|
|
| Tips | Links | Contact | ||
|
||||
< Back |
M101 |
Next > |
||
| About this picture: |
|
M101 (also nicknamed the Pinwheel Galaxy) lies in the northern circumpolar constellation, Ursa Major (The Great Bear), at a distance of 25 million light-years from Earth. Therefore, we are seeing the galaxy as it looked 25 million years ago — when the light we're receiving from it now was emitted by its stars — at the beginning of Earth's Miocene Period, when mammals flourished and the Mastodon first appeared on Earth. The galaxy fills a region in the sky equal to one-fifth the area of the full moon. The galaxy's spiral arms are sprinkled with large regions of star-forming nebulae. These nebulae are areas of intense star formation within giant molecular hydrogen clouds. Brilliant young clusters of hot, blue, newborn stars trace out the spiral arms. Scope: 12" LX200 OTA @ f6.3 Mount: MI250 Camera: SBIG ST200XM,CFW10 Astrodon Gen II filters Guiding: SSautoguider with Maxim Dl. LLRGB image, L= 16X10 min. RGB= 14X5 min. Bin 2X. Total exposure time = 6 hrs 15 min Images acquired with Maximum Dl, combined with CCDStack, final processing with PS CS2 Images were taken at the fully automated Burkes Observatory on 4/18/2009 using ACP. |