Ten supernova have been seen in NGC 6946 over the past century. Considering the Milky Way (which has twice as many stars) averages one every 100 years, “Fireworks” is an apt name for this face on spiral galaxy. This was my first light on the Fireworks Galaxy, but won’t be my last. The moon washed […]
NGC 5907: The Splinter Galaxy
Messier 87 & Photogenic Black Holes
M87 made the news last year when scientists from around the world collaborated to take the first photograph of a black hole. Don’t mix the object above up with the object to the right – the supermassive black hole at the centre of the galaxy is incredibly tiny when viewed from Earth. One scientist described […]
Messier 108 – The Surfboard Galaxy
Messier 108 is a great example for why we call it Galaxy Season. At this time of year, many of the beautiful galaxies that grace our night skies are high above us. Because you’re shooting straight up, you’ve got much less air to contend with and ultimately get a sharper photo. And with few neighbours […]
Galaxy Messier 90
At around midnight, I switched over from shooting Messier 108 in the northern sky to spiral galaxy M90 (also known as NGC 4569) high in the south. Southern objects can be a problem because There are lots of tall trees to my south My mount is positioned just north of center of the observatory to […]
Messier 58
Messier 63
2/3 of the Leo Triplet: Messier 65 & Messier 66
Messier 51 – The Whirlpool Galaxy
Messier 108
M108 – The Surfboard Galaxy Very happy with the detail that came out of the dust clouds along it’s edge! Capture details Frames: 40×240″ (gain: 300.00) Integration: 2.7 hoursDarks: ~25Flats: ~20Bias: ~53Avg. Moon age: 26.10 daysAvg. Moon phase: 12.77% Astrometry.net job: 3071718RA center: 11h 11′ 36″DEC center: +55° 42′ 50″Pixel scale: 0.678 arcsec/pixelOrientation: 217.221 degreesField radius: 0.361 degrees Taken with a Celestron 8″ SCT & ZWO ASI 294 […]