Tag Archives: Ursa Major

M82, Cigar Galaxy

Messier 82 (also known as NGC 3034, Cigar Galaxy or M82) is a starburst galaxy about 12 million light-years away in theconstellation Ursa Major. It is about five times more luminous than the whole Milky Way and one hundred times more luminous than our galaxy’s center. The starburst activity is thought to be triggered by interaction with neighboring galaxy M81, and M82 is a member of the M81 Group. As the closest starburst galaxy to our own, M82 is the prototypical example of this type of galaxy. SN 2014J, a Type Ia supernova, was observed in the galaxy on 21 January 2014.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Ian King Ikharos 8″ RC
Imaging cameras: Atik 460 EX
Mounts: Software Bisque Paramount MX
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Ian King Ikharos 8″ RC
Guiding cameras: Atik 314L+
Software: PixInsight, Software Bisque CCDSoft 5, Software Bisque TheSkyX, iLanga AstroPlanner, Matt Thomas’s CCDCommander
Filters: Baader H-alpha 7nm 36mm, Baader Luminance 36mm, Baader Red, Green, Blue 36mm
Accessories: Atik EFW2, Innovations Foresight On-axis guider
Dates: Dec. 18, 2013, Dec. 23, 2013
Frames:
Baader H-alpha 7nm 36mm: 25×900″ bin 2×2
Baader Luminance 36mm: 31×600″ bin 1×1
Baader Red, Green, Blue 36mm: 55×600″ bin 2×2
Integration: 20.6 hours

Author: Colin McGill
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 30 Sep 2014

M101

The Pinwheel Galaxy (also known as Messier 101, M101 or NGC 5457) is a face-on spiral galaxy distanced 21 million light-years (six megaparsecs) away in the constellation Ursa Major, first discovered by Pierre Méchain on March 27, 1781, and communicated to Charles Messier who verified its position for inclusion in the Messier Catalogue as one of its final entries.
On February 28, 2006, NASA and the ESA released a very detailed image of the Pinwheel Galaxy, which was the largest and most detailed image of a galaxy by Hubble Space Telescope at the time. The image was composed from 51 individual exposures, plus some extra ground-based photos.
On August 24, 2011, a Type Ia supernova, SN 2011fe, was discovered in M101.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Sky-Watcher ED80
Imaging cameras: Canon 1100D
Mounts: Sky-Watcher NEQ6 Pro SyncScan
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Finder 8×50
Guiding cameras: QHYCCD QHY 5
Software: Adobe Photoshop CC, AstroSurf IRIS v5.59, Pleaides Astrophoto Pixinsight LE
Dates: March 7, 2014
Frames: 16×600″ ISO800 bin 1×1
Integration: 2.7 hours
Darks: ~6
Flats: ~15
Bias: ~49

Author: Pavel Syrin
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 22 Sep 2014

Cigar Galaxy

Messier 82 (also known as NGC 3034, Cigar Galaxy or M82) is a starburst galaxy about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It is about five times more luminous than the whole Milky Way and one hundred times more luminous than our galaxy’s center. The starburst activity is thought to be triggered by interaction with neighboring galaxy M81, and M82 is a member of the M81 Group. As the closest starburst galaxy to our own, M82 is the prototypical example of this type of galaxy. SN 2014J, a Type Ia supernova, was observed in the galaxy on 21 January 2014.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Meade 10″ LX 200 ACF
Imaging cameras: Moravian G2-8300FW Moravian 8300
Mounts: Gemini g53F Gemini
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Meade 10″ LX 200 ACF
Guiding cameras: MagZero QHY5L-IIm
Software: PixInsight PinInsight 1.8
Filters: Astronomik LRGB 31 mm
Dates: Feb. 24, 2014
Frames:
Astronomik LRGB 31 mm: 11×900″ -30C bin 1×1
Astronomik LRGB 31 mm: 12×600″ -30C bin 2×2
Integration: 4.8 hours

Author: Marco Bocchini
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 17 Sep 2014

Bode’s Galaxy

Messier 81 (also known as NGC 3031 or Bode’s Galaxy) is a spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. Due to its proximity to Earth, large size and active galactic nucleus (which harbors a 70 million M_☉ supermassive black hole), Messier 81 has been studied extensively by professional astronomers. The galaxy’s large size and relatively high brightness also make it a popular target for amateur astronomers.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: TPO 8″ Ritchey–Chrétien
Imaging cameras: SBIG ST-8300M
Mounts: Orion Atlas EQ-G
Guiding cameras: SBIG ST-i Planetary and Guide Camera Mono
Software: DeepSkyStacker, PHD guiding, photoshop, Nebulosity
Filters: Astrodon Tru-Balance Generation 2 E-Series – LRGB 36mm Round Fil
Accessories: SBIG OAG-8300
Dates: Feb. 26, 2014, March 1, 2014, March 9, 2014
Frames:
Astrodon Tru-Balance Generation 2 E-Series – LRGB 36mm Round Fil: 10×1200″ -20C bin 1×1
Astrodon Tru-Balance Generation 2 E-Series – LRGB 36mm Round Fil: 18×600″ -20C bin 2×2
Astrodon H-alpha 5nm: 11×1800″ -20C bin 1×1
Integration: 11.8 hours

Author: Mike Carroll
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 06 Sep 2014

M101: The Pinwheel Galaxy

The Pinwheel Galaxy (also known as Messier 101, M101 or NGC 5457) is a face-on spiral galaxy distanced 21 million light-years (six megaparsecs) away in the constellation Ursa Major, first discovered by Pierre Méchain on March 27, 1781, and communicated to Charles Messier who verified its position for inclusion in the Messier Catalogue as one of its final entries. On August 24, 2011, a Type Ia supernova, SN 2011fe, initially designated PTF 11kly, was discovered in M101. The supernova was visual magnitude17.2 at discovery and reached magnitude 9.9 at its peak. This was the fourth supernova recorded in M101. The first, SN 1909A, was discovered by Max Wolf in January 1909 and reached magnitude 12.1. SN 1951H reached magnitude 17.5 in September 1951 and SN 1970G reached magnitude 11.5 in January 1970.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Planewave Instruments CDK 12.5″ Corrected Dall-Kirkham Astrograph f/8
Imaging cameras: SBIG STXL 6303
Mounts: Paramount PME
Filters: Astrodon Ha, Astrodon Blue, Astrodon Green, Astrodon Red, Astrodon Luminance
Dates: June 15, 2014, June 18, 2014, July 3, 2014
Frames:
Astrodon Blue: 11×300″ bin 2×2
Astrodon Green: 7×300″ bin 2×2
Astrodon Ha: 5×600″ bin 1×1
Astrodon Luminance: 9×300″ bin 1×1
Astrodon Red: 9×300″ bin 2×2
Integration: 3.8 hours

Author: Giulio Ercolani
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 7 Aug 2014

M 109 in Ursa Major

Messier 109 (also known as NGC 3992) is a barred spiral galaxy approximately 83.5 ± 24 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. M109 can be seen southeast of the star Phecda (γ UMa).
In March 1956, supernova 1956A was observed in M109. SN 1956A was a type Ia supernova in the southeast part of the galaxy, glowing at magnitude 12.8 to 12.3 at its maximum. SN 1956A has been the only supernova observed in M109 since its discovery. It is also by far the most distant object in the Messier Catalog, followed by M91. M109 has three satellite galaxies and possibly might have more.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: AG Optical 12.5 IDK
Mounts: Paramount MX
Software: photoshop, DC-3 Dreams ACP, PixInsight PixInsinght 1.8 RC7, Maxim DL
Filters: Astrodon E-series LRGB
Dates: June 1, 2014
Locations: New Mexico Skies
Frames: 75×900″
Integration: 18.8 hours

Author: Mike Miller
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 23 July 2014

Cigar Galaxy

M 82 (also known as NGC 3034, Cigar Galaxy) is the prototype nearby starburst galaxy about 12 million light-yearsaway in the constellation Ursa Major. The starburst galaxy is five times more luminous than the whole Milky Way and one hundred times more luminous than our galaxy’s center. The starburst activity is thought to be triggered by interaction with neighboring galaxy M81, and M82 is a member of the M81 Group.

SN 2014J, an apparent Type Ia supernova, was observed in the galaxy on 21 January 2014.

Massive Nearby Spiral Galaxy NGC 2841

Image Credit: Hubble, Subaru; Composition & Copyright: Robert Gendler

It is one of the more massive galaxies known. A mere 46 million light-years distant, spiral galaxy NGC 2841 can be found in the northern constellation of Ursa Major. This sharp view of the gorgeous island universe shows off a striking yellow nucleus and galactic disk. Dust lanes, small, pink star-forming regions, and young blue star clusters are embedded in the patchy, tightly wound spiral arms. In contrast, many other spirals exhibit grand, sweeping arms with large star-forming regions. NGC 2841 has a diameter of over 150,000 light-years, even larger than our own Milky Way and captured by this composite image merging exposures from the orbiting 2.4-meter Hubble Space Telescope and the ground-based 8.2-meter Subaru Telescope. X-ray images suggest that resulting winds and stellar explosions create plumes of hot gas extending into a halo around NGC 2841.

APOD NASA 21-Apr-2014

The Pinwheel Galaxy (M101)

The Pinwheel Galaxy (also known as Messier 101, M101 or NGC 5457) is a face-on spiral galaxy distanced 21 million light-years (six megaparsecs) away in the constellation Ursa Major.
M101 is a relatively large galaxy compared to the Milky Way. With a diameter of 170,000 light-years it is seventy percent larger than the Milky Way. It has a disk mass on the order of 100 billion solar masses, along with a small bulge of about 3 billion solar masses.

Another remarkable property of this galaxy is its huge and extremely bright H II regions, of which a total of about 3,000 can be seen on photographs. H II regions usually accompany the enormous clouds of high density molecular hydrogen gas contracting under their own gravitational force where stars form. H II regions are ionized by large numbers of extremely bright and hot young stars.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: GSO Newton 8″ f/5
Imaging cameras: Canon EOS 350D / No filter
Mounts: Sky-Watcher EQ6 Syntreck
Guiding telescopes or lenses: GSO Viewfinder 8X50
Guiding cameras: Orion SSAG
Focal reducers: TS Koma Korrektor
Software: PHD guiding, photoshop
Filters: Astronomik 12nm Hydrogen Alpha Filter ha12nm ccd clip, Astronomik CLS CCD Filter
Dates: Feb. 9, 2013, Feb. 18, 2013, March 11, 2013
Frames:
Astronomik CLS CCD Filter: 10×240″ ISO800
Astronomik CLS CCD Filter: 34×300″ ISO800
Astronomik 12nm Hydrogen Alpha Filter ha12nm ccd clip: 18×300″ ISO800
Integration: 5.0 hours
Darks: ~12
Flats: ~12
Bias: ~12

Author: Fredéric Segato

AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI
9 April 2014

Polar Ring Galaxy NGC 2685

Image Credit & Copyright: Ken Crawford

NGC 2685 is a confirmed polar ring galaxy – a rare type of galaxy with stars, gas and dust orbiting in rings perpendicular to the plane of a flat galactic disk. The bizarre configuration could be caused by the chance capture of material from another galaxy by a disk galaxy, with the captured debris strung out in a rotating ring. Still, observed properties of NGC 2685 suggest that the rotating ring structure is remarkably old and stable. In this sharp view of the peculiar system also known as Arp 336 or the Helix galaxy, the strange, perpendicular rings are easy to trace as they pass in front of the galactic disk, along with other disturbed outer structures. NGC 2685 is about 50,000 light-years across and 40 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major.

NASA APOD 14-Mar-2014

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