20220227 - M97 & M108 The Owl Nebula and a surfboard Galaxy - Close by, but miles apart …
What’s in the picture(s)
M97 -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owl_NebulaQuote: [b]“[/b]The
Owl Nebula (also known as
Messier 97,
M97 or
NGC 3587) is a starburst
("planetary") nebula approximately 2,030
light years away in the
northernconstellationUrsa Major.The estimated age of the Owl Nebula is about 8,000 years.It is approximately circular in cross-section with faint internal structure. It was formed from the outflow of material from the
stellar wind of the central
star. The nebula is arranged in three concentric shells/envelopes, with the outermost shell being about 20–30% larger than the inner shell”
M108 -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_108Quote: “
Messier 108 (also known as
NGC 3556) is a
barred spiral galaxy in the
northernconstellationUrsa Major. From the Earth, this galaxy is seen almost edge-on.
This galaxy is an isolated member of the
Ursa Major Cluster of galaxies in the
local supercluster.”
What was the experience
Clear Skies at night, both scopes whirring away catching photons. While the TS94 was catching low flying seagulls, the TS140 was after a more elusive bird: the Owl Nebula. In preparation for this, I had noticed that M108 was close by, and could squeeze into the frame, together with NGC 3594 at the other side of the frame. A ‘normal’ run of catching LRGB, and standard processing.
Two ‘major’ objects close by in the frame, the Owl a planetary nebula (leftover from a starburst), some 2030 light years away, and an edge-on spiral Galaxy that is 46 Million light years away. Size bares no comparison here. As a touching note, while I was capturing the Owl, an owl 🦉 was making himself heard in the close by trees here on earth … but miles apart
How it was done
Scope: TS140 APO (FL 910mm)
Mount: CEM70G
Camera: ASI2600MM Pro
Photons: 20220225-27 LRGB 31x 23x 26x 28x
Processing: PixInsight (Mac)
What have I learned from this
Experience has shown me to go shorter on the exposure times (less halos or overblown artefacts), and (much) longer on the integration times (more detail). Just about enough L-data here to get some nice detail in M108, but some more time would be helpful for more detail … maybe next time 😎
Clear Skies everybody! 🤩✨🔭
Follow me @astrowaut
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