M109

Click on image for larger version.


 M109 is a very dim barred spiral galaxy. Both the central nucleus and outer arms are fairly smooth- devoid of hotspots of star formation. It is estimated that this galaxy is 50 million light years away from us. This image does well to show some detail in the bluer arms with a more yellow interior. To do this galaxy justice longer exposures will be necessary. Other barred spirals in the Messier catalogue include M91, M95 and M58.

Equipment

Meade 16in LX200 telescope operating at f/6.3 and f/10 (notes below)
SBIG ST8E CCD camera with color filter wheel

L R G B color production was used to create this image.

Luminance = 90 minutes binned 1x1
 Red = 20 minutes binned 2x2
 Green = 20 minutes binned 2x2
 Blue = 30 minutes binned 2x2
  • One iteration of L-R deconvolution (sharpening) algorithm using CCDsharp was applied to the luminance image.

  • Digital Development (DDP) via Maxim/DL was also used in order to display the the very dim and very bright details of the image simultaneously.

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    Minimum credit line: Dave Young and Tom Boerner/Adam Block/NOAO/AURA/NSF (top image)
    Bob Rickert/Adam Block/NOAO/AURA/NSF (bottom image)

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    Updated: 4/18/2002