M97: The Owl Nebula

Click on image for larger version.

Whoo Whoo says astronomical objects don't look like their names? This glowing gas bubble is estimated to be 6,000 years old and 1,500 light years away. Also note the two background galaxies in the image.

Equipment

Meade 16in LX200 telescope operating at f/6.3
SBIG ST8E CCD camera with color filter wheel

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

Luminance = 42 minutes binned 1x1
 Red = 10 minutes binned 3x3
 Green = 10 minutes binned 3x3
 Blue = 20 minutes binned 3x3
  • Thin haze hampered this image slightly.
  • The effective exposure time in L is substantially less than 42 minutes due to the thin clouds.

    • Minimum credit line: Ron Murray and Debra Brown/Adam Block/NOAO/AURA/NSF

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    Updated: 2/15/2001