The Caldwell Objects

Way) that pop in and out of view as the eye tries
to trace the galaxy from end to end. But it's hard
to separate the faint stars from the patches of
light that mottle the galaxy's anemic extensions.
High power helps to separate the field stars
from the galaxy. By dimming the galaxy to the
point where it is almost invisible, you can
enhance the stars superposed on it, which allows
you to record their positions with confidence.
Once that's done you can return to lower powers
and record the position of the galaxy itself. The
oval hub's dim glow has two condensations, one
on either side of the dark lane; the western
condensation seems the more conspicuous of the
two, and the southwestern extension of the
galaxy's disk is brighter than the one to the
northeast. The galaxy's southwestern tip ends
with a magnitude-13 star, beyond which a trail of
faint suns streams off farther to the southwest.
On the northeastern side a star of roughly
magnitude 13.5 punctuates the eastern edge of
the galaxy's midsection. Amazingly, not much
detail is added with larger amateur instruments.
Viewing through a 20-inch f/4 reflector at 222x
The Caldwell Objects
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from Columbus, Texas, Barbara Wilson could,
however, clearly make out the galaxy's dark lane,
the two bright condensations at its center, and
five stars superposed on the galaxy.
In his Celestial Handbook, Robert Burnham Ir.
notes that wide-angle photographs of the Milky
Way strikingly resemble high-magnification ones
of NGC 891. But it's almost impossible to accept
the notion that this visually unassuming galaxy
— this veritable wall of darkness centered on a
dim and distant core of light — is remarkably
similar in shape and size to our own home in the
universe. How seemingly insignificant NGC 891
appears through our backyard telescopes.
Consider, then, how remote and unimportant our
Milky Way galaxy would appear through a
telescope to an imaginary inhabitant of a world
within NGC 891. In a sense our understanding of
NGC 891's true nature should make us ponder
afresh the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Like
the "Galaxy Being" in The Outer Limits, NGC 891
seems to be sending us a silent message
imploring us to "explore ... reach out... [and]
give thought to the mysteries of the universe."
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