| Designation |
Messier
82 (NGC 3034) The Cigar Galaxy
|
| Type | Irregular galaxy (Type Io |
| Constellation | Ursa Major |
| Coordinates | Telescope centered at RA '09 55 59' - Dec '+ 69 41 06' |
| Magnitude | 8.4 |
| Size | Over 35,000 light years across |
| Distance | 10 million light years |
| Dimensions | 12 x 5.6 arcminutes |
| Image Field | 15 x 19 arcminutes |
|
Notes:
|
M82 is a "starburst galaxy". It is interacting with it's neighbor, probably through gravetational effects on the gas cloud they share. This interaction causes a mass disruption of the molecular clouds, which in turn triggers shock waves resulting in an abundance of star formation. This manifests in the red expulsions of dust, hydrogen and nitrogen seen outgassing from the center, which is believed to be the result of many violent supernova events. |
|
|
Difraction spikes 11/21 by using dowels in front of dew shield. 3/21 added using PS Flare brush by Karl |
| 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 (V3) |
| 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:
291 minutes: Luminance 144 (12 x 5 & 21 x 4) unbinned,
RGB - 39 minutes each binned 2x2 (7x2 & 5x5) Ha
- 50 minutes unbinned (10x5)
|
| Calibration | None |
| Processing Software | Maxim DL, Photoshop CS (8.0), NEAT image |
| Location | Chiefland Astronomy Village, FL - 29.393 N , - 82.863 W |
| Date/Time | 03/21/04 / '01:20' - '04:38' UT & 126 minutes 11/21/03 |
