M90, M91 and friends from the Virgo Cluster - A neighbouring look away from Markarian’s Chain into the vastness of deep space
What’s in the picture(s) -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgo_ClusterQuote: “The
Virgo Cluster is a relatively small
cluster of galaxies whose center is
53.8 ± 0.3Mly (16.5 ± 0.1
Mpc)[2] away in the
constellationVirgo. Comprising approximately 1,300 (and possibly up to 2,000) member galaxies, the cluster forms the heart of the larger
Virgo Supercluster, of which the
Local Group (containing our
Milky Way galaxy) is a member.”
What was the experience
This area shows M90, M91 and a host of other more obscure galaxies, all dotted around the Virgo constellation. Although these galaxies are close to Markarian’s Chain, I wanted to have a separate image of them, to catch an overall view of the many galaxies in that area, as part of the Virgo Cluster.
For those that have been following my progress and have seen my earlier image of Markarian’s Chain: Yes, it was the intention that these were 2 panels of a planned overall mosaic to show the wider area. I did not manage to get any further panels, but I will be trying to stitch these 2 together … stay tuned 😎
How it was done
Scope: TS94 APO (FL 414mm)
Mount: EQ6-R Pro
Camera: ASI2600MC Pro
Photons: 20220226-0226-0303 L-Pro 180s 92x
Processing: PixInsight (Mac)
What have I learned from this
Even when planning for a mosaic, I do take care of making sure each individual frame has merit in its own right. In fact, you could debate whether I’m planning a mosaic, with appropriate individual frames, or planning for individual images that happen to form a nice mosaic … 😎 Whatever the intention, I always take care of aligning RA and Dec to X and Y … maybe if I will be stitching all my images together, I get a star atlas 😂
Clear Skies everybody! 🤩✨🔭
Follow me @astrowaut
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