Collecting Photons

M101 - NGC 5474 Ursa Major

North is to the right 1600x1069

Objects: The disturbed geometries between galaxies

Constellation: Ursa Major

Coordinates of field center: 14h 4m +53° 58'

Notes: A wonderful field literally filled with colorful galaxies. M101 and 5474 are interacting and the geometry of their spiral arms is greatly disturbed. The nucleus of 5474 is way off center, pushed around by the tidal interaction.

Telescope and camera: ASA 10', f 3.6; SBIG STL 11000.

Exposure: Luminance 39x8'; Hα 12x16'; R, B 10x10''; G 10x8". About 13 hrs total.

Date: 4 nights on March 2010.

Software used: acquisition, CCDsoft. Calibration; registration and stacking: CCDstack, Iris; processing: PixInsight, Photoshop CS.

I used multiple instances of multiscale filtering to enhance the tremendous amount of details present in the spiral arms.

Full frame, north is up. 1600x1105

M101 - NGC 5477: full resolution

NGC 5474: full resolution

Back Home

Send anything that comes to mind to Gimmi Ratto gimmi@in.cnr.it