NGC 7331 is a 9.5 magnitude spiral galaxy. We see it as slightly inclined and, in many respects, this is just a more distant version of magnificent M31. Observing with the 10-inch Starfinder Newtonian at 190X (18 mm SWA w/ TeleVue 3X Barlow), the galaxy occupies an 8'x2' area. It appears elongated along a PA of 170 degrees. A pair of 13th magnitude stars mark the northwest extent of the galaxy. NGC 7331 features a stellar nucleus within a brighter core region. The northeastern edge of the galaxy displays a sharper cutoff in brightness than the opposite edge.

MegaStar shows four galaxies, NGCs 7335, 7336, 7337 and 7340, to the east of NGC 7331. My sketch records two of the four, 13.3 magnitude NGC 7335 and 14.4 magnitude NGC 7340. Both sit about 5' to the east of NGC 7331 and appear as faint patches roughly 40" in diameter. NGC 7340, a 13.7 magnitude galaxy another 5' to the east, was not captured in this drawing. I may have been so focused on the intermittent glimpses of challenging NGC 7337 that the brighter neighbor escaped my attention. I've observed NGC 7340 on several occasions.

After spending some quality time with NGC 7331, you may want to probe a little deeper into the cosmos and search for Stephan's Quintet. This second finder chart maps the immediate vicinity of NGC 7331. The faintest stars plotted shine at a feeble 14th magnitude. Stephan's Quintet resides about half a degree southwest of NGC 7331. It's best to search for the quintet using high magnification. I use an 8.8-mm Meade UWA that produces 129X, a 39' true field and a 2-mm exit pupil in my 10-inch. If you have an eyepiece producing a similar field of view and exit pupil size, that will probably work well for the task at hand. If anything, you may want to try higher magnification and a smaller field. Start at NGC 7331. Offset the galaxy to the eastern half of the field and slew about 30' to the south. Watch for a subtle smudge of light out of the corner of your eye. That smudge is Stephan's Quintet. Take some time with this cluster and you may be able to discern individual members.

Stephan's Quintet is a group of five galaxies, NGCs 7317, 7318A, 7318B, 7319 and 7320. NGC 7320C, a few arc minutes to the east, chimes in as a magnitude 15.5 object and requires larger aperture to detect. Four of the five members have radial velocity measurements within a 5700-6700 km/sec range. This suggest they are members of the same cluster at a distance of some 300 million light-years. NGC 7320 has a radial velocity of a modest 786 km per second. Could this be a foreground object at roughly the same distance as NGC 7331?

NGC 7320 is the brightest of the five. This 12.6 magnitude spiral galaxy presents an oval, 1'x0'.5 contour in my 10-inch. NGCs 7318A/B are due north of NGC 7320. Initially, they appear as an oval region of nebulosity. After a few minutes, I begin to notice an occasional dip in brightness in the middle of this oval. Eventually, I am able to hold this dimming with direct vision and the galaxies are clearly split. NGC 7317 is a little 13.6 magnitude puffball. Its presence is announced by a winking in-and-out near a 12th magnitude star directly west of NGC 7320. I am able to hold it with direct vision in the Starfinder after a few minutes. Last to appear is NGC 7319. At 13.1 magnitude, one might assume it would have been easier to detect than NGC 7317. However, they have nearly identical surface brightnesses. NGC 7319 has a surface brightness of 21.8 magnitude per square arc second and NGC 7317 weighs in at 21.6 magnitude per square arc second.