{"id":55420,"date":"2024-03-07T11:22:13","date_gmt":"2024-03-07T11:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/a51accaa-7678-485a-ab70-aaa484cc499c"},"modified":"2024-03-07T12:32:32","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T12:32:32","slug":"yum-6-mouthwatering-galaxies-to-see-in-the-bowl-of-virgo-star-pattern","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/yum-6-mouthwatering-galaxies-to-see-in-the-bowl-of-virgo-star-pattern\/","title":{"rendered":"Yum! 6 mouthwatering galaxies to see in the Bowl of Virgo star pattern"},"content":{"rendered":"

How many galaxies can you locate in the Bowl of Virgo? <\/p>

By Pete Lawrence\n <\/p>

Published: Thursday, 07 March 2024 at 11:22 AM<\/p>

\n\n

Virgo is a sprawling constellation defined by the Bowl of Virgo asterism<\/a>. Inside the Bowl lies the \u2018Realm of Galaxies\u2019, thanks to the presence of the Virgo Supercluster<\/a>.<\/p>

The Bowl of Virgo is an informal star pattern that contains wonderful galaxies just ripe for exploring through your telescope.<\/p>

Springtime is known as ‘galaxy season<\/a>‘ for astronomers, and if you’re looking for a good place to start, the Bowl of Virgo<\/a> should be high on your list.<\/p>

Chart showing the Bowl of Virgo asterism. This region of the sky has multiple galaxies to observe through a telescope. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>
It’s located, unsurprisingly, in the Virgo constellation, and we’ve put together 6 of the most beautiful galaxies you can find in the Bowl of Virgo.<\/p>
See how many you can check off our list. For help finding them, download our chart showing galaxies in the Bowl of Virgo (PDF)<\/a>.<\/p>
**6 galaxies in the Bowl of Virgo<\/strong><\/h2>**
**NGC 4517<\/strong><\/h3>**
$\"Edge-on$
Edge-on galaxy NGC 4517 as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: European Space Agency<\/figcaption><\/figure>
NGC 4517 is in the less populated southern part of the Bowl. This mag. 10.4 galaxy is an edge-on spiral 9 x 1.5 arcminutes in size, 40 million lightyears away and a member of the Virgo II Cloud, a series of galaxies that stretches for 30 million lightyears off the southern edge of the main Virgo Supercluster.<\/p>
NGC 4517 is just visible through a 150mm scope, 2.2\u00b0 west and 1.6\u00b0 north of Porrima (Gamma (\u03b3) Virginis) and just southeast of a 10th-magnitude star. A 250mm scope shows the galaxy\u2019s elongated nature, but there\u2019s no obvious core brightening.<\/p>
**NGC 4536<\/strong><\/h3>**
$\"Galaxy$
Credit: Michael Breite, Stefan Heutz, Wolfgang Ries, CCDGuide.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Head 2.1\u00b0 north, bending a small amount to the east as you go. This will bring you to the vicinity of NGC 4536, another mag. 10.4 galaxy. Smaller than NGC 4517 at 7 x 3 arcminutes, it\u2019s a beautiful object in long-exposure photographs, with extensive spiral arms. NGC 4536 is fairly inclined to our line of sight, albeit not as much as NGC 4517.<\/p>
Visually, the core region appears as an elongated elliptical glow through a 150mm scope, taking on a more lenticular appearance through a 250mm instrument. The arms are hard to detect unless you are using a large aperture telescope. Lying at a distance of 49 million lightyears, like our first target this galaxy lies in the Virgo II Cloud.<\/p>
**NGC 4643<\/strong><\/h3>**
$\"Galaxy$
Galaxy NGC 4643. Credit: Legacy Surveys \/ D. Lang (Perimeter Institute)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
NGC 4643 is located 2.2\u00b0 east and a fraction south of NGC 4536. It\u2019s mag. 10.6, slightly dimmer than some of our other Bowl of Virgo galaxies, but is smaller at 3.4 x 2.7 arcminutes. This gives it higher surface brightness and it appears relatively bright when viewed through a 150mm scope. It\u2019s a lenticular galaxy that appears circular through the eyepiece.<\/p>
The outer halo is elongated through larger apertures, showing a bright star-like nucleus. Long-exposure images show it has a polar ring of stars surrounding the core. NGC 4643 lies at a distance of 79 million lightyears.<\/p>
NGC 4632<\/strong><\/h3>
$\"Galaxy$
Galaxy NGC 4632 captured by the Digitized Sky Survey 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Galaxy NGC 4632 lies 2\u00b0 south of NGC 4643. This is a spiral galaxy of magnitude 11.7 and with apparent dimensions of 3 x 1.2 arcminutes. Here, despite being more compact in apparent size, its dimmer magnitude keeps its surface brightness fairly low.<\/p>
As a consequence, though a 150mm scope it appears as a faint smudge, the full extent of which isn\u2019t apparent. Its apparent size through a small scope is around 1.3 x 0.8 arcminutes, making it one of the trickiest galaxies to see in the Bowl of Virgo. A larger instrument will show more of the galaxy\u2019s star halo, its brightness rising gently to a broad core. NGC 4632 is estimated to lie at a distance of 99.2 million lightyears.<\/p>
NGC 4666\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>
$\"Galaxy$
Credit: Harald Strau\u00df \/ CCDGuide.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>
NGC 4666, 0.8\u00b0 southeast of NGC 4632, is another spiral. This is a mag. 10.8 object of 4.6 x 1.3 arcminutes, giving it a decent overall surface brightness. It\u2019s highly inclined to our line of sight, which also helps concentrate its brightness. A low power through a 150mm scope will show it as an elongated needle streak, 3 x 0.5 arcminutes in size.<\/p>
A 250mm scope gives the galaxy more length, extending its halo to 4 arcminutes. The core appears distinctly elongated too, brightening to a star-like centre. Known to be a starburst galaxy, one showing an enhanced rate of star formation, NGC 4666 lies at a distance of 55 million lightyears.<\/p>
NGC 4753<\/strong><\/h3>
$\"Galaxy$
Credit: Daniel Verschatse \/ CCDGuide.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Our final target takes us out of the Bowl of Virgo. Head from NGC 4666 for a distance of 2.1\u00b0 in an east-southeasterly direction to arrive at mag. +9.9 NGC 4753, another example of a lenticular galaxy. It\u2019s obvious through a 150mm scope at low power, appearing slightly elliptical in shape, 2 x 1.5 arcminutes in size. The core is bright and appears like an elongated star.<\/p>
A 250mm or larger scope will show the outer halo better, offering a chance to catch a dark dust lane in the northeast. This object lies at a distance of 60 million lightyears and, like our other targets, is part of the Virgo II Cloud, extending south of the main Supercluster.<\/p>
***Have you managed to check all 6 galaxies off our Bowl of Virgo list? Let us know how you got on by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n***
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