The Ultimate Guide to Observing the Spring Sky (Northern Hemisphere)

The Greek astronomer Ptolemy cataloged Ursa Major, the Great Bear, in the 2nd century. It’s one of the sky’s best-known and most recognizable constellations. Native Americans also imagined the stars outlining a giant bear, while its three rear stars comprising a tail, three cubs, or even three hunters in pursuit of the bear. Ursa Major is also home to the Big Dipper asterism, formed by its seven brightest stars, which form a bowl and handle.

In Spring, Ursa Major is high in the sky and favorably placed, like the old saying, “Spring up and Fall down.”

Boötes, the Herdsman, was first cataloged by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. It’s easy to find by following the curved handle of the Big Dipper asterism to the fourth brightest star in the night sky, the orange-colored Arcturus. Its torso appears like a diamond-shaped “kite.” Traditional depictions of Boötes show a herdsman holding two hunting dogs on a leash with a club in his other hand. In other illustrations, he holds a cane and sickle. Today, Boötes is known to have stars within its boundary containing many exoplanets.

Cancer, the celestial crab, is one of the thirteen zodiac constellations on the ecliptic plane. Because of this, a bright planet occasionally appears to move through the constellation. Bordering Cancer is the winter constellation Gemini to the west, Leo to the east, and Hydra to the south. Although it is faint, it is rich in star clusters. In Greek mythology, Cancer represents the crab that attacked Hercules in a duel with the water snake, Hydra. Cancer is a subtle constellation; its stars appear as an upside-down “Y.”

Leo, the lion, is one of the best-known constellations of the zodiac. In Greek mythology, Leo is usually associated with the vicious and unstoppable Nemean lion. Leo was among the zodiac’s first constellations to resemble its namesake—a lion. Its head looks like a sickle, or a backward question mark, while the line of stars makes up the lion’s body. The blue-white first magnitude star, Regulus, marks the base of the sickle or the front paws of the lion. Use your imagination! Leo lies between the constellations Cancer in the west and Virgo in the east, making it easy to spot in the Spring sky. Nineteen stars within the constellation are known to host exoplanets.

Coma Berenices, or Berenice’s Hair, is named after Queen Berenice II of Egypt. This constellation is found between Boötes in the east and Leo in the west and is home to the North Galactic Pole. To the naked eye from a dark sky site, Coma Berenices appears like a hazy patch of light in the sky. Many notable deep-space objects are inside, including several Messier galaxies and a globular cluster. Two stars within the constellation are known to have exoplanets. By manually pointing your telescope and panning around in this area, you will surely stumble across several deep-sky objects to explore.

Virgo, the Maiden of Spring, is one of the thirteen zodiac constellations and the second largest constellation in the Spring sky next to Hydra. Located where the ecliptic meets the celestial equator, Virgo lies between Leo and Libra. Artistic depictions render Virgo with angel wings, holding wheat in her right hand. She is also associated with the Greek goddess of justice, Dike, which is fitting because Virgo is adjacent to Libra, the constellation representing the scales of justice. Virgo begins as a ‘Y’ shape line of stars to a blue-white first magnitude star, Spica. A line of three stars extends out from Spica forming her torso, while another three lines of stars just to the north form her leg. Virgo is rich with known exoplanets and Messier objects.

Hydra, the Water Snake or Sea Serpent, is the largest constellation in the sky. Its head is south of Cancer, and its tail is near Libra. Hydra crosses the celestial equator with parts of its body in the northern and southern sky. Although Hydra is the largest constellation, it only has one bright star, Alphard. A cluster of five stars makes up its head. The rest of the stars are fainter and more difficult to view.

Casual observers often mistake the Big Dipper for a constellation; however, it is an asterism. Its stars indeed resemble a bowl complete with a handle. The seven stars that make up the Big Dipper are part of the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear. The Big Dipper is circumpolar, which means it rotates around the North Star, Polaris, due to the Earth’s rotation. Although it lies in different parts of the northern sky throughout the year, Spring is when the Big Dipper is highest during the evening. It is closer to the north horizon during the evenings in the Fall and Winter. The Big Dipper is significant because its bowl, marked by the stars Dubhe and Merak, points to the pole star, Polaris, in the constellation Ursa Minor, also known as the Little Dipper or Little Bear.

The Spring Triangle asterism is an outline formed by three bright stars from three prominent spring constellations: Regulus in Leo, Arcturus in Boötes, and Spica in Virgo. Use your imagination and connect the stars to see this narrow triangle of bright stars. No binoculars or telescopes are needed!

The star in the middle of the Big Dipper’s handle is a naked-eye double star, Mizar and Alcor. You can see both stars with the naked eye from suburban skies if you have good eyesight. Mizar is a second-magnitude star, while Alcor is a fourth-magnitude star. Both are quite noticeable in a pair of binoculars. However, when viewed through a telescope, Mizar itself is also a double star, Mizar A and its fainter companion, Mizar B. Both stars are white.

Bode’s Galaxy and the Cigar Galaxy, M81 and M82, respectively, are two well-known galaxies neighboring each other in Ursa Major. You can observe them in the same field of view in most telescopes. M81 is a large spiral galaxy with two distinct spiral arms above and below its core. With an apparent magnitude of 6.94, it’s easy to see in a telescope or binoculars on moonless nights from suburban areas. Nearby, you’ll find the Cigar Galaxy, M82. It is an edge-on starburst galaxy with a unique cigar shape due to interactions with M81. With an apparent magnitude of 8.41, it is also a good target for binoculars and small telescopes from suburban areas on moonless nights. From a dark sky site, both galaxies can be observed in a pair of 15x70 binoculars and will appear as ghostly dim-light structures in small telescopes. One way to locate M81 and M82 is to draw an imaginary line from the stars Phecda (Gamma Ursae Majoris) to Dubhe in the bowl of the Big Dipper and extend the line at the same length beyond the bowl.

Charles Messier first observed the globular cluster Messier 3 in 1764 and added it to his famous catalog of deep-sky objects. M3 is a bright globular cluster located in the constellation Canes Venatici, the Hunting Dogs, near Boötes, the Herdsman. M3 is well placed in the sky in Spring and is one of the brightest and largest globular clusters in the night sky. With an apparent magnitude of 6.2 and containing approximately half a million stars, M3 is a popular target for backyard observers. It appears as a spotted fuzzy star in a good pair of binoculars. When observed through a 4-inch or larger telescope, parts of the cluster begin to resolve into individual stars. However, as with any deep-sky object, you’ll get the best views far from city lights.

The Beehive Cluster, Praesepe or M44, is one of Spring’s most famous open star clusters. With an apparent magnitude of 3.7, it’s visible to the naked eye as a hazy patch of light from dark skies. This open cluster looks best in binoculars and small telescopes, making it an ideal target for backyard observers. Use low power to frame the cluster and gradually increase magnification to reveal a swarm of stars.

Interestingly, in 2012, scientists discovered two exoplanets orbiting two separate stars–pr 0201 b and pr0211 b in the Beehive Cluster. These were the first exoplanets discovered orbiting Sun-like stars inside a star cluster. Although your telescope will not be able to reveal them, it’s fascinating to know they are there.

Also known as Gamma Leonis, Algieba is a fine double star located in the sickle of Leo. Astronomer William Herschel discovered it in 1782 after discovering the planet Uranus the prior year. Algieba comes from the Arabic Al Jabbah (The Lion’s Mane). Algieba comprises two orange-red and yellow stars of magnitudes 2.2 and 3.5. In steady-seeing conditions, you can resolve the stars in a small-aperture telescope with medium to high power. Algieba is a good target for backyard telescopes.

This famous spring galaxy group, the Leo Triplet, consists of spiral galaxies M65, M66, and the Hamburger Galaxy NGC 3628. The triplet lies near the lion’s rear leg. With apparent magnitudes of 10.3, 8.9, and 10.2, all three galaxies may be seen in the same field of view–even in smaller aperture telescopes from a dark-sky site. But achieving this will be challenging. Of course, the larger a telescope’s aperture, the brighter the galaxies will appear.

The Hamburger Galaxy lies only half a degree to the north of galaxies M65 and M66. Their galactic disks are tilted at different angles, giving each a unique look. The Hamburger Galaxy appears edge-on, while M65 and M66 are slightly tilted to reveal their spiral arms.

The Black Eye Galaxy, also known as Messier 64, is located in the constellation Coma Berenices and is sometimes called the Evil Eye Galaxy. English astronomer Edward Pigott discovered it in March 1779. M64 has a spectacular dark band of dust on its disk, giving it an irregular shape with uneven brightness and texture. This dark band resembles a “black eye.” With an apparent magnitude of 9.36, M64 is a favorite target for backyard stargazers. You can make out its bright core in small aperture telescopes in areas with less light pollution.

Messier 49 is an elliptical galaxy associated with the Virgo Galaxy Cluster and is a popular observing target because it is the brightest galaxy in the Virgo Cluster. M49 has an apparent magnitude of 9.4 and is viewable in binoculars as a fuzzy patch of light in dark skies. Most backyard telescopes will easily reveal the galaxy’s core, but don’t expect to see any resolved stars–even in large aperture telescopes. Astronomers believe M49 could be five times as large as our Milky Way Galaxy.

Messier 104, also known as the famous Sombrero Galaxy, is a magnificent edge-on spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo. It has a bright nucleus and an unusually large central bulge with a prominent dark dust lane, making it look like a Mexican hat. The Sombrero Galaxy is located near the southern boundary of Virgo and has an apparent magnitude of 8.98. The galaxy is visible in a good pair of binoculars and backyard telescopes away from light pollution. However, a telescope with at least 8” in aperture will be required to distinguish the bulge from the disk.

Tip #1: Use an Astronomy App or Star Chart

Tip #2: Seeing Conditions

Steady seeing conditions are critical while observing objects such as planets, the Moon, or double stars. However, poor seeing conditions less affect deep-sky objects such as nebulae and galaxies. Avoid nights of bad seeing when the turbulent atmosphere and targets appear like shimmering blobs in the telescope’s eyepiece. Start with low magnification and work up to higher magnification if the views remain steady. You will be amazed how sharp and detailed objects can appear during a night of good seeing.

Tip #3: Telescope Cooldown

Tip #4: Collimation

Collimate, collimate, collimate! If you own a Newtonian or Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, ensure your telescope’s optics are collimated. It can make a difference when it comes to discerning fine detail. If the optics are slightly out of alignment, you will cheat yourself out of seeing the clearest and sharpest details. Make it a habit to check collimation and adjust once your telescope is cooled down. Most refractor telescopes generally do not need to be collimated.

Tip #5: Dress in layers

Springtime offers us amazing views of intergalactic space with an abundance of cosmic jewels, and the warmer temperatures should help us get outside to use our binoculars or telescopes. Just dress warmly and in layers, as temperatures may change as the night goes on. If you have a beanie and scarf, wear them to keep your head, ears, and neck warm. Gloves are helpful but can make things difficult, such as holding on or changing eyepieces. Wear double socks and insulated boots to keep your feet warm, and if you have hand and foot warmers, they can make a world of difference in keeping warm.