Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Draco (Dra)  ·  Contains:  Other
The Spindle, Galaxy NGC 5866, the lead candidate for Messier 102, David Redwine
The Spindle, Galaxy NGC 5866, the lead candidate for Messier 102
Powered byPixInsight

The Spindle, Galaxy NGC 5866, the lead candidate for Messier 102

The Spindle, Galaxy NGC 5866, the lead candidate for Messier 102, David Redwine
The Spindle, Galaxy NGC 5866, the lead candidate for Messier 102
Powered byPixInsight

The Spindle, Galaxy NGC 5866, the lead candidate for Messier 102

Description

Our old friend Pierre Méchain is credited with the discovery of the Draco Spindle Galaxy even though he claimed his M102 observation was actually a duplicate of M101.

The Draco Spindle galaxy matches the description and position that Méchain entered into the Messier Catalog of 1781, as well as a hand written note by Messier. Other candidates for M102 exist but NGC 5866 has emerged as the leading choice.

Taken from a green, Bortle 4 site.

Comments