Messier 97 (Owl Nebula) and 108 (Surfboard Galaxy) are both located near the scoop of the big dipper in the northern sky. While they appear to be of similar size, it's merely an optical trick. The diameter of the Owl is about 3 light years while the Surfboard galaxy from end-to-end is 100,000 light years, or over 30,000 time larger. The similar apparent size comes from their distances. The Owl is only about 4,000 light years away and the Surfboard's light has been traveling to us over the last 46 million years.
The Owl is a planetary nebula with a triple shell structure of gas. The two dark spots (eyes of the Owl) are caused by bipolar activity in the central shell of gas. We are seeing the Surfboard galaxy from the side, but astronomers believe it's a spiral galaxy with some areas of young star formation.
Photo Details - Messier 97 and 108
April 13, 2020
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
SBIG STF-8300C Camera
Baader MPC Mark III Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Skyglow filter
19 subframes at 3 minutes/frame
Total Exposure Time = 57 minutes
Image Acquisition in CCDOps
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop
Image Acquisition in CCDOps
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop
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