NGC 5371 - Galaxy
NGC 5371 is a beautiful barred spiral in the constellation of the Hunting Dogs (CVn), which has an apparent magnitude of 10.5mag
and an extent of 4.2'x3.4'. It was discovered in January 1788 by F.W. Herschel.
The distance to NGC 5371 is given as around 118 million light-years, which puts it at the same distance as the nearby galaxy group
"HCG 68". And it does indeed appear to interact with the galaxies in this group.
The galaxy itself has a diameter of 145,000 light-years, making it as large as the Andromeda galaxy, which in turn is slightly larger
than our own Milky Way. Several structures can be made out in NGC 5371, such as an inner ring, moderately curved spiral arms, a
bar and an active galaxy nucleus. We see it at an angle of 45°, i.e. obliquely from the side.
So far, two supernovae have been observed in NGC 5371, the brightest being SN 1994J, whose maximum brightness was 14.2mag
at the end of August of the same year.
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In my 20" f/3 telescope NGC 5371 appears at a magnification of 120x as a bright, diffuse patch of light with a brighter central region,
in the center of which a faint sN can be seen.
The spiral arms are best seen at V=210...270x. They stand out only slightly from the halo of the galaxy, so they appear very subtle and
not particularly pronounced. By increasing the magnification further to 380x, one can even identify the brightest HII regions in the
arms. However, even with averted vision they appear very faint and are therefore difficult to observe.
Two brighter stars in the immediate vicinity offer a great contrast.
