RA: 13h 29m 52.4s Dec: +47° 11' 41 Mag: 18.9 , Size: 9.8 x 6.8 arc seconds (ly), Distance: ~23 mly
RA: 13h 29m 52.4s Dec: +47° 11' 41 Mag: 18.9 , Size: 9.8 x 6.8 arc seconds (ly), Distance: ~23 mly
M51, also known as NGC 5194, is a face on spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici and was discovered by Charles Messier in 1774. The spiral arms and dust lanes sweep in front of companion galaxy, NGC 5195 which is located approximately 31 million light years away.
Within the last 17 years this galaxy has displayed 3 supernovas with the last one on May 31, 2011. The last light frame of this image shown above was taken shorlty before SN2011dh supernova was detected.
Additional frames were taken June 9, 2011 to record the SN and can be seen on the larger images by clicking above and moving the mouse over the galaxy.
| Location & Date | Dragon Rock Observatory, Sacramento Mountains Astronomy Park, New Mexico - CRGB-May 2011, SN2011dh data - June 8, 2011 |
| Telescope |
A&M 360mm R/C F/8, ParamountME, Prime Focus,
Image scale 0.64 arcsec/pixel |
| Camera |
FLI IMG-6303 w/CFW7 Custom Scientific HaLRGB Filters CCD temp -25°C |
| Exposure Times | (Clear) 15x10m, 3x20m (R)16x10m (G) 9x10m (B) 18x10m Bin 1x1 |
| Other Information |
Image planning - CCD Navigator Image acquisition/focus/guiding/dither - CCD Commander CCDSoft/TheSky6 |
| Image Processing |
* Images Plus- Calibration, Normalize, Alignment, Min/Max Avg Combine, Deconvolution * Adobe CS4 - C+RGB combine, Levels, Curves, Sharpening, Noise reduction, JPEG conversion |
