C29, Spiral Galaxy in Canes Venatici
| Target | Type | R. A. | Dec. | Constellation | Magnitude | Size |
| C29 (NGC 5005) | Spiral Galaxy | 13h 10m 56s | +37° 03′ 33″ | Canes Venatici | +9.6 | 4.8×1.5 arcmin |
Overview
This stunning galaxy is a member of the 29-strong group of galaxies known as the Canes Venatici Spur. C29 (NGC 5005) is a broadly unknown distance away from us, with a wide range of estimates centered on 65 million light-years.
Its high surface brightness puts some detail in reach of larger telescopes under a darker sky but even a smaller scope reveals some of the brighter core at the heart of this magnificent object.
C29’s size is similar to that of our own Milky Way, at 100,000 light-years across, and it shines with the light of 50 billion stars.
As you can see from the image, it presents a pleasing face to us, just over 30° from edge-on.
Finder Charts
The first sky chart, from SkySafari 6, shows the view looking south at 10 pm in the middle of July.
We’re looking for the small constellation of Canes Venatici (CV) which resides beneath the ‘handle’ of the Big Dipper (plough), circled orange in the chart below. The bright star Arcturus (arc to it using the same handle structure) helps to isolate CV’s location.
This first chart shows stars to magnitude 5.0, and the moon and planets are not shown.
CV is a constellation of two brighter stars, Chara and Cor Caroli, both shown in the chart below. Note the ‘handle’ stars of Alkaid, Mizar and Alioth on the right of the image.
Imagine a line from Chara to Cor Caroli, and extend it on for roughly half the same distance in the same direction. This will bring you close to finding C29.
For the last part of the find, you’ll need to use either binoculars or a magnifying finderscope. In the region we just identified, note the star 14CV which shines just within naked eye reach at magnitude 5.2.
Northeast of that is a near equilateral triangle of fainter stars (shown by the dashed orange line), the brightest shining at magnitude 6. C29 sits comfortably inside the same 1° field of view as these three stars.
In the last section, you’ll discover what you should expect to see of this fine galaxy once it’s in your eyepiece.
Individual Telescope Views
The following views will help you find C29 in different telescope types by presenting the images as your telescope will show them. The first image is with a black sky and white stars, the second picture is the same image but presented in inverse monochrome. Stars are shown to magnitude 10.0 and the magnitude six star HR 5964 is the brightest one inside that circle, near the perimeter, between north and west. The ring is a 1° field of view.
Each image can be clicked on for a full-screen version.
Upright View – This is what your eyes see unaided and through a reflex or red-dot finderscope
Upside-down view – This is what reflectors and magnifying finders show, and refractors / Cassegrains without a star diagonal
Mirrored View – Refractors and Cassegrain models with a star diagonal show this view
Observation
Smaller telescopes at low power reveal the faint, ghostly core of this galaxy. The only detail is a slight brightening at the core that’s easier to make out when using averted vision.
With a little more magnification comes some detail and texture to the haze, but this is tricky to pull out under less than ideal conditions.
Overall very challenging to both locate and see, but worth the effort to mark this one off your observation list.
PDFs for Printing
Each of the star maps above is reproduced as a pdf below. Each star map has a number in [square brackets] beneath it which corresponds to the file number below. If you want image [C29-1], for example, click the ‘download’ button next to it below and you’ll be able to open it as a printable pdf.