Imaged on nights of 9/9/2018, 9/10/2018, 9/15/2018.
Messier 74 (also known as NGC 628 and Phantom Galaxy) is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Pisces. It is at a distance of about 32 million light-years away from Earth. The galaxy contains two clearly defined spiral arms and is therefore used as an archetypal example of a grand design spiral galaxy.The galaxy's low surface brightness makes it the most difficult Messier object for amateur astronomers to observe. However, the relatively large angular size of the galaxy and the galaxy's face-on orientation make it an ideal object for professional astronomers who want to study spiral arm structure and spiral density waves. It is estimated that M74 is home to about 100 billion stars.
M74 is the brightest member of the M74 Group, a group of 5–7 galaxies that also includes the peculiar spiral galaxy NGC 660 and a few irregular galaxies. Although different group identification methods may consistently identify many of the same member galaxies in this group, the exact group membership is still uncertain.
(Wikipedia)
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Abell Planetary Nebulae (Complete)GalaxiesMessier ObjectsPlanetary NebulaeSharpless 2 Objects
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