![]() ![]() ![]() Among the galaxies with the highest known rate of star formation per unit mass, NGC 3448 is interacting with UGC 6016, a 14th-magnitude dwarf 3.8′ to the west.Īlso in this section, nearly 5° west of Phecda (Gamma UMa), we find the 10th-magnitude grand-design spiral NGC 3631. This smooth, 5′-by-1.5′ sheet of light hugs 44 UMa only 20′ to the southeast. I call this object the Cigarillo Galaxy because it’s an edge-on amorphous galaxy like the Cigar Galaxy (M82), only smaller. Here, we come to our first challenge: magnitude 11. Our second section lies entirely within Ursa Major. To see its arms well, however, will require at least a 12-inch instrument. It is one of the bluest spirals known, and it’s also the brightest disturbed galaxy in the late Halton Arp’s Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies. Through a 4-inch telescope at 150x, it resembles a swollen planetary nebula 3.5′ across. We see this face-on, 10.8-magnitude starburst galaxy less than 3.5° southwest of 44 UMa. ![]() Heading northward, we encounter the peculiar grand-design spiral NGC 3310. Visible in a 4-inch scope at 100x, this 8′-by-1.5′ streak of light looks like a phantom Frisbee (oriented roughly north to south) near a triangle of stars. It is one of the nearest and brightest Seyfert galaxies, which have both glowing, active cores and clearly visible disks. Next, turn your attention 2° northeast of Phi (ϕ) UMa to the spectacular edge-on gem NGC 3079. Note that the northern flank is punctured by an 11th-magnitude field star. At a magnification of 100x, its disk breaks down into delicate waves of impure light. Seen nearly face-on, this magnitude 9.5 circular glow sports a 7′-wide disk hugging a stellar core. Now thread your way to Tania Australis (Mu Ursae Majoris) and look only 45′ west for the Little Pinwheel Galaxy (NGC 3184). It also has a distinct sheen - like moonlight glinting off the blade of a sword. This luscious magnitude 9.7 spiral, which tilts just 11° from edge-on, carries the moniker “UFO Galaxy.” Through all instruments, it appears as a silver needle (9′ by 3′) elongated northeast to southwest. We begin with our first needle, NGC 2683, located within the borders of Lynx, but about 1° northwest of magnitude 5.4 Sigma2 (σ2) Cancri. The first section of sky we’ll examine lies in the constellations Lynx and Ursa Major. ![]()
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