Ursa Major

[ Finder Chart ]

M82 - Irregular Galaxy Appears as a bright, yet fuzzy, silver bar, on a good night shows distinctive mottling due to dust lanes. Probably my favourite galaxy. Compare with nearly face on spiral M80 closeby.

M80 : Galaxy.

Quite large, very bright nucleus with a fainter halo. Very impressive. One of the better Messier galaxies.

M108 : Galaxy.

Quite large, very faint, thin sliver of misty light. Difficult edge on galaxy.

M97 : Planetary Nebula.

Very close to M108 this planetary is very, very faint. Even with OIII filter was only visible as a large, faint misty patch. No detail visible.

M106 : Galaxy.

I found this to be extremely faint. Barely visible as a slight brightening adjacent to the middle star of a row of three.

3998 : Galaxy.

Very faint. Looks much better at medium-high power. A bright nucleus with a fainter, roundish halo. Not Bad.

3898 : Galaxy.

Very, very faint. But not difficult on a transparent night. A small fuzzy patch.

3631 : Galaxy.

Extremely faint. I've only reliably seen it with averted vision on very transparent nights.

3953 : Galaxy.

Very, very faint. But not too difficult. Still just a small fuzzy though!

4026 : Galaxy.

Another extremely faint galaxy, but again not hard to find on a good night.

4088 : Galaxy.

I found this quite difficult. Extremely faint.

3893 : Galaxy.

Very faint. Not too hard to pick out with a little patience.

3613 : Galaxy.

Small, faint and fuzzy, but not a difficult galaxy to find on a clear night.

3610 : Galaxy.

Another small, faint, fuzzy galaxy!

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