Corvus, the celestial crow, flies low in the spring sky as viewed from the northern hemisphere. Located between the constellations Virgo and Hydra, it is easily identifiable by its compact shape resembling a perched bird. In ancient mythology, Corvus is often associated with the story of Apollo and his faithful messenger, the crow. According to Greek myth, the crow was sent by Apollo to fetch water in a cup, but instead dallied and returned late with a snake, blaming its delay on the snake's interference. Enraged by the deception, Apollo cast a curse upon the crow, condemning it to forever appear in the heavens with the cup and the snake as punishment for its deceit. The constellation Corvus was originally meant as a reminder of the consequences of dishonesty and the importance of truthfulness in both mortal and divine affairs.

The crow carries with it but one notable deep-sky object for backyard telescopes. Planetary nebula NGC 4361 is almost perfectly centered within Corvus's trapezoidal body. NGC 4361 was discovered by the German-British astronomer William Herschel on February 24, 1785.

To find this month's challenge, look about 1° south-southwest of Algorab [Delta (δ) Corvi] for a pair of 7th-magnitude suns.  Drop another degree to the south and you'll find a small isosceles triangle of 7th-magnitude stars.  NGC 4361 is less than a degree to their southwest.  The lack of bright stars in its immediate area helps it to stand out more prominently than it might otherwise.

Most deep-sky observers are surprised by how large NGC 4361 appears in their telescopes.  Its apparent diameter, some 2 minutes of arc, is unexpectedly large for the genre.  At 54x, my 8-inch (20-cm) reflector shows it as a dull, round disk of grayish light surrounding a 13th-magnitude central star, as portrayed in the digitized sketch below.

But increase the magnification three-fold and add in a narrowband filter, and that unexciting disk is transformed into quite the sight.  With averted vision, the disk shows a stippled texture. Upon closer examination, the mottled image resolves into two dim tendrils of light extending away from the nebula's central disk and into its fainter outer shell.  These two regions curve away in opposite directions, one toward the northeast, and the other toward southwest.  The overall appearance, which is strongly reminiscent of a barred spiral galaxy seen face-on, makes NGC 4361 one of the most fascinating planetaries to study through amateur telescopes.

Unlike many other planetaries, however, which demand the highest magnification that sky conditions will tolerate, NGC 4361 puts on its best show at more moderate powers, between perhaps 150x and 200x.  Anything higher and the faint structural details lose contrast against the outer gaseous shell.

Finally, do you see that faint galaxy in the upper right corner of the image above? That's MAC 1224-1841 according to Megastar. ("MAC" is the Mitchell Anonymous Catalog, compiled by Texas observer Larry Mitchell.) Also cataloged as LEDA 864871, this 16th-magnitude edge-on spiral is but one of several faint galaxies adjacent to NGC 4361. Each offers its own challenge through even the largest amateur telescopes. Try your luck with the half dozen "MAC" galaxies on the finder chart above. Let us know how you do them as well as with NGC 4361 in the comments column.

Until next month, remember that half of the fun is the thrill of the chase.  Game on!