Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)  ·  Contains:  M 101  ·  NGC 5422  ·  NGC 5447  ·  NGC 5449  ·  NGC 5450  ·  NGC 5451  ·  NGC 5453  ·  NGC 5455  ·  NGC 5457  ·  NGC 5461  ·  NGC 5462  ·  NGC 5471  ·  NGC 5473  ·  NGC 5474  ·  NGC 5477  ·  NGC 5484  ·  NGC 5485  ·  NGC 5486  ·  Pinwheel galaxy
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M101 Group with NGC 5474, Gerould Kern
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M101 Group with NGC 5474

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
M101 Group with NGC 5474, Gerould Kern
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M101 Group with NGC 5474

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Description

M101 is a glorious object, but in the same FOV are several smaller galaxies that make up part of its local group. This wide view shows four: NGC 5422, a small edge-on galaxy at about 10 o’clock; NGC 5473, an elliptical galaxy at about 7 o’clock; NGC 5477 at about 6:30; and NGC 5474, a face-on galaxy at about 4 o’clock. NGC 5474 is a dwarf galaxy distorted by the gravitational pull of M101. This composite shows the full-frame view and close ups of M101 and NGC 5474.

Suburban Chicago is not an ideal place for astrophotography. Light pollution is significant and our Great Lakes weather pattern produces a lot of murky nights. April 26-27 was such a night, with a clear window of only about five hours. But if I wait around for perfect conditions, I’d never shoot anything. I got about 3.5-hours of exposure before the clouds rolled in.

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M101 Group with NGC 5474, Gerould Kern