I shot this image last night. My first attempt at a galaxy. Try clicking on the image to zoom in to see some barred structure in the galaxy. It continues to amaze me what this system can capture. There is absolutely nothing to see with the naked eye through the finder scope. Yet, there is evidently so much light poring into the telescope. Beautiful! There are at least 2 other very faint galaxies in the image. Can you find them?
M61 Fun Facts
Messier 61 is a barred spiral galaxy in the Virgo cluster. It was first discovered in 1779. It has an active galactic nucleus and is classified as a starburst galaxy. Astronomers believe there may be a black hole at its center with a mass 5 million times larger than our own sun.
Photo Details
Messier 61
May 31, 2013
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
Nikon D3100 Camera
21 sub frames at 25" per sub.
Total exposure time = 8 minutes, 45 seconds
Image stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image processing in Fitswork
Wow this is so beautiful! You continue to impress me!
ReplyDeleteThanks, yellowtulip. I mainly do it to impress you, so mission accomplished ;)
DeleteSo freakin fascinating..and that's without understanding half of the terms you are using! You are the coolest person I know!
ReplyDeleteThat's funny. I don't know half the terms I am using either!
DeleteFYI http://www.universetoday.com/115818/possible-bright-supernova-lights-up-spiral-galaxy-m61/#more-115818
ReplyDelete