Viewing the Local Group
What different instruments will show you of our neighbouring galaxies
Our Local Group tour can begin with the naked eye which, depending on how dark your sky is, can show M31 and possibly M33. A humble pair of binoculars – 7x50s to 15x70s – will reveal the galactic disc of M31, show M33 as a hazy glow and bring out M31’s two primary companions.
A wide-field telescope will improve the discs of both galaxies and make the dust lanes of M31 apparent. We used a 100mm ▲
ANDROMEDA
M33
TRIANGULUM
M31 spotting scope to track down the galaxies NGC 185 and the fainter smudge of NGC 147. Larger scopes – 10-inch reflectors and above – will make short work of these two, but won’t reveal more detail.
Turning such scopes on M33 reveals some of its nebulae, like NGC 604. With a 10-inch reflector, M31’s disc begins to reveal similar features, like star cloud NGC 206, with more defined edges to its dust lanes.
The latest high-tech scopes will take you deeper. With live-stacked images in its electronic eyepiece, Unistellar’s eVscope can show fainter objects and colour in many of them. Stacking images live via software can also bring more of these Local Group objects into view for public outreach events. Alternatively, the OVNI-M Series Night Vision Eyepiece uses phosphorous to intensify the view through any scope.