M60 and M59 are 23' apart, fitting easily together in a medium-power field. They lie almost due N of Rho Vir, and 1.5 degrees distant. M60 is one of the brightest galaxies in the Virgo Cluster, visible even in my 70mm scope under bright skies, and fairly striking under darker skies, or in a larger scope. M59 is quite a bit fainter and harder to see, roughly comparable to M95. I have never succeeded in seeing M59 in my 70mm scope from the city, but it is not hard under darker skies.

M60 is both bigger and brighter than M59, but they are otherwise quite similar. Both are elliptical galaxies, spread out more or less evenly in three dimensions in space instead of being concentrated into a thin disk a spiral galaxy. Both M59 and M60 have cores that are quite bright compared to the galaxy as a whole. M60's core is much brighter and larger, while M59's core is fainter but highly concentrated, almost starlike.

The faint galaxy NGC 4647 may be visible near the N edge of M60 in larger scopes and darker skies. NGC 4638 lies between M60 and M59 and a bit to the S; it is significantly fainter than M59, but comparable in visibility to the faintest Messier galaxies, like M98.

M58

M89 has a bright core which shows easily in my 178mm scope even under bright skies. Although the core's surface brightness is high, it is a bit of a stretch for my 70mm scope, barely detectable under urban skies and difficult under suburban skies. A faint halo 1.5-2' in diameter is faintly visible with averted vision in my 70mm scope, and fairly obvious in the 178mm scope.

M87

There are various ways to approach M87 from the east. Starting at Rho Virginis, one can proceed through the large asterism of mag 8 stars arranged along the lines of a right angle to the WNW of Rho Vir. Starting at M58, one can proceed through the mag 8 star to the W and angle about 20 degrees N, continuing for 1.7 degrees. From M89, M87 lies about 1 degree almost due W, slightly N of the line from M89 through the nearby mag 9 star.

If arriving from the west, one will probably pass through the asterism 45' SW of M87, which is described in the following section on M84 and M86. It is worth memorizing this asterism, and how to get from it to M87.

M87 itself is quite bright and prominent. It makes a distinctive formation with the mag 8.5 star 5' to the N and the mag 8.1 star 20' to the SE, being only slightly fainter than those two stars. In my 70mm scope from the city, it shows only with averted vision, but is nonetheless fairly tangible, a circle about 1.5' across. It is quite obvious in my 178mm scope under all skies, showing as a circular halo 2-3' across brightening gradually to a large 1' core. In the 178mm scope under suburban skies or darker, the companion galaxy NGC 4478 is visible about 9' to the WSW. It appears similar to M87 but half the size and much fainter.

M87 is a very unusual and important galaxy. It is one of the most massive galaxies known, and presumably reached that size by absorbing numerous other galaxies. M78 is surrounded by a cloud of over one thousand globular clusters which are probably left-overs from those digested galaxies.

An ultra-massive and highly active black hole lies at M87's center, emitting vast amounts of energy in the radio and X-ray frequencies. The black hole shoots a jet of matter about 5,000 light years long, which is visible in good astrophotographs, and can even be seen visually in large amateur telescopes under dark skies.

M84 and M86

M84 and M86 lie about 1 degree NW of the asterism, about 18' apart from each other, so that they fit easily together in a high-power field. There is a dearth of bright stars in the immediate vicinity, which can make these two galaxies hard to pinpoint in small scopes and/or bright skies. They are barely detectable in my 70mm scope under urban skies, but are reasonably easy to see in larger scopes and/or darker skies.

The galaxies are similar in appearance to M87 and nearly twins of each other, both appearing about 2-3' across in suburban skies. M86 is distinctly fainter than M87, and M84 is a tad fainter yet. Either galaxy alone would be rather non-descript, but they form a very striking pair.

In larger scopes under reasonably dark skies, M84 and M86 are seen to be the brightest galaxies in Markarian's Chain, which is probably the most spectacular agglomeration of galaxies in the sky. In my 318mm scope under dark skies, I can make out 15 galaxies in a field about half a degree wide and two degrees long, stretching NE towards M88. The formation is very impressive both photographically and visually, but few of the galaxies are likely to show under urban or suburban skies.

M90

Under urban skies, M90 is quite invisible in my 70mm scope and barely visible in my 178mm scope as a huge diffuse glow about 4' across. Under suburban skies, it becomes apparent that the galaxy is strongly elliptical, about 1.5' by 4' pointing almost due N-S. It is still barely visible in my 70mm scope, most obvious when panning the scope over the field, but a moderately bright and well-defined core becomes visible in the 178mm scope, giving some definition to the large, vague, elliptical halo.

M91

M91 is hard in my 70mm refractor even under fully dark skies, and hopeless from the city. In the suburbs, I can see it intermittently with averted vision and controlled breathing. Curiously, despite marginally visible, it does show some detail, a seedlike core in a 1' halo.

In my 178mm scope, it is extremely hard under urban skies, a vague circular patch about 2' across. Under suburban skies, it shows best with averted vision at 80X, slightly elliptical, with a very faint core.

M88

M88 is much easier to see than M90 or M91, and it is one of the more interesting and attractive galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. It is intermittently visible using averted vision in my 70mm scope under urban skies as a fairly large patch of light. It still requires averted vision in my 178mm scope under urban skies, but shows considerable structure, an elliptical patch 2' x 4' with a brighter circular patch about 1' at the center.

Under suburban skies, M88 can be seen with direct vision in both scopes, again as a 2' x 4' patch of fairly uniform brightness. The 178mm scope reveals that the unusually large and bright central core is also slightly elongated in the same direction.

M98

M98 lies half a degree due W of 6 Com. It is low in brightness and large in size, giving it very low surface brightness, and making it one of the most difficult of all the Messier objects. It is one of the two Messier objects (together with M68) that I have never conclusively sighted under urban skies with either of my scopes.

Under suburban skies, M98 is extremely difficult in my 70mm scope and requires averted vision at 80X in my 178mm scope. In both scopes, it shows as a very faint, featureless ellipse 2' x 6', with no visible core.

M99

M99 is considerably more prominent under suburban skies, showing fairly easily even in my 70mm scope at low power (20X). My best view in that scope is with averted vision at 40X. In the 178mm scope, it is fairly big, fairly bright, circular, and nearly uniform in brightness. It shows about 2.5' across in the smaller scope and 4' in the larger.

M100

Under urban skies, M100 is invisible in my 70mm scope and shows as a vague 3' circle using averted vision in my 178mm scope, seen most easily when I pan the scope over it.

Under suburban skies, M100 is fairly difficult in my 70mm scope, showing best at 40X. It is rather attractive in my 178mm scope at 80X, showing a small seedlike core with averted vision inside a very large circular halo about 5' across fading gradually from the center to the edge.

M85

Under urban skies, M85 is intermittently visible in my 70mm scope and fairly easy in my 178mm scope, showing as a nearly stellar core surrounded by a 1.5' circular halo.

Under suburban skies, M85 shows quite bright and fairly large in both scopes, best at 40X in my 70mm scope and 80X in my 178mm scope. It has an extended core somewhat under 1' across inside a 2.5' circular halo.

M49

M49 is the brightest galaxy in the Virgo Cluster, not counting the outlying member M104. Under urban skies, it is easy with averted vision in my 70mm scope, and I can just hold it with direct vision. It is quite easy to see in larger scopes and under darker skies. In all cases, it shows as a circle about 2' - 3' across, fairly uniformly bright across the disk, but with a modest core.

M61

M61 is one of the hardest of the Messier galaxies to see under bright skies, having both low total brightness and low surface brightness. Under urban skies, it shows intermittently with averted vision in my 178mm scope as a vague circular 3' patch, most clearly visible when I pan the scope over the area.

M61 is much easier to see in suburban skies, showing clearly with averted vision in my 70mm scope. M61 is quite attractive in my 178mm scope, showing best at around 80X. It is a large faint patch about 5' across, slightly elongated N-S, nearly uniform in brightness, but with a slight concentration near the center.

M104

M104 is most easily reached from Chi Virginis (mag 4.7) 3.5 degrees to the N, or from Delta Corvi (mag 2.9) 5.5 degrees to the SSW. Delta Corvi is a particularly convenient starting point under bright skies because the four main stars of Corvus form such a distinctive pattern, and because nearby Eta Corvi (mag 4.3) and the two mag 8 stars north of Delta and Eta form ideal directional markers. A wonderful asterism of four mag 8 and mag 9 stars lies 23' WNW of M104, with three stars in a perfect line pointing towards M104 and a fourth star at right angles to those three. The two stars near the corner are distinctly reddish.

In photographs, M104 is one of the most distinctive of all galaxies, apparently an edge-on spiral, but with a central bulge nearly as big as the entire disk, and with a very striking dark lane cutting the galaxy in half. Many of those features are visible through a medium-to-large scope under dark skies, but they do not show under urban or suburban skies.

M104 is readily visible in both of my scopes under all skies. It is strongly elongated E-W, perhaps 1' x 3', and quite bright, with a small, extremely bright core.

M64

M64 is easy to locate under dark skies, lying as it does just 45' NE of the mag 5.0 star 35 Comae Berenices. However, this star is likely to be invisible or very difficult to see under urban or suburban skies. In fact, under truly poor skies, even the three brightest stars of Coma Berenices (Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, all roughly mag 4.3) may be invisible. In that case, it is a character-building 11-degree starhop north from Videmiatrix (Epsilon Virginis), or 8 degrees ENE from M85.

M64 is a face-on spiral galaxy with fairly high surface brightness, making it relatively easy to see under bright skies. I can see it with direct vision in my 70mm scope under urban skies; for a change, I find that it shows better at lower powers (20X) than high. In my 178mm scope from the city, it is quite bright and obvious, and again shows best at fairly low powers, around 40X.

In the suburbs, it is detectable but not easy in my 7x35 binoculars. It is quite bright and somewhat detailed in my 70mm scope, showing at 60X as a round 1' core surrounded by a 2' x 3' halo. At lower powers, it shows less detail, but it is nicely framed by the surrounding field of mag 7 and mag 9 stars. In my 178mm scope, it shows larger than in the 70mm scope, but less elongated, perhaps 4' x 3', and the core seems smaller, around 0.5'.

This galaxy gets its popular name from the dark patch north of the center which shows strikingly well in photographs. I have seen this in large scopes under exuburban skies, but never under suburban or urban skies.

M68

Under all but the worst skies, M68 is easily located off the striking constellation of Corvus. None of Corvus's stars is particularly bright -- the four main ones range from mag 2.5 to mag 3.0, but the rhomboid pattern is quite distinctive; it is surprising that this constellation is not better known. If you can't see the stars of Corvus naked-eye, you probably won't be able to see M68 through your telescope.

If you take a line down the left-hand side of Corvus, starting at Delta Corvi, passing through Beta Cor, and continuing then for half that distance, you reach a mag 5.4 star that should show easily in binoculars or a finderscope. M68 lies just 35' NE of that star, in a field rich with mag 9 and mag 10 stars.

The deleterious effect of the light pollution is much stronger in the city, where M68 is one of the two Messier objects (together with M98) that I have never conclusively sighted in either of my scopes.

Under suburban skies, where the haze of light pollution along the horizon is both lower and fainter, M68 is fairly easy to see in my 70mm scope using averted vision at 60X, showing as a largeish circle about 3' - 4' across. Using my 178mm scope under the same conditions, I can see M68 fairly easily with direct vision, and it appears considerably bigger, about 5', and slightly concentrated towards the center.

M83

M83 is significantly south even of M68, and it is a face-on spiral galaxy, normally the class of Messier objects with the lowest surface brightness. Therefore, I had low hopes when I set to find it under urban skies. What I had forgotten is that this is an unusually bright galaxy, with an exceptionally bright core.

Navigating to M83 is a chore even under dark skies, and doubly so under urban or suburban skies. One possibility is to start at Gamma Hydrae (mag 3.0), which is readily located off of Corvus. But it is nearly an 8-degree hop from there to M83. If Pi Hydrae (mag 3.2) is visible, it may be a better starting point both because the hop is slightly shorter and because the mag 5.5 star 70' SW of Pi points in exactly the right direction. One might also try to triangulate from Gamma and Pi to land directly on the mag 5.8 star 25' NE of M83, but that is a bit of a long shot.

The core of M83 is surprisingly easy to see in my 178mm scope under urban skies. At 120X, it shows as a fuzzy star, possibly surrounded by a faint 2' halo. I have vague impressions of something there in my 70mm scope, but nothing I can swear to.

Under suburban skies, the view is similar in my 178mm scope, except that the core is brighter and the halo more definite. The core shows best at 120X, but the halo shows better at 60X. In my 178mm scope, the halo is the most obvious feature, showing quite large and very faint with averted vision at 60X. The core is visible, but indistiguishable from a star.

M53

If you can see Alpha Comae Berenices (mag 4.4), then M53 is easy to find one degree NE of that star. However, Alpha Com may be difficult or impossible to see under poor urban skies. If so, it is a 7-degree starhop N from Vindemiatrix (Epsilon Virginis).

M53 is readily visible in my 70mm scope at all powers under all skies, but it shows little detail under urban skies. It is more interesting and attractive under suburban skies, where it shows as a small bright core inside a halo somewhat larger than 2' across.