Think of that, the next time you are observing your favourite galaxies at the eyepiece.<\/p>\n
For more galaxy observing advice, read our guide to the best galaxies to observe<\/a> and how to observe our neighbouring galaxies<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Most of us will have ticked off the most famous galaxies in the famous Messier Catalogue<\/a>, including Bode\u2019s Galaxy and the Cigar Galaxy<\/a>, the Andromeda Galaxy<\/a>, the Whirlpool Galaxy<\/a> and the Triangulum Galaxy<\/a>, but what if you\u2019re seeking out galaxies that you\u2019ve never seen before?<\/p>\n The jump to the galaxies of the NGC and Caldwell catalogues may seem a bit daunting.<\/p>\n But we can help. Below is a list of some lesser-known galaxies that you may not have pointed your telescope at before.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re new to galaxy stalking, we suggest you start at number 1 and work your way up to the fainter examples.<\/p>\n Before you go outside, arm yourself with a detailed star chart or smartphone astronomy app to help you locate these galaxies (not forgetting to turn your smartphone screen red<\/a> or use a red light light torch<\/a> to preserve your dark-adapted vision.<\/p>\n Happy galaxy hunting!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Coordinates:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n This is a wonderful barred spiral galaxy, providing all that the budding observer could ask for: it\u2019s bright, it\u2019s detailed and it\u2019s very easy to find.<\/p>\n To locate it, carefully centre the 4th magnitude star lambda (\u03bb<\/span>) Leonis in your widest-angle eyepiece and then move south by 1\u00b0.<\/p>\n You should now have a pair of 6th and 7th magnitude stars running east to west, slightly below the centre of the field of view.<\/p>\n About 20\u2019 due south of the most easterly, and brighter of the two, is NGC 2903. Look for an elongated smudge of light.<\/p>\n It contains the light of a 9th magnitude star spread out over an ellipse, broadly 12\u2019x6\u2019 in size, but mainly concentrated in the centre.<\/p>\n Users of smaller telescopes may not pick up a lot more than the bright, elongated core of the galaxy.<\/p>\n This can also be glimpsed using binoculars of 50mm aperture or more, if you\u2019re observing from a sufficiently dark site.<\/p>\n Telescopes with apertures greater than 200mm will, under good conditions, start to pick out some mottling, which arises in part from the ionised hydrogen gas regions associated with star formation.<\/span><\/p>\n One such region in the northeasterly arm of the galaxy was sufficiently bright that it received its own NGC number \u2013 2905 \u2013 before it was realised how far out NGC 2903 extends.<\/span><\/p>\n In images there is evidence of a small bar in the structure that stands out from the dimmer arms, which you can glimpse with larger instruments visually.<\/span><\/p>\n Imagers will have a field day with NGC2903 because it\u2019s so difficult to take a bad picture of it.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Coordinates:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Sextans is not a showy constellation, but it does boast NGC 3115, also known as the \u2018Spindle Galaxy\u2019.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a lenticular spiral galaxy (type S0), which means it has no obvious spiral arms, and has a very regular distribution of stars.<\/p>\n Viewed edge-on, NGC 3115 has no dust lane and so could easily be confused with an elliptical galaxy.<\/p>\n To see it, find the 5th magnitude star gamma (\u03b3<\/span>) Sextantis. Then drop south by half a degree and move 4\u00b0 east until you reach the pair of stars 17 and 18 Sextantis.<\/p>\n From there, go northwest to a pair of 6th and 7th magnitude stars, and the Spindle Galaxy is about two-thirds of a degree west again.<\/p>\n NGC3115 is a very fine example of a deep-sky object that you can show to non-astronomers without them saying, \u201cWhat, that faint smudge?\u201d<\/p>\n This is because it has quite a high surface brightness, packing the light of a mag. +8.9 star into a tight spindle shape roughly 7\u2019x2\u2019 in size.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not ideally placed from the northern hemisphere, but look out for a bright, elongated core that can be readily seen in a 100mm reflector, with larger apertures showing the long thin plane of the galaxy. Another bonus is that it bears magnification well.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Coordinates:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Perhaps it\u2019s slightly misleading to describe 3C273 as a galaxy. It\u2019s the brightest quasar in the night sky and looks just like a dim star.<\/p>\n However, the star-like point you see arises from the enormous energies generated by the black hole that lurks at the core of its host galaxy billions of lightyears away.<\/p>\n 3C273\u2019s host galaxy itself is too dim to see, and yet its core is visible because of the huge amounts of matter that are accumulating in a spiralling accretion disc around the black hole.<\/p>\n The debris accumulates in the disc due to gravitational forces, with visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma-rays generated as some of the material makes the final plunge.<\/p>\n The quasar varies in brightness depending upon the amount of activity in the accretion disc, but at a typical magnitude of +12.5, with any light pollution at all it can prove a challenge.<\/p>\n Yet it is worth the effort, as it represents the furthest most people will ever see with a telescope.<\/p>\n The light from 3C273 started on its journey two billion years ago, so the least we can do is to get out a telescope and look at it!<\/p>\n You can find it using 79 Virginis as a starting point, taking in the galaxy NGC4536 along the way.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Coordinates:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n NGC 4565, also known as the Needle Galaxy<\/a>, is one of the best-known non-Messier galaxies in the sky.<\/p>\n Like NGC 3115, it\u2019s an edge-on spiral galaxy, but has a pronounced dark lane along its axis.<\/p>\n The dark lane is caused by dust found between the stars in the plane of the galaxy, which obscures their light.<\/p>\n The central bulge of this galaxy is also well defined and the star close to it renders it unmistakable in images.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also pretty large (15\u2019x2\u2019 when imaged, but less visually) and at mag. +9.5 is, in deep-sky terms, a bright one.<\/p>\n The field of stars within which it lies is rather sparse. This is a shame, especially given its location on the edge of the Coma Berenices<\/a> star cluster Melotte 111.<\/p>\n This galaxy is located very close to the north Galactic pole and you can track it down without too much bother.<\/p>\n Centre the mag. +4 star gamma (\u03b3<\/span>) Comae Berenices in your sight and sweep east 2\u00b0 \u2013 by chance NGC 4559 will enter into your field of view.<\/p>\n Now go 2\u00b0 south and you\u2019ll find NGC 4565.<\/p>\n It\u2019s interesting to compare these two galaxies as they have roughly the same magnitude, but different shapes, with NGC4565 being longer and thinner.<\/p>\n Both will be faintly visible in 100mm telescopes and should display hints of detail at 200mm aperture.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n![\""M81,\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2020\/09\/13_M81_M82_Brown-04c1abc.png?quality=90&resize=620%2C410"\" "\\"\"M81,\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>10 lesser-known galaxies to see through a telescope<\/strong><\/h2>\n
NGC 2903<\/h3>\n<\/div>
![\""NGC\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2022\/03\/NGC-2903-c994103.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C494"\" "\\"\"NGC\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\""NGC\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2022\/03\/NGC-2903-star-chart-1362504.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C668"\" "\\"\"NGC\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\nNGC 3115<\/h3>\n<\/div>
![\""NGC\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2022\/03\/ngc-3115-a9c4346.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C512"\" "\\"\"ngc\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\""NGC\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2022\/03\/NGC-3115-star-chart-9708913.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C700"\" "\\"\"NGC\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n3C273<\/h3>\n<\/div>
![\""Quasar\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2022\/03\/Quasar-3c273-f68b99f-e1646650506576.jpeg?quality=90&resize=620%2C470"\" "\\"\"Quasar\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\""3c273\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2022\/03\/3c273-star-chart-4ca52e8.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C777"\" "\\"\"3c273\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\nNGC 4565<\/h3>\n<\/div>
![\""NGC4565\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2019\/02\/ngc4565-LRGB-004-a85fbd0.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C495"\" "\\"\"Needle\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\""NGC\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2022\/03\/NGC-4565-star-chart-a206a71.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C690"\" "\\"\"NGC\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\nNGC 4494<\/h3>\n<\/div>