Cosmic Voyage-The Online Resource for Amateur Astronomers

There is something about capturing multiple galaxies within a single eyepiece field that boggles the mind. Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, completely surrounds us. If Earth's orbital path about the Sun were scaled down to a circle one-inch across, the Milky Way would still be more than 60,000 miles across. It is asking a lot to accept that something so large can appear so fragile and insignificant when viewed through a telescope. To present two or more of these behemoths within a single eyepiece field staggers the imagination.

Autumn Sky Tour: NGC 584 and NGC 596 (Cetus) RA: 01h 32.2m / DEC: -06° 57'.0

NGC 584 and NGC 596 are among several fine galaxy groupings in Cetus. Cetus, the sea monster, is one of the largest constellations by area. The head is defined by a pentagonal arrangement of stars near the southeast corner of Pisces. The body of the seamonster is separated from the head by nearly 20 degrees. All the stars in the body should be at naked eye visibility under a dark sky. However, none is brighter than about 4th magnitude and that makes Cetus a challenging constellation to identify.

Once you have identified the body of Cetus, center 3.6 magnitude Theta (45) Ceti in your finder scope. Theta is actually a double star with 6.0 magnitude 44 Ceti standing about 10' to the north. If you slew 1 degree to the north, you will encounter a pair of bright stars, one shining at 5.9 magnitude and the other at 7.4 magnitude in brightness. These appear as the single 6th magnitude object just north of Theta Ceti on the top finder chart. Move 2 degrees to the east from this pair and you will be centered upon NGC 584 and NGC 596. The 5.8 magnitude star immediately to the east of NGC 596 is plotted on the top finder chart.

NGC 584 and NGC 596 NGCs 584 and 596 form a nice pair at low power. The sketch at left captures the view at 82X (Meade 13.8-mm SWA) in my 10-inch Starfinder Newtonian. 10.5 magnitude NGC 584 is listed as a loosely structured spiral or early lenticular galaxy in Uranometria. It covers a 2'x1' areaa in the 10-inch. NGC 596 as a 10.9 magnitude lenticular, similar in size to NGC 584, positioned 24' to the southeast. Moderate aperture will reveal NGC 586 just a few arc minutes east of NGC 584. NGC 586 is a 13.2 magnitude lenticular galaxy. If you find it, then try for nearby NGC 600 and NGC 615. After completing this tour, take a moment to contemplate the fact that you have just observed several hundred-billion stellar population galaxies within this very small scrap of sky.

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Revised: March 6, 2002 [WDF]