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Object
............................................ M51-Whirlpool Galaxy
Constellation ............................... Canes Venatici
Distance + Ap. Magnitude......... 23 million Light years - 8.4
RA / DEC
.....................................
13h:29m.53sec /
+47° 11m.43sec
Date + Time ............................... 17 & 23 & 27/3/2012 - 19:00 UTC
Location .................................... "Nunki
Observatory" - Skiathos
Optics .........................................
Celestron C11 HD f/10
Tools .......................................... CCDsoft
& CCDAutopilot 5
Camera ..................................... SBIG
ST10XE with CFW10 (Astrodon filters)
Exposure Time.......................
Luminance: 14 X 600sec RGB: 3 X 600sec
More Details ...........................
Environment Temperature : 15oC Camera Temperature -15οC & -20oC
Mount ....................................... Paramount
ME
Guiding .................................... Self guided
Processing Details ................ Photoshop ,
Maxim , CCDsoft
Notes ........................................
Weather:7/10 - Transparence: 4/6 - Humidity : 82-90 %
Target details ......................... The
Whirlpool Galaxy (also known as
Messier 51a, M51a, or NGC 5194) is an
interacting
grand-design
spiral
galaxy that is estimated to be 23 ± 4 million
light-years from the
Milky Way Galaxy in the
constellation
Canes Venatici. It is one of the most famous galaxies in the
sky. The galaxy and its companion (NGC
5195) are easily observed by
amateur astronomers, and the two galaxies may even be seen with
binoculars. The Whirlpool Galaxy is also a popular target for
professional astronomers, who study it to further understand galaxy
structure (particularly structure associated with the
spiral arms) and galaxy interactions.
What was later known as the Whirlpool Galaxy was discovered
on October 13, 1773 by
Charles Messier, and is designated as
M51. Its companion galaxy,
NGC
5195, was discovered in 1781 by
Pierre Méchain. It was however not until 1845 that the Whirlpool
became the first to be recognized as a spiral. This was achieved by
Lord Rosse employing a 72-inch (~1.83 m)
reflecting telescope which he constructed at
Birr Castle, Ireland. Sometimes M51 is used to refer to the pair
of galaxies, in which case the individual galaxies may be referred
to as M51A (NGC 5194) and M51B (NGC 5195). |
