I've been wanting to this for a long time for many reasons.
- To help beginners choose some nice and impressive targets for their new bought telescope.
- I feel there are too many astronomical equipment videos, not enough astronomical observation videos out there. It was time to fix that.
- Simply put together a list of my all-time favorite easy objects and keep it relatively short.
Here it goes:
- M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy): This grand design spiral galaxy is a majestic sight, with sweeping spiral arms like our Milky Way but even more tightly wound. It boasts a prominent central core and stretches roughly 76,900 light-years across. Despite its impressive size, M51 is estimated to be younger than our galaxy, clocking in at around 31 million light-years from Earth.
- M81 & M82 (Bode's Galaxy & Cigar Galaxy): Get ready for a cosmic dance! These interacting galaxies, M81 (Bode's Galaxy) and M82 (Cigar Galaxy), are locked in a gravitational embrace that triggers bursts of star formation. The spiral M81 is a heavyweight, spanning about 150,000 light-years, and resides roughly 12 million light-years away. Its partner, the irregular M82, is smaller at around 65,000 light-years wide and lies about 36 million light-years distant.
- Leo Triplet (M65, M66, & NGC 3628): This close-knit group of galaxies showcases the variety of galactic forms. The spiral M65 is a dazzling pinwheel around 80,000 light-years wide, and the barred spiral M66 boasts a central dust lane and measures roughly 150,000 light-years across. Both reside around 35 million light-years away. Completing the trio is the irregular NGC 3628, a more chaotic collection of stars with an estimated diameter of 30,000 light-years.
- M13 (Hercules Globular Cluster): Journey to a dazzling city of stars! M13 is a giant globular cluster, a densely packed sphere of hundreds of thousands of stars, roughly 150 light-years across. This sparkling metropolis is about 25,000 light-years away.
- M17 (Swan Nebula): Dive into a vibrant stellar nursery! M17, the Swan Nebula, is an emission nebula, a glowing cloud of gas and dust where young, hot stars are born. This colorful incubator stretches roughly 5 light-years across and lies about 5,000 light-years away.
- M27 (Dumbbell Nebula): Witness the breathtaking final act of a star! M27, the Dumbbell Nebula, is a planetary nebula, an expanding shell of gas and dust ejected by a dying star. This dramatic shroud is roughly 0.7 light-years across (at its widest point) and is estimated to be 3,000 to 4,000 years old, a mere blink in cosmic time. It resides about 1,250 light-years from Earth.
- M11 (Wild Duck Cluster): Take flight with a flock of young stars! M11, the Wild Duck Cluster, is an open cluster, a loose gathering of a few thousand stars, easily visible in binoculars. Nicknamed for its resemblance to a flurry of ducks in flight, it spans roughly 28 light-years across and is about 6,000 light-years away.
- M57 (Ring Nebula): Marvel at a perfect cosmic ring! M57, the Ring Nebula, is another planetary nebula, but unlike the Dumbbell, it boasts a distinct ring shape. This celestial bubble is roughly one light-year in diameter and is estimated to be around 6,000 to 8,000 years old. It lies approximately 2,300 light-years from Earth.
- Albireo: Behold a dazzling dance of stars! Albireo is not a single star, but a beautiful double star system. Two stars of contrasting colors, a dazzling blue and a warm yellow, appear close together in a small telescope. However, they are actually quite far apart within the system, separated by hundreds of times the Earth-Sun distance. Their alignment from our perspective creates the captivating double-star view. Albireo is part of the Cygnus constellation and resides about 390 light-years away.
