M106_Ha1G1B1_lfitR_chancombo_SCNR(G)_BXT(0p12,0p18,auto,0p90,NSTS)_GraXpert_xstars_hpm3_cvs_tpzST_lvl_vib_smskRGB_smskcombo

Galaxy Messier 106 and other galaxies - 30 arcmin FoV. M106 is a semi-barred spiral, the largest of the Canes II Galaxy Group, part of the same Local Supercluster that the Milky Way belongs to. It is a Seyfert Galaxy - it has a supermassive black hole (39 million solar masses) at the centre which is quite active. The pic shows traces of the jets of matter emitted from the black hole which excites gas, causing it to emit light (the red Ha emission out of the plane of the spiral arms). The red Ha emission in the spiral arms is indicative of star forming regions.

 

Barred Spiral Galaxy M106, NGC 4258.

Distance: 23.7 million lyrs

Diameter: 135,000 lyrs

Angle subtended: 18.6x7.2 arcmin

Magnitude: 9.1

Constellation: Canes Venatici, The Hunting Dogs

 

Other companion and line of sight galaxies are also present - some of the brightest below, but there are others in the frame (very dim):

1. right, bottom of centre is galaxy NGC 4248 (distance 17.1 million lyrs, diameter 6,000 lyrs, 1.3x0.5 arcmin, Mg 12.5)

2. far right, bottom of centre are the galaxy pair NGC4232 (top, 333 Mlyrs,1.2x0.5 arcmin, Mg 13.2) and NGC 4231(bottom, 340 Mlyrs, 0.8x0.6 arcmin, Mg 13.6)

3. Top, far right (uncropped pic) is galaxy NGC 4226 (334 Mlyrs, 1.1x0.5 arcmin, Mg 13.5)

4. Centre, just above M106, is dwarf galaxy galaxy UGC 7356 (PGC 39615) visible as a faint blur (22 Mlyrs, 0.9x0.8 arcmin, Mg 15.1)

 

Details:

 

Photograph taken in Ha, R, G, B astronomik filters. Total exposure time 11.8 hrs (8.3 w/out R).

 

R 1x1 bin - 42x300s = 3.5hrs, 28 May 2023, scope East side, prime focus

G 1x1 bin - 53x180s = 2.7hrs, 03 June 2023, scope East side, prime focus

B 1x1 bin - 73x180s = 3.7 hrs, 04 June 2023, scope East side, prime focus

Ha 1x1 bin - 23x300s = 1.9hrs, 05 June 2023, scope East side, prime focus

 

 

Rig:

Imaging scope: SW Startravel 150mm F5 Refractor, Baader Diamond Track, 2.5x Celestron Luminos 2inch imaging barlow, Atik 460EX mono

 

Guide scope: SW Evostar 90mm F10, with guiding XY stage, ZWO 120MM camera

 

Guiding: 2 stage PHD: high frequency guide scope (mount tracking) and low frequency OAG image train guiding (guidescope flex)

 

Mount: Home made German Equatorial pillow block mount, permanently rooftop mounted. Spring loaded DEC axis gearing.

 

Other gadgets: ST4 based anti vibration shutter, ST4 based PEC

 

Processing:

PixInsight: Lights, Darks, Flats, Biases, Align Calibration, Linear fit, BXT, Channel Combination, SCNR(G). StarNet2 star removal/star layer

GradXpert: Gradient removal

Topaz DeNoise AI: Noise removal

Affinity Photo: 32 bit image processing (curves, high pass masking, selective colour)

 

Done