Sky and Telescope - November 2018 - 60

MESSIER 77

by Howard Banich

The author takes a close look
at the nearest and brightest
Seyfert galaxy through a
48-inch telescope.

N ASA / ESA / A . VA N D E R H O E V E N

F

60

rom mid-northern latitudes, Messier 77 and
Messier 74 must be the first two objects to
observe during a Messier Marathon. They're
visible only during a narrow window of opportunity
as their precipitous plunge toward the onrushing
western horizon competes with the slowly darkening twilight, which at best barely allows them to
be glimpsed. The potential for frustration is high,
because if neither galaxy can be seen there's no
hope of observing all 110 Messier objects during the
one-night marathon.
This race against the horizon and twilight makes
the first phase of the marathon pretty hectic, so
even just barely detecting these two galaxies is an
exciting achievement that sets up the rest of the
marathon for success. But there's no way to get
a good look at either galaxy under these conditions, no matter how clear and transparent the sky
may be. They're both beautiful spiral galaxies and
deserve to be seen at their best when high in the
autumn sky, so let's focus on what the remarkable
M77 looks like through one of the largest amateur
telescopes in the world.
My best chance to observe M77 came in October
2016 when I had four nights to observe it through
Jimi Lowrey's 48-inch f/4 telescope. The first observation of the series is doubly remarkable because it
was the next object after Arp 284 and the quasar
2333+019 (S&T: Oct. 2017, p. 62). Not only that,
Jimi and fellow observer (and S&T Contributing
Editor) Steve Gottlieb graciously stepped aside to
give me 30 minutes of uninterrupted observing and
sketching time on the 48-inch, and to repeat this
privilege for three more nights. Thanks to them, I
was like a kid in a candy shop!
That makes M77 the only object I've had more
than a few minutes to sketch with the 48-inch.
The detail I was able to see with a combined two
hours of eyepiece time over four nights is a personal
observing highlight. As always, the longer I looked,
and the more I sketched, the more I saw. Sketching
at the eyepiece is a powerful observing tool.
Even better, there are some remarkable similarities between M77 and 2333+019 that make both
objects even more compelling.

N OV E M B E R 2 018 * SK Y & TELESCOPE



Sky and Telescope - November 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky and Telescope - November 2018

Contents
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Sky and Telescope - November 2018 - Cover2
Sky and Telescope - November 2018 - 1
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