Sky & Telescope - May 2023 - 21

M95: KPNO / NOIRLAB / NSF / AURA / MICHAEL MCGUIGGAN / ADAM BLOCK
Star magnitudes
IN THE COMA I GROUP Look for NGC 4565 and its companion
galaxies about 3° southeast of Gamma (γ) Comae.
my 80-mm finderscope under a dark sky, while NGC 891 is a
no-show under the same conditions. That's a useful comparison,
but let's examine NGC 4565 on its own merits.
At magnitude 9.6, NGC 4565 is one of the brightest members
of the Coma I group of galaxies. It's an intrinsically large
spiral that's even more luminous than M31, the Andromeda
Galaxy. It also has more globular clusters than the Milky
Way and is around 38 million light-years away.
Our view of NGC 4565 is not quite perfectly edge-on, so
we see the nearly starlike core peeking over (or under) the
central dust lane. We nevertheless get a wonderful glimpse of
the central bulge, which is not only rather dramatic-looking
but also gives us vital clues to the galaxy's morphology.
The professional literature describes the central bulge as
" boxy " - it looks like a fat peanut from our perspective. This
is a characteristic of barred spiral galaxies seen edge-on. A
faint X also runs through its bulge, another indication of its
barred spiral morphology. In addition, research has shown
that NGC 4565 has an inner ring. Our sideways view of
NGC 4565's spiral arms reveals that they're elegantly warped
at each end, probably the result of a close pass by one of its
companion galaxies.
Is there a bright face-on galaxy with similar morphological
characteristics that could give us an idea of what NGC 4565
might look like if we could flip it by 90°? As it turns out,
there is: M95, which, at magnitude 9.7 is not only as bright
as NGC 4565, it's even in the springtime sky at the same
time. (Look for it 8¾° east of Regulus in Leo.) M95's apparent
diameter is less than half that of NGC 4565's, and given
that it's at about the same distance it's therefore an inherently
smaller galaxy.
All in all, NGC 4565 is a fascinating object, and we're
lucky to see its gorgeous side profile while having a good idea
as to what it probably looks like face-on. Conversely, this
gives us an idea what M95 might look like from an edge-on
perspective. Sweet!
Observations
NGC 4565 was one of the first non-Messier deep-sky objects I
ever tracked down. Although that was 40 years ago, I think it's
a good indication of what most observers today can expect to
see from their suburban backyards on a clear, moonless night:
Bright edge-on galaxy - great sight at all powers - 240× best.
Dark lane vaguely seen. I'll come back here - no doubt awesome
in real dark skies. (12.5-inch f/7.8 Dobsonian, June 1983)
I've had many wonderful views of NGC 4565 since then,
but two stand out because they revealed aspects of this magnificent
galaxy I'd never seen before. The first was in March
2021 under an utterly dark and very transparent sky in Eastern
Oregon with my 28-inch scope. The second was in West
FROM ANOTHER ANGLE Our view of M95 suggests what NGC 4565
might look like if we could view it face-on.
sk yand tele scope .o r g * MAY 2023 21
+10°
+30°
13h 30m
M3
β
4565
M64
+20°
M53
α
M100
M91
M90
VIRGO
ε
M60
M87
M98
M99
COMA
BERENICES
M85
13h 00m
CANES VENATICI
γ
12h 30m
12h 00m
2
3
4
5
6
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https://skyandtelescope.org/
Sky & Telescope - May 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - May 2023
