Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)  ·  Contains:  M 101  ·  NGC 5457
Messier 101 (the Pinwheel Galaxy) in Ursa Major, Steve Milne
Messier 101 (the Pinwheel Galaxy) in Ursa Major
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Messier 101 (the Pinwheel Galaxy) in Ursa Major

Messier 101 (the Pinwheel Galaxy) in Ursa Major, Steve Milne
Messier 101 (the Pinwheel Galaxy) in Ursa Major
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Messier 101 (the Pinwheel Galaxy) in Ursa Major

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Acquisition details

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Description

Messier 101 (NGC 5457) is a face on spiral galaxy 21.8 million light years distant in the constellation of Ursa Major. It is 184,000 light years in diameter with an apparent size of 28.8' x 26.9'.

The galaxy was discovered by Pierre Méchain on 27 March 1781, who described it a "Nebula without star, very obscure and pretty large, 6' to 7' in diameter".

[Information from: Atlas of the Messier Objects; Stoyan et al; Cambridge University Press 2008 (English edition)]

M101 was photographed between 13 February and 12 March 2019 from an imaging rig in Spain that is privately-owned and remotely-operated by Barry Wilson and me.

Capture details are as follows:

Telescope: TEC140

Camera: QSI 690

Filters: Astrodon

Mount: 10 Micron GM2000HPS

Ha: 20 x 1200s

Lum: 65 x 600s

Red: 30 x 600s

Green: 30 x 600s

Blue: 30 x 600s

A total of 32 hours and 30 minutes exposure.

Data: Steve Milne & Barry Wilson

Processing: Steve Milne

Comments

Revisions

    Messier 101 (the Pinwheel Galaxy) in Ursa Major, Steve Milne
    Original
    Messier 101 (the Pinwheel Galaxy) in Ursa Major, Steve Milne
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    Messier 101 (the Pinwheel Galaxy) in Ursa Major, Steve Milne
    C
    Messier 101 (the Pinwheel Galaxy) in Ursa Major, Steve Milne
    D
    Messier 101 (the Pinwheel Galaxy) in Ursa Major, Steve Milne
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  • Final
    Messier 101 (the Pinwheel Galaxy) in Ursa Major, Steve Milne
    G

B

Description: Minor tweaks to colour and saturation.

Uploaded: ...

C

Description: A very slight 'lift' to the faint stuff.

Uploaded: ...

G

Description: Attempt to be more subtle with core detail and final colours.

Uploaded: ...

Sky plot

Sky plot

Histogram

Messier 101 (the Pinwheel Galaxy) in Ursa Major, Steve Milne