2018-03-23, 2017-05-25 / Image Details (Click on image to enlarge)
The Whirlpool Galaxy, M51, is a grand design spiral galaxy located in the constellation of Canes Venatici.
It is one of the most famous galaxies in the sky, appearing face-on when viewed from Earth. M51 has a much smaller
dwarf companion, known as NGC 5195, and together they form the finest and most studied example of an interacting
galaxy pair in the sky. The M51 lies in a distance of 23 million light years from the Earth and has a diameter of
75'000 light years.
Technical Details
| Location | Zollikerberg, Switzerland |
| Camera | Nikon DSLR D810A |
| Telescope | Skywatcher Quattro 8CF 200 DS Fibre OTA Newton Carbon |
| Special Lense | Skywatcher Newtonian F4 Coma Corrector |
| Mount | Skywatcher AZ-EQ6 |
| Autoguiding | Lacerta MGEN2 (Autoguiding, Dithering) |
| Focuser | Lacerta MFOC Motorfocuser |
| Planetarium Software | Stellarium |
Image Session Control | APT - Astro Photography Tool v3.5, ASCOM Platform 6 |
| Lights | 59 x 120s // 58 x 120s (total 3h54'), ISO-1600, additional Biases, Flats, no Darks |
| Stacking Software | Pixinsight 1.8, Bayer Drizzle 2x |
| Image Processing | Pixinsight 1.8 |
2017-05-25 / Earlier Version, part 1 of the above image
Technical Details
| Location | Zollikerberg, Switzerland |
| Camera | Nikon DSLR D810A |
| Telescope | Skywatcher Quattro 8CF 200 DS Fibre OTA Newton Carbon |
| Special Lense | Skywatcher Newtonian F4 Coma Corrector |
| Mount | Skywatcher AZ-EQ6, EQASCOM, Stellarium |
| Autoguiding | Lacerta MGEN2 (Autoguiding, Dithering) |
| Camera Control | Digicamcontrol (Focus, Camera Control) |
| Lights | 56 x 120s (1h52'), ISO-1600, additional Biases, Flats, no Darks |
| Stacking Software | Pixinsight 1.8, Bayer Drizzle 2x |
| Image Processing | Pixinsight 1.8 |
"The color difference between the two images is caused by using different color calibration methods in Pixinsight.
The bluish image is the result of the PhotometricColorCalibration.."