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Date: 2018-04-15
Time: 3:30 AM - 4:30 AM
Seeing: I
Transparency: 7
Object: M51 in Canes Venatici
This morning I saw the best views of M51 that I have ever seen! Spiral structure was clearly evident, and I owe the magnificent sight to dark skies, a high position of CVn, and (most importantly) dark adapted vision that resulted from observing right after awakening at 3:15 AM with no red light usage. With no Moon, I surprised myself in being able to set up the 10" Newtonian reflector without a red flashlight.
The spiral arms of M51 came into view most notably due to the dark spaces between the arms. The contrast between the dark areas and the arms required eye movement over the entire galaxy, and the overall picture improved at intervals by taking my eye away from the eyepiece for a few seconds and returning to refocus my visions at the eyepiece.
I detected a clear counterclockwise "rotation" in the arms. The outer arm furthest away from the companion galaxy NGC 5195 was the most clearly defined, but dark and light swirls within M51 showed up with regularity as I moved my eye around from edge to edge and benefitted from the augmentation that averted vision allowed.
I detected hints of the bridge between the two objects, noting to myself that the arc of the bridge was wide and curving away from M51 to a great extent. By wide I mean spaced a wide distance away from M51's central core.
I observed all this at 139x, which filled the eyepiece perhaps 70-80% with the target. Hand tracking was easy.
My sighting of the spiral structure had never been as good as what I saw tonight, but I will emphasize that M51 was still dim. While I'm sure that a much larger aperture would improve the definition in the spiral structure, I nevertheless have firmly concluded now with this viewing of M51 that it would not be worth it for me to get a larger telescope with the associated weight, hassle, and expense. The faintness of galaxies -- M51 and M31 being the only likely exceptions -- prevents me from getting very excited about them.
Without a doubt, I marveled at the beauty of M51 this morning, but I will favor a smaller aperture in the future with a night vision eyepiece (electronically assisted astronomy) over the bulk and need for ever-refined observing skills that come with a larger telescope. I plan to simplify in the future.
Yet this viewing of M51 has had a profound effect on me. Clearly this is true because I have never written this much about an object in the night sky up to this point. Seeing spiral structure as clearly as I did brought about the singular manifestation of one of my primary goals that I set when I decided to buy a 10" telescope over three years ago. I have now seen one of the grandest spectacles of the universe in a manner that befits a fortunate yet humble man using an instrument that's worthy and by no means excessive.
If this is the pinnacle of my observing, I am fine with that notion. I'm sure there are many more wonderful sights to behold, so I look forward to seeing more. But I am content to reach this summit of sorts and never ascend to a higher peak. And I guess I am saying this only with regards to the telescope itself. I have pushed my 10" f/4.92 Newtonian reflector to its limit, and it has showed me everything it is capable of showing me.
As I write this at 6:26 AM, the Belt of Venus and, coincidentally, 14 mule deer appear out my west-facing window. Despite the intense cold accompanying these springtime nights and mornings, the sights surrounding me here in the San Luis Valley are all truly profound.