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Galaxies, 14 April 1994 -
06 April 2021


M31 (Andromeda)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20171014_M31_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 14 October 2017.

Imaged from Haw Wood. William Optics ZS71 ED 71 mm, f/5.9 refractor with 0.8x focal reducer. HEQ5 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Ten 480 s exposures at ISO 800.
galaxies/20170805_M31_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 05 August 2017.

Olympus OM 200 mm lens with Canon 60Da camera on Meade Eq mount. Fifteen 60 s exposures at ISO 800. Demonstrates what can be done without the use of a telescope.
galaxies/20170801_M31_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 01 August 2017.

Skywatcher 190 mm Maksutov-Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Fourteen 360 s exposures at ISO 800. A good amount of detail is visible in the dark lanes in the image. Enlargement of the central area.
galaxies/20170102_M31_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 02 January 2017.

William Optics ZS71 ED 71 mm, f/5.9 refractor on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera, stack of fifteen 480 s exposures (120 minutes total exposure time) at ISO 400 plus dark, flat and bias frames.
galaxies/20161102_M31_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 02 November 2016.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera, stack of thirteen 420 s exposures plus two of 120 s, all at ISO 400.
galaxies/20161021_M31_AG.jpgAndy Gibbs, 21 October 2016.

M31, M110 and M32. Explore Scientific ED80 carbon fibre refractor on HEQ5 mount with 0.7x reducer/correcter. Canon 1200d camera. Stack of five 120 s light frames plus five 120 s dark frames. Processed in Deep Sky Stacker and Photoshop Elements 11.
galaxies/20160930_M31+M33_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 30 September 2016.

Wide angle image of both M31 and M33. Canon 60Da camera with Canon 50 mm lens. Skywatcher Star Adventurer mount. Mosaic of two pictures each stacked from five frames. Taken at Haw Wood Farm caravan site.
galaxies/20151220_M31_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 20 December 2015.

William Optics ZS71 ED 71 mm, f/5.9 refractor on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Stack of ten frames of 360 s and five of 6 s all at ISO 800. The companion galaxies M32 and M110 are visible in the image.
galaxies/20151113_M31_KJF_5801.jpgKev Fulcher, 13 November 2015.

Image taken at Shingle Street (looking into a dark sky over the North Sea). Canon 70D camera on iOptron Skyguider mount. 70-300 mm Canon lens at 70 mm, f/5.6, ISO 400. Stack of twenty frames.
galaxies/20150920_M31_KJF.jpgKevin Fulcher, 20 September 2015.

Canon 70D camera and 300 mm lens. Four 30 s exposures stacked in DSS and tweaked in Lightroom. (Image captured during a brief gap in cloud!)
galaxies/20141213_M31_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 13 December 2014.

William Optics ZS71 ED 71 mm, f/5.9 refractor. Canon 1100D camera. Stack of 300 s exposures at ISO 400 with minimal additional processing. The companion galaxies M32 and M110 are visible in the image.
galaxies/20141019_M31_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 19 October 2014.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Stack of seventeen 2 s exposures plus four dark frames and four flat frames. The companion galaxies M32 and M110 are visible in the full image below (not in the thumbnail).
galaxies/20141002_M31_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 02 October 2014.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Stack of exposures compromised by moonlight. The companion galaxies M32 and M110 are visible in the full image (not in the thumbnail).
galaxies/20140823_M31_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 23 August 2014.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Twenty-two 60 s exposures at ISO 3200 stacked with Deep Sky Stacker and processed in GIMP.
galaxies/20140820_M31_KJF.jpgKev Fulcher, 20 August 2014.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian. Canon 30D camera. The companion galaxy M32 is visible in the full image (not in the thumbnail).
galaxies/20131110_M31_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 10 November 2013.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Stack of 12 frames. The image shows M31 and the satellite galaxies M110 and M32, with a satellite trail in the foreground. The original exposures were compromised by bright moonlight but this has been largely eliminated by image processing.
galaxies/20131029_M31_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 29 October 2013.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Stack of 80 s exposures at ISO 1600.
galaxies/20131023_M31_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 23 October 2013.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera in prime focus configuration. Stack of three 30 s exposures at ISO 1600 with minimal additional processing. (Exposure time limited due to imperfect polar alignment.)
galaxies/20131006_M31_AG.jpgAndy Gibbs, 06 October 2013.

Meade LX200 200 mm SCT with f/3.3 focal reducer. Equatorial wedge. Atik Titan one-shot colour camera. Three 90 s exposures and one 90 s dark frame aligned, combined and de-Bayered with Atik Dawn software. (Exposure time limited by polar alignment problems.)
galaxies/20130928_M31_DM_1566.jpgDavid Murton, 28 September 2013.

Meade 230 mm, f/10 SCT on Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro mount. Canon EOS 60D camera. (Equipment owned by Mike O'Mahony). The image shows M31 and M32, one of the companion galaxies in orbit around it. Image taken at dark-sky site at Walberswick.


NGC891 (Andromeda)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20080909_NGC891_MJH.jpgMike Harlow, 09 September 2008.

340 mm, f/4.0 Newtonian telescope with Starlight express MX916 CCD camera. The object is a spiral galaxy seen edge-on. The telescope had just been reassembled and was in need of adjustment to collimation and focusing, so the image could be improved. Note that the rows of dots aren’t trailed asteroids - they're hot pixels picked out in the image stacking.


M94 (Andromeda)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20140322_M94_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 22 March 2014.

William Optics ZS71 ED 71 mm, f/5.9 refractor with 0.8x focal reducer/flattener. HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Single 60 s exposure at ISO 800.


M33 (Triangulum)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20171125_M33_AG.jpgAndy Gibbs, 25 November 2017.

Explore Scientific ED80 CF Refractor with Canon 1200D camera. Four 360 s light frames and dark frames at ISO 800. Processed in Deep Sky Stacker and Photoshop CC. Unfortunately, tracking/guiding errors are evident in the top left corner of the image.
galaxies/20170923_M33_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 23 September 2017.

Skywatcher 190 mm Maksutov-Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Fifteen 480 s exposures at ISO 400 plus fifteen 480 s exposures at ISO 800. As can be seen, the total exposure time of over four hours provides a lot of detail in the image. M33 is one of the larger deep sky objects and part of our local group of galaxies. It lies approximately 3 million light years distant.
galaxies/20170805_M33_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 05 August 2017.

Olympus OM 200 mm lens with Canon 60Da camera on Meade Eq mount. Fifteen 60 s exposures at ISO 800. Demonstrates what can be done without the use of a telescope.
galaxies/20161102_M33_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 02 November 2016.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Stack of twenty-three 420 s exposures at ISO 400.
galaxies/20151229_M33_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 29 December 2015.

William Optics ZS71 ED 71 mm, f/5.9 refractor on HEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Stack of three 300 s exposures at ISO 400.
galaxies/20141027_M33_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 27 October 2014.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm, f/5 Newtonian on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Stack of sixteen 240 s exposures at ISO 800.
galaxies/20140823_M33_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 23 August 2014.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm, f/5 Newtonian on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera.
galaxies/20131029_M33_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 29 October 2013.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm, f/5 Newtonian on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Stack of six 80 s exposures at ISO 400.


M51 (Canes Venatici)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20200326_M51_AG.pngAndy Gibbs, 26 March 2020.

Explore Scientific ED80 CF apochromatic refractor on HEQ5 mount with Atik One 6.0 camera. Image captured with RGB filters and cropped. Equipment controlled remotely via a Primaluce Lab Eagle 3. Software used: Sequence Generator Pro, Atik Dawn and Photoshop CC 2020.
galaxies/20200322_M51_luminance_AG.pngAndy Gibbs, 22 March 2020.

Explore Scientific ED80 CF apochromatic refractor on HEQ5 mount with Atik One 6.0 camera. Image captured with luminance filter and cropped. Equipment controlled remotely via a Primaluce Lab Eagle 3. Software used: Sequence Generator Pro, Atik Dawn and Photoshop CC 2020. Galaxies NGC5023 and NGC5229 are visible towards the bottom right of the full image.
galaxies/20190330_M51_JWH.jpgJohn Hughes, 30 March 2019.

William Optics Z61, ZWO ASI294MC Pro cooled camera. This was my first use of the newly-acquired camera. Camera settings: unity gain 120, temperature -15°C. Thirty-four 300 s exposure light frames, 25 flat frames, dark flats and dark frames. (Overall, 2 hours and 50 minutes worth of imaging, my longest session to date.) I was impressed with the performance of the new camera.
galaxies/20170721_M51_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 21 July 2017.

Skywatcher 190 mm Maksutov-Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Stack of six 360 s exposures at ISO 800. Enlargement. Image annotated to identify galaxies in addition to M51: NGC5198 at magnitude 11.8, IC4263 at magnitude 14.5, NGC5173 at magnitude 12.2 and NGC5169 at magnitude 13.5.
galaxies/20170330_M51_AG.pngAndy Gibbs, 30 March 2017.

Explore Scientific ED80 CF apochromatic refractor on HEQ5 mount. Atik Titan camera. Five 300 s exposures with light and dark frames, autoguided.
galaxies/20170320_M51_AG.pngAndy Gibbs, 20 March 2017.

Explore Scientific ED80 CF apochromatic refractor on HEQ5 mount. Atik Titan camera. Three 180 s exposures with dark frames, unguided.
galaxies/20170117_M51_MOM.jpgMike O'Mahony, 17 January 2017.

Meade 230 mm f/10 SCT. Stack of twenty-five 30 s exposures at ISO 3200. Unfortunately, house and street lights contributed to noise in the image.
galaxies/20160911_M51_AG.jpgAndy Gibbs, 11 September 2016.

Explore Scientific ED80 CF apochromatic refractor on HEQ5 mount. Atik Infinity camera. Stack of 15 s exposures with minimal post-processing. (The image was captured to assess the capabilities of the camera itself.)
galaxies/20160430_M51_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 30 April 2016.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Ten 360 s exposures at ISO 200 stacked in DSS and processed in GIMP.
galaxies/20140322_M51_DM2.jpgDavid Murton, 22 March 2014.

William Optics ZS71 ED 71 mm, f/5.9 refractor with 0.8x focal reducer/flattener, HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Stack of seven 60 s exposures at ISO 800.
galaxies/20140322_M51_DM1.jpgDavid Murton, 22 March 2014.

William Optics ZS71 ED 71 mm, f/5.9 refractor with 0.8x focal reducer/flattener, HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Single 60 s exposure at ISO 800.
galaxies/20131029_M51_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 29 October 2013.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Single 80 s exposure at ISO 400.
galaxies/20080331_M51_MJH1.jpgMike Harlow, 31 March 2008.

160 mm, f/2.5 Schmidt camera with MX916 CCD. Single 6½ m exposure showing the spiral arms.
galaxies/20080331_M51_MJH2.jpgMike Harlow, 31 March 2008.

A highly stretched, negative version of the above image showing diffuse outer regions where stars have been flung by the interaction of the two galaxies.
galaxies/19950227_M51_MJH.gifMike Harlow, 27 February 1995.

300 mm Newtonian reflector with Starlight Express CCD camera.


M63 (Canes Venatici)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20210405_M63_AG.jpgAndy Gibbs, 05 April 2021.

Explore Scientific ED80 CF apochromatic refractor on HEQ5 mount with Atik One 6.0 camera. Equipment controlled via a Primaluce Lab Eagle 3. Eighteen 180 s exposures in luminance, six 240 s exposures in red, green and blue, plus dark and flat frames. Software used: Sequence Generator Pro and Affinity Photo.
galaxies/20200415_M63_LRGB_JWH.jpgJohn Hughes, 15 April 2020.

William Optics Z103 refractor with ZWO ASI1600mm Pro cooled mono camera on SkyWatcher EQ6R-Pro mount. Total integration time 6.4 hours across three separate nights: luminance 44 x 3 minutes, red 16 x 5 minutes, green 17 x 5 minutes and blue 17 x 5 minutes.
galaxies/20180506_M63_NSE.jpgNigel Evans, 06 May 2018.

Celestron 200 mm Edge HD with low-pass filter and SBIG8300 camera. 2x2 binning, 30 minute exposure starting at 02:13 UT.
galaxies/20170301_M63_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 01 March 2017.

Skywatcher 190 mm Maksutov-Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Fifteen 480 s exposures at ISO 400. The galaxy is at a distance of 30 million LY; it is approximately 100,000 LY in diameter. The brightest star on the major axis of the galaxy is of magnitude eight. Further to the right (preceding) in the full image (not the thumbnail) is the magnitude 14 galaxy UGC8313, a member of the M51 group.


NGC4244 (Canes Venatici)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20180506_NGC4244_NSE.jpgNigel Evans, 06 May 2018.

Celestron 200 mm Edge HD with low-pass filter and SBIG8300 camera, 125 minute exposure, 2x2 binning.


M58 and nearby galaxies (Virgo)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20170427_M58+NGC4564-7-8+IC3578_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 27 April 2017.

Galaxies top to bottom: M58, NGC4564, NGC4567/4568 (the Siamese Twins) and IC3578. M58 is a mag. 10.5 barred spiral galaxy. NGC4564 a mag. 11.1 elliptical galaxy. NGC4567 and NGC4568 are two unbarred spiral galaxies, about 60 million light-years distant, in the process of colliding. They are mag. 10.9 and have an apparent size of 4.6'x2.1'. IC3578 is a mag. 14.4 spiral galaxy just 0.9'x0.3' in size. The galaxies are all members of the Virgo super cluster. Skywatcher 190 mm Maksutov-Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Stack of fifteen 480 s exposures at ISO 400 plus dark, flat and bias frames. Processed in DSS and Gimo.
galaxies/20160430_M58+NGC4564-7-8_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 30 April 2016.

M58, NGC4564 and NGC4567/4568 (the Siamese Twins). Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Six 360 s exposures at ISO 200 stacked in DSS and processed in GIMP.


M86 (Virgo)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20170403_M86_grp_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 03 April 2017.

M86 and surrounding galaxies, the centre of Markarian's Chain. Skywatcher 190 mm Maksutov-Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Stack of twenty 480 s exposures at ISO 400.
galaxies/20170316_M86_grp_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 16 March 2017.

M86 and surrounding galaxies, the centre of Markarian's Chain. Skywatcher 190 mm Maksutov-Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Stack of five 480 s exposures at ISO 400. The onset of clouds prevented the capture of further exposures. The field of view of the full image is approximately 0.75°. Annotated image.
galaxies/20160304_M86_grp_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 04 March 2016.

M86 and surrounding galaxies. Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on NEQ6 mount with Canon 60Da camera. Stack of fifteen 360 s images, ISO 400.


M88 (Virgo)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20160304_M88_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 04 March 2016.

M88, a face on spiral galaxy about magnitude 9.5 approximately 47 million light years distant with an apparent size 6.8'x3.7'. Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on NEQ6 mount with Canon 60Da camera. Stack of five 360 s images, ISO 400.
galaxies/20160304_M88_area_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 04 March 2016.

M88 and surrounding galaxies. Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on NEQ6 mount with Canon 60Da camera. Stack of five 360 s images, ISO 400.


M90 (Virgo)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20140322_M90_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 22 March 2014.

William Optics ZS71 ED 71 mm, f/5.9 refractor with 0.8x focal reducer/flattener. HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Single 60 s exposure at ISO 800.


M104 (Virgo)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20170403_M104_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 03 April 2017.

Skywatcher 190 mm Maksutov-Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Stack of fifteen 480 s images at ISO 400. Enlargement.
galaxies/20160331_M104_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 31 March 2016.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on NEQ6 mount with Canon 60Da camera. Stack of fifteen 360 s exposures at ISO 200 with dark, flat and bias frames. Enlargement.


NGC4402 (Virgo)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20160304_NGC4402_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 04 March 2016.

NGC4402 is a magnitude 11.8 object with an apparent size 3.6'x1.1'. Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on NEQ6 mount with Canon 60Da camera. Stack of fifteen 360 s images, ISO 400.


NGC4468 (Virgo)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20160304_NGC4468_area_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 04 March 2016.

NGC4468 and surrounding galaxies. Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on NEQ6 mount with Canon 60Da camera. Stack of five 360 s images, ISO 400.


NGC2403 (Camelopardalis)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20171218_NGC2403_AG.jpgAndy Gibbs, 18 December 2017.

Explore Scientific ED80 CF refractor on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1200D camera, multiple 360 s exposures at ISO800 with darks and flats. Processed in Deep Sky Stacker and Photoshop CC.


M64 (Coma Berenices)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20170529_M64_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 29 May 2017.

M64, The Black Eye galaxy in Coma Berenices. The Black Eye is caused by a dust cloud obscuring the light of more distant stars. The galaxy is of magnitude 9.4 and lies at a distance of 24 million light years. Skywatcher 190 mm Maksutov-Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Fourteen 480 s exposures at ISO 400.


NGC4565 (Coma Berenices)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20140322_NGC4565_DM2.jpgDavid Murton, 22 March 2014.

William Optics ZS71 ED 71 mm, f/5.9 refractor with 0.8x focal reducer/flattener on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Stack of seven 60 s exposures at ISO 800.
galaxies/20140322_NGC4565_DM1.jpgDavid Murton, 22 March 2014.

William Optics ZS71 ED 71 mm, f/5.9 refractor with 0.8x focal reducer/flattener on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Single 60 s exposures at ISO 800.
galaxies/1994xxxx_NGC4565_RP.gifRic Pecce, 1994.

Meade 250 mm f/10 SCT. Guided 150 minute exposure on hypersensitised Technical Pan film.


M65, M66 & NGC3628 (The Leo Triplet)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20210321_Leo3_AG.jpgAndy Gibbs, 21 March 2021.

Explore Scientific ED80 CF apochromatic refractor on HEQ5 mount with Atik One 6.0 camera. Equipment controlled via a Primaluce Lab Eagle 3. Eight 300 s exposures in red, green and blue. Software used: Sequence Generator Pro and Affinity Photo (following a recommended workflow in Affinity Photo to register, stack and process images).
galaxies/20170123_Leo3_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 04 April 2016.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Stack of ten 480 s exposures at ISO 400.
galaxies/20160404_Leo3_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 04 April 2016.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Stack of eight 360 s exposures at ISO 200.
galaxies/20150218_Leo3_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 18 February 2015.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Stack of images amounting to 540 s total exposure. ISO 400.
galaxies/20140322_Leo3_DM2.jpgDavid Murton, 22 March 2014.

William Optics ZS71 ED 71 mm, f/5.9 refractor with 0.8x focal reducer/flattener on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Stack of seven 60 s exposures at ISO 800.
galaxies/20140322_Leo3_DM1.jpgDavid Murton, 22 March 2014.

William Optics ZS71 ED 71 mm, f/5.9 refractor with 0.8x focal reducer/flattener on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Single 60 s exposure at ISO 800.
galaxies/20140308_Leo3_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 08 March 2014.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Single 60 s exposure at ISO 1600. M65 is to bottom right, M66 to bottom left and NGC3628 to top. The relatively bright star slightly to the right of the mid-point between M65 and NGC3628 is the magnitude 7.1 Hipparcos 55262.


M95 & M96 (Leo)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20140226_M95+M96_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 26 February 2014.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Single 40 s exposure at ISO 1600 with minimal processing. Taken during a DASH Astro observing session.


NGC2903 (Leo)


ImageDetails
galaxies/19950227_NGC2903_MJH.gifMike Harlow, 27 February 1995.

300 mm Newtonian reflector with Starlight Express CCD camera.


M81 & M82 (Ursa Major)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20210406_M82_JWH.jpgJohn Hughes, 06 April 2021.

200 mm Ritchey-Chretien reflector. M82 captured in LRGB with a total integration time of 4.3 hours. The starburst region (in red) is of particular interest as it has evolved due to the gravitational interaction between M82 and its close neighbour, M81 (Bode's Galaxy). Within this region of hydrogen gas, star formation is taking place.
galaxies/20200312_M81_LHaRGB_JWH.jpgJohn Hughes, 12 March 2020.

M81, M82 and NGC3077. William Optics Z103 refractor and ZWO ASI1600mm Pro camera with LRGB and Hα 3 nm chroma filters across 01, 02 and 12 March 2020. Total integration time 6.7 hours.
galaxies/20180218_M82_AG.pngAndy Gibbs, 18 February 2018.

Explore Scientific ED80 CF Refractor with Atik Titan camera. Thirteen 90 s exposures plus dark frames. Processed with Atik Dawn and Photoshop 2018 CC.
galaxies/20161229_M81+M82_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 29 December 2016.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Stack of sixteen 480 s exposures at ISO 400.
galaxies/20150219_M81+M82_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 18 February 2015.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Stack of images amounting to 540 s total exposure. ISO 400.
galaxies/20141027_M81+M82_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 27 October 2014.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Stack of eight 240 s exposures at ISO 800.
galaxies/20141002_M81+M82_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 02 October 2014.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Image compromised by moonlight.
galaxies/20140308_M81+M82_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 08 March 2014.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Single 60 s exposure at ISO 1600.
galaxies/20140226_M82+SN2014J_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 26 February 2014.

M82 with supernova SN2014J. Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Single 40 s exposure at ISO 1600 with minimal processing. Taken during a DASH Astro observing session.
galaxies/20131029_M81+M82_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 29 October 2013.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Stack of six 80 s exposures at ISO 400.


M97 (the Owl Nebula) & M108 (Ursa Major)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20160405_M97+M108_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 04 April 2016.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Stack of eight 360 s exposures at ISO 200.


M101 (Ursa Major)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20200326_M101_JWH.jpgJohn Hughes, 26 March 2020.

William Optics Z103 APO, ZWO ASI1600MM Pro camera. The final result is based on five separate master images, taken on the nights of 23, 24, 25 and 26 March 2020 capturing luminance, red, green and blue channels together with emissions in Hα. Total exposure time 20.4 hours, by far my longest project!
galaxies/20170805_M101_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 05 August 2017.

Olympus OM 200 mm lens with Canon 60Da camera on Meade Eq mount. Fifteen 60 s exposures at ISO 800. Demonstrates what can be done without the use of a telescope.
galaxies/20170721_M101_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 21 July 2017.

Skywatcher 190 mm Maksutov-Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Stack of seven 360 s exposures at ISO 800.
galaxies/20150905_M101_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 05 September 2015.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Stack of twelve 360 s exposures at ISO 200, with dark frames and flat frames.
galaxies/20140322_M101_DM2.jpgDavid Murton, 22 March 2014.

William Optics ZS71 ED 71 mm, f/5.9 refractor with 0.8x focal reducer/flattener on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Stack of seven 60 s exposures at ISO 800.
galaxies/20140322_M101_DM1.jpgDavid Murton, 22 March 2014.

William Optics ZS71 ED 71 mm, f/5.9 refractor with 0.8x focal reducer/flattener on HEQ5 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Single 60 s exposure at ISO 800.


M106 (Canes Venatici)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20210125_M106_LRGB_JWH.jpgJohn Hughes, 25 January 2021.

William Optics Z103 refractor with ZWO ASI1600mm Pro cooled mono camera on SkyWatcher EQ6R-Pro mount. Accompanying M106 in the full image (not the thumbnail) are galaxies NGC4346 (bottom left), NGC4217 (bottom right) and NGC4220 (top right). The four galaxies are respectively at approximate distances from Earth: 23m LY, 35m LY, 61m LY and 63m LY. During imaging, the Moon was 89% illuminated which resulted in a large gradient on the left hand side of the image, especially in the red channel, but this was easily removed with PixInsight's DynamicBackgroundExtraction tool. The images is based on 3 minute exposures, with RGB subframes in the ratio 20:31:36.
galaxies/1994xxxx_M106_RP.gifRic Pecce, 1994.

Meade 250 mm f/10 SCT. Guided 120 minute exposure on hypersensitised Technical Pan film.


M109 (Ursa Major)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20180308_M109_MJH.jpgMike Harlow, 08 March 2019.

Self-built 30.5 cm, f/3.6 Newtonian astrograph with H16 CCD camera. Some fainter galaxies are visible among the background stars.


NGC4631 Cluster (Canes Venatici)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20170309_0856UT_NGC4631_JMA.pngJames Appleton, 09 March 2017.

Barred spiral galaxy NGC4631 and elliptical companion NGC4627. The galaxies are interacting and were listed no. 281 by Halton Arp in his 1966 Catalogue of Peculiar Galaxies. They lie at a distance of approximately 30 million LY. The field annotated to indicate fainter suspected galaxies (circled). Siera Stars Observatory Network 51 cm Gemini telescope, unfiltered, 5 m exposure.
galaxies/20170219_NGC4631+NGC4627+NGC4656+NGC4657_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 19 February 2017.

A wide field showing NGC4631 together with barred spiral NGC4656/7 at bottom right. Close-up of NGC4631 and NGC4627. Skywatcher 190 mm Maksutov-Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Stack of eight 480 s exposures at ISO 400. Natural colour.


NGC6946 (Cygnus)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20161107_NGC6946_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 07 November 2016.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Fifteen 420 s exposures at ISO 400. The galaxy is a magnitude 8.8 object, visually tiny in the telescope, 10 million light years distant and 40,000 light years in diameter. Nine supernova have been discovered in NGC6946.


NGC7331 and Stephan's Quintet (Pegasus)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20170828_NGC7331+SQ_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 28 August 2017.

NGC7331 and the nearby group of four galaxies known as the Deer Lick Group. Further away, to the bottom right, is Stephan's Quintet, a group of five interacting galaxies. The Quintet is only 4 arcminutes in diameter. Close-ups: NGC7331, Stephan's Quintet. Skywatcher 190 mm Maksutov-Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Fifteen 360 s exposures at ISO 800.
galaxies/20150906_NGC7331_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 06 September 2015.

NGC7331. Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Stack of seven 360 s exposures at ISO 200 with dark frames and flat frames. The galaxy shines at magnitude 9.5, and lies at a distance of 49 million LY.


NGC7332 and NGC7339 (Pegasus)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20150906_NGC7332+NGC7339_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 06 September 2015.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 1100D camera. Stack of five 360 s exposures at ISO 400 with dark frames and flat frames. The galaxy shines at magnitude 11.1, and lies at a distance of 67 million LY.


Abell 426 (The Perseus Cluster)


ImageDetails
galaxies/20170121_Abell426_DM.jpgDavid Murton, 21 January 2017.

Skywatcher 200PDS 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on NEQ6 mount. Canon 60Da camera. Stack of ten 480 s exposures at ISO 400. The cluster is one of the largest objects in the universe: it is a group if over 1000 galaxies roughly 250 million LY distant. The larger bright galaxy to the left of the image is NGC1275, a prodigious source of X-rays and radio emission. The image is 1.2° wide, approximately 15 million light years. Image with main galaxies marked, upwards of 130!


Updated: 11 April 2021