11/16/2023
A stunning face-on spiral galaxy, M74 was discovered in 1780 by Charles Messier’s observing assistant, the French astronomer Pierre Méchain. M74 is located roughly 32 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Pisces. With an apparent magnitude of only 10, the galaxy appears as a faint patch of light through small telescopes. It is best observed during November.
M74 is a perfect example of a grand-design spiral galaxy. Symmetrical spiral arms reach out from the galaxy’s central nucleus and are traced by winding dust lanes. The arms are dotted with clusters of young, blue stars and pink regions where the ultraviolet light from these young stars has ionized clouds of hydrogen and caused them to glow. NASA
IMAGING DATA
Provo, Utah
Bortle 5 sky
Date: 11/11&12/2023
Image: M 74
Size: 2 deg
Camera: ZWO ASI2600 MC Pro in Hyperstar Position
Filter: STC Astro Duo-Narrowband
Temperature: 0 deg C
Gain: 100
Binning: 1×1
Exposure: 180 seconds
# of Lights: 194 for 9 hours 42 minutes were used.
Telescope: Celestron 1100 Edge HD
Hyperstar IV Camera mount
Mount: 10Micron GM1000HPS
Pier: Steel pier on 600 lb concrete block
Observatory: NexDome “Y Mountain Observatory”
Software used
Deep Sky Stacker, Pixinsight, Photoshop
