April brings spring flowers and spiral galaxies. In the east, the spring constellations are rising, and leading the way is Leo the Lion.  To the northeast is the Great Bear, Ursa Major, and in the southeast is the virgin Virgo.  In between these constellations lie the smaller, lesser known constellations of Lynx, Leo Minor, Coma Berenices, and Canis Venatici.  Just as wild flowers spread throughout a field bring texture and wonder, so do the galaxies within these constellations.  This part of the sky holds some of my favorite springtime galaxies and other interesting objects.



Let me begin in the northern part of Lynx near Alpha Lynxis a 3.1 mag star.   Less than one degree east of Alpha is NGC 2859, a magnitude 10.7 galaxy, round with bright core. It is medium size at 4 arcminutes. Less than one degree south of Alpha lies a galaxy group called Abell 779.  The brightest member of this group is NGC 2832, 11.5 mag., considerably large and extended in my 10 inch telescope.  More challenging are two round mag. 15.0 members of Abell 779, which are NGC 2827 (very faint, very small), and NGC 2833 (faint, pretty small). Moving further, about 6 degrees west of alpha is NGC 2683, a nice SA spiral galaxy of mag 9.7.  2683 is very elongated, dusty, and has a bright core.


Now lets find 31 Lynx, a spectral K5III ( red ) star.  Take a moment and enjoy the richness of its hue that I find astonishing. Roughly three degrees northwest is the Bear Paw Galaxy, NGC 2537, which has a brightness of 11.7, and is a round dusty dwarf galaxy or possibly a globular cluster.  Just southeast of the Bear Paw is IC 2233, a challenging galaxy at magnitude 13. IC 2233 is edge-on however, making it easier to spot than if it were face-on. It's size is a respectable 4.5 acrminutes.



Finally, another interesting sight in Lynx is the Intergalactic Wanderer, NGC 2419, a fairly bright, pretty large unresolved globular cluster, with a bright 7th magnitude star just west of it. radually brighter middle, stars of magnitude 7 or 8 magnitude.  Although this object is in Lynx, its easier to use the bright stars Castor and Pollux in Gemini to locate it.  Clear skies!!!

Also check out other Spring constellations Ursa Major and Leo.

And be sure to visit the Constellation of the Month Archive.