Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)  ·  Contains:  M 108  ·  M 97  ·  NGC 3556  ·  NGC 3587  ·  Owl Nebula
The Owl and the Surfboard, Brian P. Cox
The Owl and the Surfboard
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The Owl and the Surfboard

The Owl and the Surfboard, Brian P. Cox
The Owl and the Surfboard
Powered byPixInsight

The Owl and the Surfboard

Equipment

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Acquisition details

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Description

This field in Ursa Major shows three deep sky objects.

The Owl Nebula (Messier 97) is a planetary nebula about 2,030 light years away. It is estimated to be about 8,000 years old. It was created when the star seen in the center "sluffed off" its outer layers. This star is now a white dwarf...a glowing ember that is no longer capabile of fusion.

The Surfboard Galaxy (Messier 108) is a barred sprial galaxy about 45.9 million light years from Earth. This galaxy is thought to contain about 400 billion stars!

What about the third deep space object?

Forming the third point of a triangle towards the top right of this image is the lenticular (lens like) galaxy NGC 3594.

Imaging was performed in SharpCap. Processing was accomplished in PixInsight, with final adjustments in Photoshop.

Lights: 53 x 120"

Darks: 44

Bias: 70

Flats: 40

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