Hunt the deep sky in the Hunting Dogs

At magnitude 8.2, M94 is the brightest galaxy in Canes Venatici. Through an 8-inch scope, you’ll see the tiny nucleus surrounded by a bright disk that measures only 30" across. A much fainter oval halo surrounds the disk. Switch to a telescope of at least 16 inches aperture, and you’ll begin to see the tightly wound spiral arms close to the nucleus. 

This magnitude 10.4 spiral measures a worthy 17' by 2.2'. Its disk appears almost edge-on, tilting only 5° to our line of sight. Through the eyepiece, this galaxy’s core appears only slightly brighter than the rest. What sets the Silver Needle Galaxy apart, however, is its length-to-width ratio. View this object through a 4-inch scope, and you’ll understand why its name contains the word “needle.” 

is an irregular galaxy glowing at magnitude 9.6 and measuring 8' by 6.6'. Through an 8-inch telescope at 200x, NGC 4214 orients northwest to southeast. The central region is long and bright, and the halo is large. Through larger apertures and higher magnifications, both appear irregular.

is a marvelous spiral that shines at magnitude 8.4 and is one of the sky’s brightest galaxies. It spans 20' by 8.4'. Through a 10-inch or larger telescope, you’ll begin to see the mottled texture and spiral structure. The strikingly linear northern arm appears more pronounced, while the southern arm looks more diffuse.

is a magnitude 10.2 gem nearly 8° southwest of Cor Caroli (Alpha [α] CVn). With a size of 13.2' by 11', this galaxy is 20 percent as large as the Full Moon. A large scope shows two star-forming regions in the southeast part of NGC 4395 that carry their own NGC numbers.

spans 14' by 3' and glows at magnitude 10.4. To find it, you’ll need to head 6.6° south-southwest of Cor Caroli. The core is the brightest part of the galaxy, followed by the blade, which lies to the northeast. NGC 4656’s disk widens and gets fainter toward the southwest. 

appears twice as long (10.5' by 5.1') as it is wide and elongated in a north-northwest to south-southeast orientation. It glows at magnitude 10.2. The broad, bright central region overwhelms the faint spiral structure through anything less than a 14-inch telescope.

makes a nice sight through small telescopes. The magnitude 2.9 primary glows blue-white, and that provides a pleasant color contrast to the magnitude 5.5 yellow secondary, only 19" away. This double is a great target for star parties.

is a magnitude 8.6 gem that reveals a wealth of detail. Through small telescopes, the nucleus appears stellar, and a 3' long oval halo surrounds it. Through a 10-inch scope, the halo shows clumpy structure formed by stellar associations and star-forming regions within M63’s spiral arms. 

glows at magnitude 9.6 and has a high surface brightness and an unusual rectangular shape, making it easy to observe. If your seeing is good, an 11-inch scope will help you spot several concentrations of star-forming activity. The main one lies north of the core, and a smaller one is just south.

displays tightly wound spiral arms. Through an 8-inch telescope, you’ll pick out the bright stellar core surrounded by a fainter oval disk. A 16-inch scope at 300x will let you see the uneven brightness that marks the positions of immense dust lanes in the arms.

Even in a publication like Astronomy, the Whirlpool Galaxy stands out. It shines at magnitude 8.4 and measures 8.2' by 6.9'. You’ll see the spiral arms through 8-inch or larger telescopes. Look for the thin, dark dust lanes that follow the arms’ inner edges. M51’s companion, NGC 5195, lies some distance behind the plane of M51’s disk. 

At first glance, the Whale Galaxy, with its bulging core and asymmetrical material distribution, doesn’t look like an edge-on spiral galaxy. Yet at magnitude 9.2, this object is one of the sky’s brightest edge-on galaxies. Through 4- to 6-inch scopes, you’ll see an imperfect lens shape that’s bigger and brighter on one side. Larger scopes will reveal NGC 4631’s companion — dwarf spheroidal galaxy NGC 4627, which sits 2.5' northwest.