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Hi,
Those are excellent observations with a small scope. The dark patches are in fact dust lanes. This is an edge on spiral galaxy with a large number of dark dust lanes visible. In a large scope some other features are also visible. Another nice galaxy for small scopes is NGC 55 which is also in Sculptor. In a 5" scope you will see the bright nucleus and the bright western edge. You should also see the fainter Eastern edge but may not see any detail in that region in your 5" scope. You will see the bright HII regions near the nucleus and the dark rifts in the nucleus. This is a wonderful galaxy in small and large scopes.
Cheers,
John B
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