NGC 2841, a beautiful spiral galaxy in Ursa Major. The tightly-wound arms would be a challenge in small amateur scopes, but larger telescopes might begin to reveal traces of structure. POSS/DSS photo.

Even a small telescope (or tripod-mounted binocular) is enough to show this beautiful spiral galaxy in Ursa Major. Overall, the galaxy is about 6' x 3' (in a 12-inch telescope) and is oriented northwest-southeast. The elongated central region is bright and is surrounded by a haze that fades smoothly to the background. There is a magnitude 8 star about 5 arc-minutes east of the galaxy's center and a magnitude 11 star only 2.5 arc-minutes northwest of the center.

How to get there:

NGC 2841 lies 1.8° west-southwest of Theta Ursae Majoris.

Finder chart for NGC 2841