Observation by Martina McGovern: Messier 81 in Ursa Major
Uploaded by
Paul Downing, FRAS
Observer
Martina McGovern
Observed
2020 Nov 23 - 23:00
Uploaded
2020 Dec 12 - 10:36
Objects
M81
Planetarium overlay
Constellation
Ursa Major
Field centre
RA: 09h55m
Dec: +69°04'
Position angle: +78°15'
Field size
0°30' × 0°20'
Equipment
- Celestron Edge HD 8” SCT, SkyWatcher HEQ5 PRO
- ZWO ASI294MC Pro, main camera
- ZWO ASIAir Pro, ZWO EAF (Electronic Automatic Focuser) & Dual-Speed 2-inch Crayford Focuser for SCT’s
- ZWO 60mm Guide scope, ZWO ASI120MM mini, Guide camera
- Optolong L-Pro Broadband filter, Optolong L-eXtreme dual band filter (Ha & OIII)
Exposure
Approx 5hrs of L-pro data & 40mins L-eXtreme data; 180s & Darks, Flats & Dark flats. Camera settings were Gain 225, cooled to T -15C
Location
Near Cambridge, UK
Target name
Messier 81
Title
Messier 81 in Ursa Major
About this image
Martina comments that she hasn’t had a clear night in so so long – until 22nd November, so she stayed up right through until 6am the next day. She has wanted to try to capture this galaxy image for a while now, and success at last.
From Wikipedia: M81 Bodes Galaxy is a grand design spiral galaxy about 12 Million light years away, with a diameter of 90,000 light years, in the constellation Ursa Major. Due to its proximity to Earth, large size, and active galactic nucleus (which harbours a supermassive black hole), Messier 81 has been studied extensively by professional astronomers.
Files associated with this observation
Like this image
Andy Wilson,
Martin Lewis,
Paul Leyland,
Richard Miles,
Graham Roberts,
Graham Winstanley,
Jeremy Shears,
Janice McClean,
Geof Lewis,
Alan C Tough,
Graeme Coates,
Andrew Paterson
Comments
That's a very nice image of M81 - captures the subtlety of the structure in the spiral arms nicely.
Well-deserved POTW Martina
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