Constellation tour in Spring
Canes Venatici (The Hound Dogs)

Click on image to enlarge

Date & Time: Feb 23 2020, from 27:06 to 27:36 JST(+0900)
Composed 7 shots with 5 minutes exposed
Optical: AF zoom-Nikkor 24-85mm (f=50mm, stop: F3.5)
with IDAS LPS-P2-FF Light-pollution suppression
& Kenko PRO Softon[A] filters
Auto-guided with TAKAHASHI EM-200 Equatorial
Digital Camera: Canon EOS 600D (Remodeled)
Location: Ooizumi, Hokuto city, Yamanashi pref.

Camera Settings: Recording Format...14bit CCD-RAW, converted to 16bit TIFF(5184×3456)
Sensitivity...ISO800



Astroarts StellaNavigator 		Canes Venatici, the hound dogs, is very unnoticeable and minor constellation positioned at south of the handle of the Big Dipper. The constellation is formed only two stars of alpha and beta CVn, was introduced by J. Hevelius in 1690. It represents the two dogs of Asterion and Chara, held on a leash by Bootes as they chase the Big Bear (Ursa Major) around the North Pole.
Alpha Canum Venaticorum with the second magnitude is well known called Col Caroli, meaning of the Heart of Charles. This name was given by Edmund Halley, naming it after King Charles II after the restoration of the monarchy in Britain in 1660. The constellation chart in the left shows the Heart with the crown put on at the star of Col Caroli.
The constellation has many bright galaxies in the outer space, and the Col Caroli is the good mark to search those deep sky objects.


Guide for Deep Sky Objects

M3 .....Large-sized globular cluster between Col Caroli & Arcturus, 45 thousand ly. away
Whirlpool Nebula M51 .....Bright double-galaxies at the tip of the handle of Big Dipper, 25 million ly. away
Sunflower galaxy M63 .....Medium-sized galaxy midway of M51 & Col Caroli, 24 million ly. away
M94 .....Medium-sized elliptical galaxy near the Col Caroli, 14 million ly. away
Around M106, NGC4217 .....Noticeable spiral galaxy between beta CVn & gamma UMa, 21 million ly. away
NGC4111 .....Small edge-on galaxy near a border to Ursa Major
NGC4145, NGC4151(Eye of Sauron) .....Two N-S paralleling spirals with 30' interval at the western edge
NGC4214 .....An irregular galaxy in SW edge, 13 million ly. away
NGC4244 .....A faint but large-sized edge-on galaxy in west part of CVn
NGC4395 .....A dimmed and large galaxy in boundary on CVn & Com
NGC4449 .....An irregular galaxy between M94 & M106, 9.8 million ly. away
NGC4490 .....Unique pair of galaxies just passing each other at NW of beta CVn
NGC4631, NGC4656 .....Two edge-on galaxies around the southern edge of CVn, 22 million ly. away
NGC5005 .....Small spiral galaxy in 3deg. SE of Cor Caroli
NGC5023 .....Medium sized edge-on galaxy at 6.4deg. NNE of Cor Caroli
NGC5033 .....Medium sized spiral galaxy with dimmed arms in 4deg. SE of Cor Caroli
NGC5297 .....Small spiral galaxy located 11deg. NE of Cor Caroli
Around NGC5371 .....Compact spiral galaxy lying in eastern edge of CVn.
NGC5394, NGC5395 .....Small galaxy pair positioned at eastern edge
IC4182 .....Indistinct spiral galaxy at 2deg. ESE of Cor Caroli, 20million ly. away
UGC7698 .....An indistinct elliptic-shaped irregular galaxy in southern edge of the constellation



Leo Minor
Coma Berenices

Copyright(c) 2020 by Naoyuki Kurita, All rights reserved.
To top page To Constellations index