| Designation |
Messier
51 (NGC 5194) The Whirlpool Galaxy
& companion galaxy NGC
5195
|
| Type | Spiral Galaxy - type SA(s)bc pec I-II |
| Constellation | Canes Venatici |
| Coordinates | Telescope centered at RA '13 30 08' - Dec '+ 47 10 59' |
| Magnitude | 8.4 |
| Size | 112,000 light years in diameter |
| Distance | 35 million light years |
| Dimensions | 8.2 x 6.9 arcminutes (NGC 5195 - 6.4 x 4.6) |
| Image Field | 22 x 16 arcminutes |
|
Notes:
|
M51 is comparable in size and luminosity to our own Milky Way galaxy and our neighbor M31. The galaxy and it's companion have interacted and been influenced by each others gravetational pull, but they are not connected as it initialy appears. NGC 5195 is behind M51 as evidenced by the dust lanes that cover the smaller galaxy. |
| The arms of M51 are rich in star birthing materials (molecular gas and dust). The bluish cast to the arms suggests that the stars formed here are hot "giant" blue/white Type O & B stars, which are massive, but usually short lived. | |
|
|
| Telescopes | Meade 10" LX200 f/10 on Losmandy G-11 with Gemini L3 |
| Focal Length | 1575 mm @ f/6.3 |
| Guiding | SXV guidehead through Takahashi FS60C @ f/5.9 |
| Telescope Control | Maxim DL (V4.07) |
| CCD Camera |
Starlight Xpress SXV-H9 - USB 2 ExView progressive scan
1392
x 1040 (6.45 uM) pixel array (8.98 x 6.71 active area)
|
| Image Scale | .88 arcsec/pixel |
| Filters |
1.25" Astronomik Type II Dichroic IR blocking
filters in Astronomik filter drawer - Clear, Red, Green, Blue, Ha
|
| Exposures |
Total
exposure time: 255 minutes: Luminance 135 (18 x 5)
unbinned, RGB & Ha - 30 (6x5) minutes each binned
2x2
Sigma combined
|
| Calibration | flats, bias |
| Processing Software | Maxim DL, Photoshop CS (8.0), NEAT image (color channel smoothing) |
| Location | Chiefland Astronomy Village, FL - 29.393 N , - 82.863 W |
| Date/Time | 03/13/05 / '05:03' UT - combined with exposures taken 03/04 |
