Whirlpool Galaxy -Messier 51

Neil Isaac

Neath, South Wales

Orion Optics Europpa 200mm reflector
Starlight Xpress SXVR-H814 mono CCD
Baader LRGB filters
Skywatcher NEQ6 Pro

The Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as Messier 51, is approx 23 million light years away. This image consists of 6.5 hours of exposures using LRGB filters and is my first image taken with this scope/camera combination. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, due to the small pixels and long focal length, but I’m pretty happy with this result.

2016-03-30T00:00:00