M101: A Glimpse of the Pinwheel Galaxy from My Backyard
This image showcases M101, also known as the Pinwheel Galaxy. Located 21 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major, this face-on, counterclockwise intermediate spiral galaxy is a stunning celestial object.
A Bit of History
Did you know M101 was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781? He communicated his findings to Charles Messier, who then verified its position for inclusion in the prestigious Messier Catalogue, making it one of the final entries.
Backyard Astronomy Challenges
Capturing this shot was a labor of love, totaling nearly 4 hours of data spread across three nights. As any backyard astronomer knows, obstacles are often part of the process. Clouds and the galaxy's relatively low altitude in the sky presented challenges, further complicated by the presence of a large silver maple tree in my viewing path!
The Technical Details
- Gear: Seestar s50
- Acquisition: 1,372 x 10-second frames
- Moon Illumination: 99-82%
- Bortle Zone: 4.5
- Processing: Crop, background extraction, deconvolution, and denoising in Graxpert. Stacked, stretched, color calibrated, saturation, and histogram adjusted in Siril. Final touchups to color and curves in Lightroom.
Despite the hurdles, the result is a testament to perseverance and the incredible beauty that can be found by looking up, even from our own backyards.
