Messier 51 The Whirpool Galaxy

[Laurin Dave]

I started this back in February 2019 and finished it over the last three beautifully clear nights capturing whilst I slept.   In total 13hrs of Lum, 5 hrs each RGB and 14hrs of Ha.  Lum and RGB through my Esprit150/SX46 and Ha through piggybacked Esprit100/ASI1600mm mounted on a Mesu 200.  Processed in APP, Pixinsight and Photoshop with mild deconvolution of Lum and Ha.  

The Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as Messier 51a, M51a, and NGC 5194, is an interacting grand-design spiral galaxy with a Seyfert 2 active galactic nucleus.  It lies in the constellation Canes Venatici, and was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy.   Distance is estimated to be 23 million light-years and diameter 76,000 light years. Its mass is estimated to be 160 billion solar masses

What later became known as the Whirlpool Galaxy was discovered on October 13, 1773, by Charles Messier while hunting for objects that could confuse comet hunters,  and was designated in Messier's catalogue as M51. Its companion galaxy, NGC 5195, was discovered in 1781 by Pierre Méchain. In 1845, William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, employing a 72-inch (1.8 m) reflecting telescope at Birr Castle, Ireland, found the Whirlpool possessed a spiral structure, the first "nebula" to be known to have one.  

Also in the image are IC4263 (top right) , IC4277 (below left)  and IC4278 (below)

Thanks for looking

Dave

 

 

 

[Dave Lloyd]

That's a gorgeous, almost ethereal image but how do you sleep whilst listening for rain. 

[Allinthehead]

Beautiful M51 Dave.

[Laurin Dave]

2 hours ago, Dave Lloyd said:

That's a gorgeous, almost ethereal image but how do you sleep whilst listening for rain. 

Thanks Dave....  I only do it when there's no rain anywhere near ..  I have a Pulsar dome..  just need to get round to putting on the automated shutter and rain/cloud sensor.

[gorann]

Lovely Dave!

I have no automatic rain protection so I just have to trust the forcast when I go to sleep and so far I have had no disaster.....🙄

[PhotoGav]

Excellent work Dave, the processing is spot on. Love the quirky framing too, bringing in IC 4263.

I did a bit of research into IC 4278 (the faint fuzzy below the gap between M51a & M51b) several years ago, trying to find out how much further away it is compared to M51. It turns out to be 10 times further at 230 million light years. I calculated this from its redshift value of 0.01672. Anyone who has ever read the phone book (!) will know that 01672 is the Marlborough dialling code, so I named IC 4278 ‘The Marlborough Galaxy’. A weird coincidence given that I live in Marlborough!

[Laurin Dave]

On 23/01/2020 at 09:57, PhotoGav said:

Excellent work Dave, the processing is spot on. Love the quirky framing too, bringing in IC 4263.

I did a bit of research into IC 4278 (the faint fuzzy below the gap between M51a & M51b) several years ago, trying to find out how much further away it is compared to M51. It turns out to be 10 times further at 230 million light years. I calculated this from its redshift value of 0.01672. Anyone who has ever read the phone book (!) will know that 01672 is the Marlborough dialling code, so I named IC 4278 ‘The Marlborough Galaxy’. A weird coincidence given that I live in Marlborough!

Thanks Gav.. and glad I included it...   Do you know of any galaxies with red shifts of 0.01189  

Edited January 25, 2020 by Laurin Dave

[geoflewis]

OMG Dave, just the 42 hours..!! - that's about 3 times more data than I've ever done on a single target, but boy it was worth it; what a stunning image. Revisiting M51 is on my potential list for this year, but I'd be pleased to get 12-15 hours on it, though increasingly I'm seeing the value of 'more is actually better than less'..... Cheers, Geof

[Laurin Dave]

8 minutes ago, geoflewis said:

OMG Dave, just the 42 hours..!! - that's about 3 times more data than I've ever done on a single target, but boy it was worth it; what a stunning image. Revisiting M51 is on my potential list for this year, but I'd be pleased to get 12-15 hours on it, though increasingly I'm seeing the value of 'more is actually better than less'..... Cheers, Geof

Thanks Geoff..  it certainly helps having a dual rig..  Over the recent clear spell I added 12.5 hrs LRGB through the150  to last years data doubling the Lum and trebling the RGB whilst at the same time the 100 was just taking Ha.  I'm particularly pleased with how the Ha has contributed and how much better the colour is than last years effort.   Next on the list to add to are M81/M82 and M106.

Dave

[geoflewis]

Yep, a dual rig would be nice, but I can just see the withering look from my wife when I tell her I now want 2 of everything- she already thinks I'm still a spoilt child.....🙄

[DaveS]

Wow Dave, that is just plain stunning, 42 hours really paid off. Not having a dual rig something like that would be out of the question for me, but I can dream...

[jock1958]

Brilliant image and a very informative report.  Being purely visual all I can see through my 4" Tak is what looks like two small 'cats eyes'!

[Saganite]

Superb !

A  favourite target, as I am sure it is for most , if not all observers...

[Davey-T]

Excellent image Dave, a quintessential M51 beautifully processed, unlike some of those over sharpened gaudy examples by our American cousins 😂

Dave

[Laurin Dave]

1 hour ago, DaveS said:

Wow Dave, that is just plain stunning, 42 hours really paid off. Not having a dual rig something like that would be out of the question for me, but I can dream...

Thanks Dave..  you don't need to as you have a big reflector coming and darker skies than me, also pretty much the same camera (16200 chip) so with any luck you shouldn't need as long to get the same kind of result..  

Dave

[wookie1965]

My nemesis I've never seen this from home in any of my scopes. Great picture.

[tomato]

Started in Feb 19 and 42 hours, wow, but worth every minute.

Patience is certainly a virtue in AP, which I need to learn.

[MartinB]

Beautiful Dave, well worth the rain risk!  Perfect in every way.  I too think my kit is too expesnive no to have working when there is a clear night!  

[Laurin Dave]

57 minutes ago, MartinB said:

Beautiful Dave, well worth the rain risk!  Perfect in every way.  I too think my kit is too expesnive no to have working when there is a clear night!  

Thank you Martin..  I do consult all weather forecasts, the rain radar and check with my Doctor before doing so!   I have all the stuff to automate the shutter and install cloud/rain sensor now and have a target of mid Feb to get it in place - when @PhotoGav is coming over for a viewing..  

Also I've been fiddling with the data again, I stacked it in  APP this time using the "Quality"  weighting which has tightened things up I think.  anyway here's a rework of the image.... I've also posted the full frame....  so many galaxies!  I annotated them in Pixinsight but it only got 20% so looking for a better tool for this.

Dave

 

Edited January 25, 2020 by Laurin Dave

[geoflewis]

2 minutes ago, Laurin Dave said:

here's a rework of the image.... I've also posted the full frame....  so many galaxies!

Excellent revision and I love the full frame.

[PhotoGav]

I look forward to the site inspection and hope to be able to issue you with a Pass Certificate!

The reprocess is looking great. It’s very interesting to see the full field of view and how much you are able to crop in to it with the detail remaining so sharp.

[Laurin Dave]

1 minute ago, PhotoGav said:

I look forward to the site inspection and hope to be able to issue you with a Pass Certificate!

The reprocess is looking great. It’s very interesting to see the full field of view and how much you are able to crop in to it with the detail remaining so sharp.

Better get my skates on then Gav..   and thanks,  6" refractors are a great tool, just wish it was a bit quicker!

6 minutes ago, geoflewis said:

Excellent revision and I love the full frame.

Thank you Geof, much appreciated...  

Dave

[CedricTheBrave]

lovely image well worth the time taken 

very well done 

[Hughsie]

I have looked at this four times today and I will keep on looking at this wonderful image. Love it.

 

[jjosefsen]

Woah that's an impressive image! The amount of detail is mesmerizing!