... Follow the handle of the Big Dipper away from the dipper's bowl, until you get to the handle's last bright star. Then, just slide your telescope a little south and west and you'll likely find this stunning pair of interacting galaxies, the 51st entry in Charles Messier's famous catalog. ... The center of our Galaxy is obscured in visible light by dark dust that rotates with the stars in the Galactic Plane. ... Elliptical galaxy NGC 4365 is old, probably about 12 billion years old. ...