M74 (NGC 628) Psc galaxy
Difficulty level 3

Date of observation: 2001/10/15 00:34
Observing site: Kuju
Transparency/seeing/sky darkness: 3/4/4
Instruments: 50cm Dobsonian with XL14 at160x
Width of field: 0.4 degree
This is the first sketch using a newly purchased 50cm Dobsonian called Ninja-500.
This galaxy is located nearƒÅ Psc, which is the second star from ƒ¿ Psc in the northwest. It is a fairly large face-on galaxy.
The 50cm telescope provides a bright image. It also shows an arm encircling the center. Although it is faint, it is clearly visible. There seem to be three bright regions but not confirmed. It is an interesting sight that there are three stars off the end of the arm. The core-like condensation at the center is conspicuous. The disk is faint and diffuse, in contrast with the brightness of the bulge. In the northwest there seems to be a faintly brighter region, appearing as a piece of the arm.