Featured Deep Sky Objects |
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The dominant deep space scene in Leo is one of distant galaxies; for two reasons: firstly, Leo lies far enough from the plane of our own milky way that we see these outside star swarms without local interference. It also so happens that a massive congregation of galaxies lies in this direction, making easy hunting for galaxy fans. Bear in mind, galaxies require telescopes of moderate size, and reasonably dark conditions (I can faintly see the brighter ones from Los Angeles with an eight-inch instrument; from a dark sky site, there are many more to be seen).
Stars in Virgo | Galaxies in Virgo
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Many constellations have three kinds of objects to look at: stars in our area of the galaxy, star clusters and other more distant objects still in our galaxy, and finally the other galaxies in the distance. Virgo kind of skips the middle category, and after exploring the bright Virgo stars you jump out into the Deep, where gazillions (read as: lots) of galaxies await you. There actually are a very few star clusters and nebulae in Virgo, but none are worth attention, and besides, the galaxies out there are amazing, not at all a typical section of the cosmos.
The northwest corner of Virgo is sometimes referred to
as the Realm of the Galaxies, and under dark skies
astronomers can spot dozens upon dozens of softly
glowing spheres, ovals, spirals, and strangely distorted
shapes. These are the central members of what is more
properly called the Virgo Galaxy Cluster, a huge
association which includes our own Milky Way. The
downtown area we see in Virgo is about 70 million light
years away, which means that the light from these
galaxies started its journey just as the dinosaurs were
looking up and saying, "hey, is that a shooting
star?....KABOOM". Many galaxies in the area are worth
mention - space permits the mention of only a few in
this report, but amateurs with moderate telescopes and
dark skies will find plenty to keep them busy in Virgo.
