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Messier 101 (M101, NGC 5457) also known as the Pinwheel Galaxy is a magnitude 8.3 face-on spiral galaxy in the constellation of Ursa Major, and is located at a distance of about 27 million light years. It has an apparent size of 28.8x26.9 arc minutes. Date: Jun 2,9,11 2008 Location: New Ringgold PA Optics: Meade LX200R 12 inch at f/5.9 Mount: Paramount ME Camera: SBIG ST-8XME / CFW-8 Guiding: ST-8XME integral guiding chip controlled by Maxim CCD Exposure: LRGB (color 2x2 bin): Luminance: 12x10 min, R:8x5 min, G:8x3.3 min, B:8x6 min Processing: Image acquisition using CCD Autopilot. Chris Abissi did a great job of processing this for me. His resuults were so superior to my own that I am only posting his image. Comments: A large but faint galaxy. Chris' careful stretching of the spiral arms accentuated the red-magenta nebulas and the young blue star clusters while capturing the warm yellow glow from the old stars making up the core. |
Blue Mountain Vista Observatory New RInggold PA |
M101 The Pinwheel Galaxy |