Ursa Major
by Steve Coe
13.1" f/5.6 unless noted

NGC 2681 Pretty bright, pretty large, very much brighter in the middle with a stellar nucleus, little elongated 1.2 X 1 in PA 45 at 135X. There is a double star on the NW edge.

NGC 2742 Pretty faint, pretty large, little brighter in the middle, much elongated 2.5 X 1 in PA 110, this galaxy has a low surface brightness at 100X.

NGC 2768 Pretty bright, pretty large, much brighter in the middle, very much elongated 3 X 1 in PA 90 at 100X.

NGC 2787 Bright, pretty large, round, much brighter in the middle two faint stars invl. This galaxy has an 'r' in the NGC description which means somewhat resolved. I see this object looking much like a globular cluster hence the illusion of partial resolvability at 165X.

NGC 2805 Faint, pretty large, round, gradually brighter middle at 100X.

NGC 2841 Pretty bright, pretty large, bright nucleus with several stars involved in southern arm at 135X. It is very much elongated 3X1 in PA 135.
The arms are mottled and the nucleus is seen as almost stellar at 220X. The arms are faint at higher power, the stellar nucleus stands out. There are two stars involved in the southern tip, one pretty bright, one pretty faint.

NGC 2950 Pretty bright, small, little elongated 1.2 X 1 in PA 135, very bright in the middle with a stellar nucleus at 135X.

NGC 2976 Bright, pretty large, much elongated, somewhat brighter middle at 100X. Smooth outer section with 12th mag star on south side.

NGC 2985 Bright, pretty large, round, very bright middle at 165X. Grows much with averted vision, 11th mag star on East side.

NGC 3031 (M 81) Very bright, very large, very much brighter in the middle, elongated 2.5X1 in PA 160 at 100X. Even at the best of sites I have never seen definite spiral structure in M 81.
At medium powers it is a hazy disk with a blazing core that can be seen in the finder scope.
220X bright stellar nucleus and 2 11th mag stars in the south arm. The arms are somewhat mottled.

36" f/5 TSP 96 6/10 night--Spiral structure obvious, arms are easy.
Core is elongated 3.5X1 in same PA as galaxy, lots of knots in the arms. Main body of disk is quite smooth, but arms are knotty.

NGC 3034 (M 82) Very bright, very large, much elongated 4X1 in PA 60, somewhat brighter middle at 165X. Dark lanes cut the galaxy into three almost equal parts. There are several stars invl. and the entire body of the galaxy is mottled.
At 220X the dark lanes are more prominent, the brightest section of the galaxy is to the NE side about 1/3 of the way in from the tip. All of this bizarre galaxy is very mottled at high power.

36" f/5 TSP 96 6/10 night--Six dark lanes cut this galaxy into pieces, one literally cuts the galaxy into two pieces, right down the middle. No core, a central bright section. Several faint stars involved. With 14mm almost the entire field.

NGC 3077 Bright, large, somewhat elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 45 and much brighter in middle at 165X. Very starry field for UMA.
At 220X there is a stellar nucleus all the time. William Herschel said "R w ray" which means "round with ray (extension)" and this feature can be seen with averted vision. There is a bright extension of the galaxy to the NE.

NGC 3079 Bright, pretty large, very much elongated 5X1 in PA 150, bright middle at 165X. A difficult dark lane comes and goes with the seeing. Two stars are invl on the north end. The core is elongated 3X1 in the same PA as the main galaxy. There is an extremely faint, round companion to the north about 5'.

NGC 3184 Pretty bright, pretty large, round, bright middle at 165X.
11th mag star on north side. There is a hint of spiral structure in moments of good seeing.

NGC 3198 Pretty bright, pretty large, much elongated PA 50 at 165X. Appears to abruptly end on one side.

NGC 3202, 05,07 clump on Uranometria #72. Two galaxies seen steadily, both very faint, small and round at 165X. The third is averted vision only.

NGC 3310 Bright, pretty large, round, much brighter in the middle, this galaxy has a high surface brightness at 135X. There is a 6th magnitude star in the field.

NGC 3319 Faint, pretty large, elongated in PA 35, somewhat brighter in the middle at 100X.

NGC 3556 (M 108) Bright, large, very much elongated in PA 80 at 100X.
Even at 200X, this is the most stellar nucleus I remember seeing.

13" Sun Valley Parkway 6/10 S+T Not seen in 11X80 finder, I mention this because most M-objects are visible in the big finder.
100X pretty bright, large, much elongated 3 X 1 in PA 75, somewhat brighter middle, bright stellar nucleus. This object has smooth arms with no mottling. It seems to be a low surface brightness
object to get on the Messier list.
220X no new detail seen.

NGC 3587 (M 97) Bright, pretty large, round, somewhat brighter in the middle at 100X without the UHC filter.
Using the filter and 165X the "Owl eyes" come and go with the seeing, there is a bright section between the eyes and the "left" eye is the most prominent. Lord Rosse was first to see the Owl eyes and there is a mystery associated with his observations. He saw a star within each eye, but one of the stars has disappeared since his observations. I plan to check this out when I get an evening on a 72" telescope.

MCG +09-19-014 is about 10' West of the Owl Nebula. The small, very faint galaxy was only seen with averted vision on an excellent night at 5000 ft. altitude on a night I rated 8/10 S+T at 135X.

NGC 3610 Bright, pretty large, round, bright middle at 165X. Stellar nucleus appears in good seeing. A companion in 4' away in PA 230, I can just pick it out with averted vision.

NGC 3613 Pretty bright, pretty large, somewhat elongated in PA 120 at 100X. NGC 3619 is in the field at low power.

NGC 3619 Pretty bright, pretty small, little elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 90, somewhat brighter in the middle at 135X. There is a very faint and round companion to the east.

NGC 3631 Pretty faint, pretty large, little elongated, much brighter middle with an almost stellar nucleus at 135X.

NGC 3665 Pretty bright, pretty large, brighter in the middle with a stellar nucleus, little elongated 1.2 X 1 in PA 60 at 135X. Companion to the south.

NGC 3675 Bright, pretty large, much elongated 2.5X1 in PA 0 with a much brighter middle at 100X. Going to 165X brings out a stellar nucleus and several stars involved. Averted vision makes it grow.

NGC 3718 Pretty bright, pretty large, little brighter in the middle, round. 10th mag star on SW side. NGC 3729 in the 25' field at 135X.

NGC 3726 Faint, pretty large, somewhat elongated in PA 0, somewhat brighter middle at 100X.

NGC 3729 Pretty bright, large, elongated, brighter middle. Double star, both 10th mag on South side.

NGC 3813 Pretty bright, pretty large, elongated 2 X 1 PA 90, somewhat brighter in the middle at 135X. This galaxy has a pretty high surface brightness.

NGC 3877 Pretty bright, pretty large, much elongated 2.5X1 in PA 35, much brighter middle at 100X. There is a faint stellar nucleus seen in moments of good seeing. Chi UMA in the field. This galaxy shows up like a pretty low surface brightness object to rate a Herschel "I" object rating, in my opinion.

NGC 3888 and NGC 3898 form a matched galaxy pair that is about 5' apart.
At 135X they are both pretty bright, pretty small, somewhat elongated in PA 60 and have a bright middle.

NGC 3893 Pretty bright, pretty large, much brighter middle, irregularly round with some mottling at 200X.

NGC 3896 Pretty faint, pretty small, bright middle, round. In the field of NGC 3893, both have an 11th mag star invl.

NGC 3888 and NGC 3898 form a matched galaxy pair that is about 5' apart.
At 135X they are both pretty bright, pretty small, somewhat elongated in PA 60 and have a bright middle.

NGC 3938 Pretty bright, pretty large, round, brighter middle, some mottling at 100X.

NGC 3941 Bright, pretty large, round, much brighter in the middle, averted vision makes it grow much larger at 135X.

NGC 3945 Pretty bright, pretty small, round, brighter in the middle, two faint stars are involved at 135X. The core of this galaxy is easy, the outer sections are tough to detect.

NGC 3949 Pretty bright, pretty large, somewhat elongated in PA 100, bright middle at 100X.
There is a companion 4' away in PA 275, it is averted vision only.

NGC 3953 Pretty bright, large, elongated N-S, very bright middle, there is much mottling at 135X.
Averted vision is needed to spot a companion galaxy 4' to the south.

NGC 3982 Bright, pretty large, somewhat brighter in the middle at 100X. There is a line of three dimmer galaxies to the north that just fits into the 30' field.

NGC 3992 (M 109) Pretty bright, large, elongated E-W with a very bright middle that becomes a bright nucleus at 135X. This galaxy has 3 stars involved in outer arms that sparkle with mottling.
Going to 165X on a night I rated 6/10 S+T, there is an interesting shape change with this galaxy. With direct vision it is elongated with a hint of barred spiral structure, averted vision makes it round, with no spiral structure seen.

NGC 3998 Pretty bright, pretty large, somewhat brighter in the middle, little elongated 1.2 X 1 in PA 45 at 135X. There is a extremely faint companion that can only be seen with averted vision and a hood over my head to block out stray light.

NGC 4013 Pretty faint, pretty large, very much elongated in PA 60, has a very bright middle at 100X.

NGC 4026 Bright, large, elongated 3 X 1 N-S, with a somewhat brighter middle, it shows a nice lens shape at 135X.

NGC 4036 Bright, pretty large, elongated 2.5 X 1 in PA 90, has a bright middle at 100X.

NGC 4041 Pretty bright, pretty large, round, much brighter in the middle with an occasional stellar nucleus at 135X.
NGC 4036 is a nice edge on galaxy to the south.

NGC 4051 Pretty bright, large, elongated 2.5 X 1 in PA 120, has a bright nucleus and some mottling in thick arms at 165X.

NGC 4085 Pretty faint, pretty large, elongated 2X1 in PA 90, somewhat brighter middle at 100X. NGC 4088 is 11' north and easily fits in the 30' field of the 20mm Erfle eyepiece.

NGC 4088 Bright, large and asymmetrically elongated 3 X 1 in PA 45, somewhat brighter middle at 100X.
At 150X it shows mottled arms with a tiny core and a stellar nucleus.

NGC 4102 Pretty bright, pretty small, little elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 110, brighter in the middle with a stellar nucleus at 135X. There is a 12th mag star to the east of the nucleus.

NGC 4157 Pretty faint, pretty large, extremely elongated 5 X 1 in PA 60, bright middle at 165X.

NGC 4605 Bright, large, much elongated 2.5 X 1 in PA 120, gradually brighter middle, a nice edge-on galaxy.

NGC 5204 Pretty faint, pretty large, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 0, the middle in not much brighter than the rest of the galaxy at 100X.

NGC 5322 Pretty bright, pretty large, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 90 at 100X. The center is quite bright at lower power.
Going to 200X shows a very bright middle with a nucleus that is almost stellar.

NGC 5457 (M 101) Very bright, very, very large, irregularly round, very bright middle at 100X.
At 165X there a small nucleus at the core. At most sites the 11X80 finder will show a large spot at M 101's location. On an evening I rated 9/10 in Central Arizona the spiral structure could be seen easily at 100X and the arms shimmered with mottling from several H II regions that would respond to the UHC filter. I have observed this lovely galaxy often and like most face-on spirals, will only show off fine detail on the rare nights when the seeing and transparency are both excellent.

13" Dugas Rd. 6/10 seeing, 8/10 transparency, easy in 11X80 finder.
150X is the best view, bright, very large, irregularly round, very gradually brighter middle, bright stellar nucleus. The spiral structure is easy and there are several pretty bright, pretty small HII regions in the arms.

36" f/5 TSP 20mm Nagler Amazing view, 40 stellarings in arms, several extended brightenings are elongated 2X1 or even 3X1. The arm that goes "up and over the top" has a knot at the end of this arm. 4 arms total. Near the core, there are four "globulars" that are within 1 arcmin of the core, three above and one below. Several of the extended bright regions are "inside" the curve of the arms.
Truly spectacular!

NGC 5473 Pretty faint, small, round, somewhat brighter in the middle, not much at 100X.

NGC 5474 Pretty faint, pretty large, not much brighter in the middle, round at 100X

NGC 5585 Faint, pretty large, little elongated in PA 30, somewhat brighter in the middle, it is not much at 100X.

NGC 5631 Pretty faint, small, round, somewhat brighter in the middle, not much at 135X.

Abell 1228 is a faint galaxy cluster near Nu UMA.
There is a drawing of the region in the Webb Society Handbook Vol. 5.
The brightest galaxies are of photographic magnitude 15, which means they have a total visual magnitude of 13.5 to 14. On a night I rated 6/10 for transparency, the center of the galaxy cluster is a line of 4 IC galaxies about 15' long. The brightest two are held steady at 165X, there are two others in the chain that are enhanced by averted vision.
One other galaxy is seen that is not in the chain, it is to the south.

Double Stars

Struve 1193 is easily split at 100X, both white.

Iota UMA is never split cleanly, even at 320X. There is a bump on the north side of the 3rd mag star.

Struve 1321 is easy at 100X, this is a nice matched pair, both stars are yellowish orange.

23 UMA is easy at 100X, white and light orange.

Struve 1415 is easy at 100X, an almost matched white pair.

Struve 1520 is easy at 100X, yellow and white.

Nu UMA is a pretty wide split at 165X.
This is one of those pairs that several observers see as different colors.
I see yellow and greenish, A.J. sees pale yellow and orange, Jerry Maurer sees yellow and light purple. Get several folks to look at a color contrast double next time and I'll bet there will be differences in what they report.

65 UMA The wide pair of this triple star is split in the 11X80 finder and appears as both white.
Using 135X the closer pair is split and the comes is yellow.

Winnecke 4 (M 40) is a wide double that got assigned a Messier number because Hevelius recorded a nebula at this position in 1660. It is easily split at 100X and both stars are white.
In the 11X80 finder it is not split and does look somewhat fuzzy.

Red Star

VY UMA is a Carbon star with a magnitude range of 6.0 to 6.6 in an irregular period. It is a nice dark orange star and is easy to find between the Pointers, Dubhe and Merak.