Imaging cameras: 40D Canon
Focal reducers: 6.3 reducer Celestron
Software: photoshop · Noel's Tools · 5.00 Images Plus
Dates:April 12, 2011
Frames: 26x90"
Integration: 0.7 hours
Avg. Moon age: 8.43 days
Avg. Moon phase: 61.02%
Astrometry.net job: 3581082
RA center: 12h 32' 0"
DEC center: +14° 23' 31"
Pixel scale: 1.807 arcsec/pixel
Orientation: 87.928 degrees
Field radius: 0.253 degrees
Resolution: 808x603
Locations: Leesburg home, Leesburg , Florida, United States
Data source: Backyard
Messier 88 (also known as M88 or NGC 4501) is a spiral galaxy about 47 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1781. The M88 galaxy is one of the fifteen Messier objects that belong the nearby Virgo Cluster of galaxies. this galaxy is inclined approximately 30 degrees to our line of sight. This gives it an elongated visual appearance, which resembles that of the Andromeda Galaxy, M31. M88 is believed to be nearly 130,000 light-years in diameter and is receding away from us at about 2000 km/sec. This is one of the more rewarding galaxies in the Virgo cluster for observers using small instruments. A large telescope will bring out some of the more subtle details.
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