All this week I will be posting Galaxies shot with a small 102mm scope…. Since Spring time is galaxy season, first up is :
M99 Spiral Galaxy in Coma Berenices
Messier 99 or M99, also known as NGC 4254, is a grand design spiral galaxy in the northern constellation Coma Berenices approximately 15,000,000 parsecs (49 million light-years) from the Milky Way.
It was discovered by Pierre Méchain on 17 March 1781. The discovery was then reported to Charles Messier, who included the object in the Messier Catalogue of comet-like objects becoming the 99th member of the list.
It was one of the first galaxies in which a spiral pattern was seen. This pattern was first identified by Lord Rosse in the spring of 1846.
Visually it is 10.4 magnitude, and its apparent size is 5.4 x 4.7 arc minutes. Yes, there are several other smaller background galaxies visible in the image as well.
Captured on 03-19-2021 with my Explore Scientific 102mm Triplet APO Refractor telescope, Bisque ME Mount, QHY 183C Cooled Cmos Camera, 120min exposure, (24 x 300sec subs), SkyX Camera capture software, PHD2, DSS, Pixinsight, & Adobe CS 2021.
Best Regards,
John Chumack
