Spiral galaxy in constellation “Ursa Major”
Project #11
The Pinwheel Galaxy (also known as Messier 101, M101 or NGC 5457) is a face-on spiral galaxy 21 million light-years (6.4 megaparsecs) away from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781 and was communicated that year to Charles Messier, who verified its position for inclusion in the Messier Catalogue as one of its final entries. (Source: Wikipedia)
M101 – Project Publications
Image Publications
Please find all project-related images for this revision below.
M101 – Project Findings
Highlighted above is SN2023ixf, a so called type II supernova – it was discovered on 19.05.2023. Type II means that;
- its spectrum shows hydrogen ([Image 1] was taken only in RGB, but hopefully I manage to collect additional narrowband-data)
- it results from the rapid collapse and violent explosion of a massive star
According to Uni Potsdam, it will remain visible for the next couple of weeks until it fades in the spiral arms of the Galaxy.
M101 – Project Details
Please find all project-related details for this revision below.
| Astrobin Link | M101 / Pinwheel Galaxy & SN2023ixf with OSC |
| Astronomical Object | M101 / NGC5457 |
| Distance to Earth | 20,9 million light years |
| Size / Diameter | 163.900 light years (51,91 kpc) |
| Date(s) of Photography | May 2023 |
| Exposure Details | Clearglass: 70 x 120″ (2h 20min) Total: 2h 20min |
| Calibration | BIAS / FlatsA "flat frame" is shot against a bright surface and contains vignetting and all the "bad" things (e.g. dust particles) that block/disturb your light train. The combination/stack of multiple flat frames is called a "Master Flat". More / DarkFlatsA "darkflat frame" is basically the same as a flat frame with the same exposure and camera settings, but shot in the dark. They are used to calibrate the flat frames. The combination/stack of multiple darkflat frames is called a "Master DarkFlat". More |
| Equipment | Mount: Skywatcher EQ6-R PRO (the old w/o USB-interface) Telescope: Skywatcher 200PDS Newton (200mm/1000mm, f/5) Camera: Touptek DeepSky Pro 2600c (Gain: 100, Offset: 100) Clearglass Filter: Baader Clearglass 2″ Dual Narrowband Filter: Optolong L-eXtreme 2″ Corrector: Pál Gyulai GPU Komakorrektor Guiding(Auto-)Guiding is essential in astrophotography, as an un-guided mount/telescope will produce blurry images as the stars / the deepsky object will drift away. This is heavily dependent on the exposure time, so for long exposures you want to make sure to have a perfectly set up auto-guiding. More: ZWO ASI120MM + 50mm Helica |
| Software | Observatory Automation: Sequence Generator Pro Guiding(Auto-)Guiding is essential in astrophotography, as an un-guided mount/telescope will produce blurry images as the stars / the deepsky object will drift away. This is heavily dependent on the exposure time, so for long exposures you want to make sure to have a perfectly set up auto-guiding. More: PHD Post-Processing: Astro Pixel Processor + PixInsight + Photoshop |
