10.1	3/30/24	21:20	T3/5 S2/5		M98 is an elongated spiral that looks like it's rolling over on itself. The right edge (in this orientation) is curved and the left edge is flat and straight. Knots and lumps can be seen in the bright spiral arms; the core is bright and round. Tiny companion galaxy, NGC 4186 can be detected just off its bottom right tip. A bright mag 5 star (6 Com) sits at the bottom left of the field.	9.5x3.2	60 million	12h 13.9m	+14° 55′	Com	spring
M99	Sp	9.9	3/30/24	21:33	T3/5 S2/5		Known also as the "Coma Pinwheel Galaxy" or "St Katherine's Wheel", M99 is a lovely, open-armed spiral. It looks almost directly at us, with its curving arms decorated with bluish clumps and knots. One arm is splayed out from the center much more than the rest, with a widening dark void between it and the bright core. Very pretty.	5.4x4.8	60 million	12h 18.9m	+14° 26′	Com	spring
M100	Sp	9.3	3/30/24	22:55	T3/5 S2/5	The above image is at 1 minute, with galaxy labels.  The above image is at 5 minutes (no labels)	Messier 100 is a beautiful face-on spiral, somewhat reminiscent of M99. St Katherine's Wheel. It has two very nice spiral arms sitting opposite one another as they curve around the bright central core. Bulges and knots are evident in both arms. A lovely swirling haze surrounds the arms, echoing their motion. This galaxy sits in a nice field with four other companion galaxies, NGC 4312, 4323, 4328, and IC783. I've incuded a short exposure with these galaxies labeled.	7x6	60 million	12h 23m	+15° 50′	Com	spring
M101	Sp	7.9	3/20/24	06:45	T3/5 S1/5		Although dawn was starting to break, grand M101 still graced me with a commanding pose here. This large spiral has a noticeably off-center core with four broad arms sweeping off to one side, giving the impression that it is crawling its way across the starry background, like a crab on the beach. Tiny and dim NGC 5477 can be seen in the upper right quadrant of the field.	22	27 million	14h 03.2m	+54° 21′	UMa	spring	Pinwheel Galaxy
M102 (NGC 5866)	Ln	9.9	3/20/24	06:55	T3/5 S1/5		I must admit that M102 was a bit of a let down after viewing M101 (!), but although it is much smaller, its needle-like shape with central bulge became obvious after a short exposure. Longer (and therefore brighter) exposures tended to blow it out and made the shape harder to detect. This lenticular galaxy is also known as the "Spindle Galaxy".	5.2x2.3	40 million	15h 06.5m	+55° 46′	Dra	summer
M103	Oc	7.4	1/4/24	21:17	T4/5 S3/5		This cluster stands out in the field as a crumbled wedge of stars containing a hodge-podge of large and small ones. I like the look.	6	8500	1h 33.2m	+60° 42′	Cas	autumn
M104 (NGC 4594)	Sp	8.0	4/29/24	00:13	S2/5 T2/5		Pretty M104 is called the Sombrero Galaxy for obvious reasons! The glow of the bright core bulges out over top and bottom of the delicate dust belt that extends across the middle. A beauty!	9x4	50 million	12h 40m	-11° 37′	Vir	spring	Sombrero Galaxy
M105 (NGC 3379) +NGC 3384	El	9.3	2/2/24	23:48	T3.5/5 S3/5		Messier 105 is the brightest of a galaxy triplet found near Messier 96. It is an elliptical galaxy with a round core surrounded by a hazy shell. Its closest companion, NGC 3384 is similar in size and brightness, but more elongated in appearance. The third galaxy is much smaller and dimmer, with a faded but distinct core and washed out arms.	2	38 million	10h 47.8m	+12° 35′	Leo	spring
M106 (NGC 4258)	Sp	8.4	3/14/24	00:32	T2/5 S2/5 (smoke)		Messier 106 is seen here in a field with 5 other galaxies! One of these at the top of the field, NGC 4217, is an especially striking edge-on galaxy which might actually be a physical companion to M106. Big and bright M106 has its face angled very slightly away from us, revealing its spiral interior. One bright arm stands out from the rest and seems to be paired with a dimmer arm directly across from it, giving the structure a diffuse "Z" shape. It is thought to have a supermassive black hole in the center.	19x8	25 million	12h 18.9m	+47° 19′	CVn	spring
M107 (NGC 6171)	Gc	7.9	5/2/24	00:37	T3/5 S3/5		There were so many satellites crossing this area, it looked like Star Wars up there!  This globular cluster stood unphased by it all, and showed off a nice resolution of loose stars scattered unevenly around a more concentrated but straggly core.	10	20900	16h 32.5m	-13° 03′	Oph	summer
M108 (NGC 3556)	Sp	10.0	3/14/24	01:55	T2/5 S2/5 (smoke)		The Owl (nebula, M97) and the Surfboard (galaxy, M108) finally rotated around just right to fit in the same shot. Happy to capture them together. The Owl is a cutie and the Surfboard is forever floating along nearby	8x1	45 million	11h 11.5m	+55° 40′	UMa	spring
M109 (NGC 3992)	Ba	9.8	3/13/24	23:58	T2/5 S2/5 (smoke)		Face-on M109 is a joy to observe, with its lazy-S bar and its outer encircling spiral arms. A couple of other tiny galaxies can be seen in the field.	7x4	55 million	11h 57.6m	+53° 23′	UMa	spring
M110 (NGC 205)	El	8.5	1/4/24	20:36	T4/5 S3/5		Elliptical M110, most notable as a companion galaxy to M31, is not well-defined but has an oval core surrounded by an extensive two-step envelope  (denser close to the core, thinner further out). A handful of foreground stars stand out in front of the haze. The edge of "the mothership", galaxy M31, can be glimpsed in the upper left of the field.	17x10	3 million	00h 40.4m	+41° 41′	And	autumn