M108

M108

Messier 108

Données prise de vue

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Date : 2022-03-27

Objet : M108

Instrument : Celestron C9 / Camera : ZWO ASI1600 MC / Filtre = IrCut / Temp = -15°c / Gain= 139 / Offset = 21 Durée pose unitaire = 240s / Nombre de pose : 30

Traitement SIRIL et PHOTOSHOP / Gestion Stellarmate Phase lunaire : Waning Crescent(0.822) Echelle de Bortle = 4-5

 

Données Météo

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Fin de session StellarMatte : 2022-03-27 06:09:26 Lever du soleil : 07:52 AM Coucher du soleil : 08:24 PM Conditions climatiques : clear sky Couverture nuageuse : 0 % Taux d'humidite de 89 % Pression : 1025 hpa Vitesse Vent : 11 km/h Orientation : 67 ° (N=0° / Est = 90° / Sud = 180° / Ouest = 270°) La temperature en fin de session est de 5 °c

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@ Frank TYRLIK -->>> www.flickr.com/photos/frank_tyrlik/

 

Here is an image of M 108, NGC 3556 in Ursa Major, captured over several nights between 25 February and 25 March 2019.

 

This object has no entry of its own in the Charles Messier's original catalogue, but it is mentioned in a note on the observation of M 97, in February 1781, and noted as a nebula near M 97 but even fainter. So perhaps it should have been number 98 in the catalogue but was not mentioned further. It was only in 1953 that Owen Gingerich suggested that this object be added to the catalogue as M 108.

 

M 108 was further observed by William Herschel in 1789 who also noted the 12th magnitude foreground star almost in the centre of the galaxy. This star can be seen clearly in this image, as can its 15.2 mag companion known as Brenner's Star.

 

M 108 belongs to the Ursa Major group of galaxies and is around 46 million light years distant. It has a similar size to the Milky Way at 100,000 light years across and we are viewing it almost edge-on. Some consider it to be a barred spiral.

 

In this image, we can see some HII and star-forming regions in the galaxy and many other, fainter galaxies across the image.

 

The image comprises 32 x five-minutes luminance and 10 x five-minutes red, green and blue images.

 

Telescope: 8" Ritchey-Chretien at 1660mm focal length

Camera: QSI 583 with a Lodestar as the off-axis guide camera

Mount: Skywatcher EQ8

 

Location: Cambridge, UK

 

This image from Ursa Major shows two Messier objects in the same field. They are 48 arcminutes apart. Many of the small background "stars" here are actually distant galaxies.

 

The Owl planetary nebula is about 3.7 arcminutes across in our sky but is actually 0.91 light years in diameter. It lies about 2600 light years distant. The central star has shed its outer layers which glow either red (hydrogen) or green-blue (oxygen) lit by the light of the remnant white dwarf star. Eventually, the star will cool and the gas will expand until the nebula fades away.

 

Barred spiral galaxy M108 is about 45 million light years away and is almost edge on from our perspective. It’s 8.7 x 2.2 arcminutes diameter in our sky. It lacks a prominent core or bulge but has numerous dust lanes. A Type II supernovae was observed here in 1969. It’s possible to see brownish dust lanes, pink hydrogen alpha zones and two bright blue stellar “associations” of young stars at this magnification.

 

900/120mm f/7.5 Equinox ED doublet refractor.

Skywatcher x 0.85 FR with 2 inch IDAS LPS D2 filter

MoonLite electronic focuser

Astro-modified Canon 80D at ISO400; 24 x 10 minute subs

 

NEQ6 pro mount with Rowan belt drives -2 star align.

Camera control with Backyard EOS

 

60 Flats EL panel: 1/40s @ ISO400

81 Darks @ 5-10c

Master Bias from Library, 04/2020

 

Camera sensor temperature (external battery): 5-6c

 

Post processed in PixInsight 1.8.8 and Photoshop CC 2021.

 

Local parameters:

Temp: 3.0 - 4.2c

Humidity: 65.4%

Pressure: 1017 hPa

 

Light Pollution and Weather:

 

SQM (L) at end of session (0132 hrs UT) =20.10 mag/arcsec2.

Clear, all subs good.

 

Polar Alignment:

QHY Polemaster alignment -

Error measured by PHD2= 1.2 arc minute.

RA drift + 0.68 arcsec/min

Dec drift + 0.85 arcsec/min

 

Guiding:

PHD2 guiding with ZWO ASI290mm/PrimaLuce Lab 240/60mm guide scope. Every 3rd shot dithered.

RA RMS error 0.67 arcsec, peak error -2.33 arcsec

Dec RMS error 0.46 arcsec, peak error -1.93 arcsec

 

Astrometry:

Center (RA): 11h 13m 12.488s

Center (Dec): +55° 17' 53.98"

Size: 1d 20m 11.6s x 54m 56.0s

Image scale: 0.977 arcsec/pixel

Focal distance: 781.48mm

Pixel Size 3.7 microm

  

Had some problems with this - although guiding parameters were excellent, I've got some trailing which might be due to differential flexure - my guide scope is comprised of a main tube, coarse focuser and helical focuser and there was a bit of loose play at each junction. Have tightened the grub screws up and will make sure scope is tightly aligned with main scope.

 

Secondly, Ive got red haloes around the bright stars - not the blue/violet you would expect with a doublet scope - the last time I had this problem, it was due to a IDAS LPS D2 clip in filter. I usually use the D1 version without issues. Funny that it has resurfaced with the 2 inch D2 filter currently fitted in my field flattener - think it will have to go!

  

Can fix these with a little bench work I hope.

Messier 108 (M108 or NGC 3556), nicknamed the Surfboard Galaxy, is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy lies at an approximate distance of 45.9 million light years from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 10.7. This image combines data collected in 2021 and 2023 for a total of 3 hours 19 minutes of light.

 

Observation data (J2000 epoch)

Constellation: Ursa Major

Right ascension: 11h 11m 31.0s

Declination: +55° 40′ 27″

Distance: 8.8 Mpc (28.7 Mly)

Apparent magnitude (V): 10.0

 

Tech Specs: Orion 8" f/8 Ritchey-Chretien Astrograph Telescope, Celestron CGEM-DX pier mounted, ZWO ASI290MC and ASI071MC-Pro, ZWO ASIAir Pro, ZWO EAF. 196 x 60 seconds at -10C plus darks and flats. Processed using PixInsight and DSS. Image Date: November 5, 2021 and January 16, 2023. Location: The Dark Side Observatory (W59), Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle Class 4).

Acquisition:

Rising Cam IMX571 color + Zenithstar

iOptron CEM26 + iPolar

Filtre Optolong L-Pro

ZWO ASI224MC + WO Uniguide 120mm

NINA & PHD2

 

Exp=219min (73 de 90 images)

Images=180sec -- Gain 101 -- Offset 245

 

Traitement/processing :

Siril & Gimp

 

AstroM1

(rsi2x2.2)

Here is a view of supernova SN2023dbc in the galaxy Messier 108, at the time of my observation the estimated magnitude was 17.4. This is a Type II supernova and results from the rapid collapse and violent explosion of a massive star.

 

Tech Specs: Orion 8" f/8 Ritchey-Chretien Astrograph Telescope, Celestron CGEM-DX pier mounted, ASI071MC-Pro, ZWO AAPlus, ZWO EAF, 3 x 180 seconds at -10C, processed using Tycho Tracker. Image Date: March 19, 2023 @ 00:30 UT. Location: The Dark Side Observatory (W95), Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle Class 4).

The M108 galaxy and the Owl nebula (M97)

 

Equipment details:

- Mount: Astro-Physics Mach1 GTO

- Imaging scope: Explore Scientific 102mm Apochromatic Refractor

- Imaging camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Cool

- Guide camera: QHY5III178M

- OAG: ZWO OAG

- Other: HoTech SCA Field Flattner

- Filter wheel: ZWO EFW

- Focuser: MoonLite MiniV2 motorized focuser

- Filters: Astrodon LRGB Gen2 E-Series Tru-Balance

 

Actuisition details:

- Camera set to -17C at Unity Gain

- Lights:

-- L: 104 x 180s Bin: 1x1

-- R: 39 x 180s Bin: 2x2

-- G: 40 x 180s Bin: 2x2

-- B: 40 x 180s Bin: 2x2

- Flats: 30x per filter

 

Software:

- Acquisition: Sequence Generator Pro

- Mount Control: ASCOM, Stellarium, Stellarium Scope

- Guiding: PHD2

- Drift Alignment: PHD2 Drift Align

- Processing: PixInsight

 

Total Integration time:

- 12 hours

This Hubble image of M108 was taken using the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 and features only a portion of the galaxy. Its stair-step appearance results from the design of the camera, and because Hubble’s observations were taken in only one filter, it is in black and white. The observations were taken to help astronomers understand various features in the nuclei of nearby disk galaxies.

 

Credits: NASA, ESA, STScI and G. Illingworth (University of California, Santa Cruz)

  

Image taken with a Nikon D750 and Zenithstar 61 scope, mounted to the iOptron SkyGuider Pro.

Stacked in DeepSkyStacker, then processed in Photoshop.

M108, or the Surfboard galaxy, is located in the constellation Ursa Major approximately 46 million light-years away. It is called the Surfboard galaxy because, when viewed with a telescope, it is seen nearly edge-on with no apparent bulge or pronounced core.

 

M108 was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781 three days after he discovered M97. Charles Messier’s notes state that he observed the galaxy in 1781 but never took an accurate position of it or officially added it to his catalog. M108 was finally added to Messier’s catalog in 1953 by astronomer Owen Gingerich.

 

There is little evidence of a well-defined spiral pattern in the galaxy, but M108 is classified as a barred spiral galaxy with loosely wound spiral arms. Observations show young star clusters exposed against a mottled and detail-rich background. M108 also contains supershells, which are shells of gas driven by bursts of star formation and resulting supernova explosions. The supershells could also be driven by stellar jets or an infall of gas from outside the galaxy.

 

At the center of M108 is a supermassive black hole estimated to be 24 million times as massive as the Sun. The Chandra X-ray Observatory discovered multiple X-ray sources in M108, with the brightest X-ray source suspected to be an intermediately sized black hole that is actively accreting material.

 

M108 is one of the largest and brightest members of the Ursa Major cluster, which is part of the Virgo Supercluster of galaxies. It has a magnitude of 10 and is located just under the bowl of the Big Dipper. M108 can be seen with small telescopes as an elliptical streak of light with a brighter core, while telescopes 8 inches or larger will reveal more detail. The best time to observe M108 is in April, but it can be seen throughout the year for those in the Northern Hemisphere.

 

Credit: NASA, ESA, and H. Bond (The Pennsylvania State University); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

 

For more information, visit: science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night...

 

For Hubble's Messier catalog website and information on how to find these objects in the night sky, visit: science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night...

 

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NASA, Hubble, ESA, Hubble Space Telescope, telescope, space telescope, cosmos, universe, space, cosmic, astronomy, galaxy, galaxies, interacting galaxies, colliding galaxies,

   

First light with the Meade LX200. I decided to test it out on its first night - which incidentally was also the day the LX200 fork mount arrived via FedEx!

 

I am very pleased!

 

:)

Canon EOS 450D 20x 20s subs ISO800 Prime focus Skywatcher 150 Explorer Newtonian. Processed in DeepSkyStacker, PixInsight and Photoshop CS5

01/05/2009; Balkány.

 

The Messier 97 (also known as Owl nebula or NGC 3587) is a planetary nebula in the constellation Ursa Major. The Messier 108 is an edge-on galaxy.

 

scope: 70/500 SW refractor

guiding scope: 80/400 SW refractor

mount: Celestron CG-4 with SW EQ3 RA motor drive

guide: 12.5mm reticle eyepiece, TeleVue 2x barlow, manually guided

filter: Baader UHC-S

camera: Baader-ACF mod. Canon EOS 350D

cond. of exp.: 13x110-220sec @ iso 800 in prime focus

cond.: app. 6°C, strong wind, Moon in first quarter at high altitude.

processing: Iris(composit, asinh, noffset, rgbbalance), PS(levels, curves); only dark (3 frames) correction was applied.

Somma di pose 12 x 300 sec con Dss, Canon 350D modificata, telescopio 80ED Skywatcher con riduttore di focale, F6.7, ISO 800, focale 510mm, inseguitore Astrotrac.

Località: Piancavallo (PN)

Altitudine: 1115 mslm

Temperatura: 4°

Dark:4

Flat: 15

Dark Flat: 15

Note: cielo molto chiaro

Because the big dipper is always visible at the sky outside my apartment I have used the M108 and Owl Nebula to learn how to set up my Sky Watcher Star Adventurer. It's a small target for my William Optics Zenithstar 61II APO but its relatively easy to find. This image is off 51x60s at ISO-2500.

... en pas trop raté cette fois !

M97 (à gauche) est une nébuleuse planétaire ; M108 (en haut à droite) est une galaxie spirale vue par la tranche. Ce fameux duo s'observe non loin de l'étoile Merak dans la Grande Ourse.

M1

  

Between 1745 and 1781 French astronomer and comet hunter Charles Messier compiled a list of 110 fuzzy objects that remained at fixed positions in the sky. The purpose of the list was to help people not waste their time observing fuzzballs that don't move across the stars. It was a list of things UNINTERESTING to Messier. Now labeled M1-M110, the complete list of 109 (Wait, wasn't it 110? That's a story for another day...) fuzzy blobs in the sky are known to be star clusters, nebuale and galaxies. A popular astronomy challenge is to observe as many Messier objects as possible in a single night. A fun photographic challenge is to capture images of all 109 objects. I recorded these a few nights ago when it happened to be clear, but the slightly gibbous moon was too bright to bring out any serious detail and dew began to coat the camera later in the night too.

 

The first image is M1, the Crab Nebula. It is the remains of a star that went supernova, and supposedly the stellar explosion could be seen in daylight in 1054 A.D. The bright star in the image is called Tianguan, in the constellation Taurus, just above Orion's head.

 

In the second image is M108, an almost edge-on spiral galaxy, and my field of view was inadverdently wide enough to also capture M97, a so-called planetary nebula, the remains of a Sun-like star that has reached the end of its life. The bright star in the image is Merak, one of the stars in the scoop of the Big Dipper.

 

Hopefully I'll capture better images of these this year, but so far , 3 out of 109 objects captured!

 

#messiercatalogue #messier1 #crabnebula #messier97 #owlnebula #messier108 #deepskyphotography #astrophotography

M108 & M97

  

Between 1745 and 1781 French astronomer and comet hunter Charles Messier compiled a list of 110 fuzzy objects that remained at fixed positions in the sky. The purpose of the list was to help people not waste their time observing fuzzballs that don't move across the stars. It was a list of things UNINTERESTING to Messier. Now labeled M1-M110, the complete list of 109 (Wait, wasn't it 110? That's a story for another day...) fuzzy blobs in the sky are known to be star clusters, nebuale and galaxies. A popular astronomy challenge is to observe as many Messier objects as possible in a single night. A fun photographic challenge is to capture images of all 109 objects. I recorded these a few nights ago when it happened to be clear, but the slightly gibbous moon was too bright to bring out any serious detail and dew began to coat the camera later in the night too.

 

The first image is M1, the Crab Nebula. It is the remains of a star that went supernova, and supposedly the stellar explosion could be seen in daylight in 1054 A.D. The bright star in the image is called Tianguan, in the constellation Taurus, just above Orion's head.

 

In the second image is M108, an almost edge-on spiral galaxy, and my field of view was inadverdently wide enough to also capture M97, a so-called planetary nebula, the remains of a Sun-like star that has reached the end of its life. The bright star in the image is Merak, one of the stars in the scoop of the Big Dipper.

 

Hopefully I'll capture better images of these this year, but so far , 3 out of 109 objects captured!

 

#messiercatalogue #messier1 #crabnebula #messier97 #owlnebula #messier108 #deepskyphotography #astrophotography

About 100 minutes of exposure on Messier 108, "The Surfboard Galaxy" (upper left), and Messier 97, "The Owl Nebula" (lower right). The Surfboard Galaxy is about almost 50 million light years away and is a spiral galaxy we see edge on. The Owl Nebula is about 2600 light years away, is about 6000 years old and has inside of it a dying star that is about half the mass of our Sun. #messier108 #messier97# #deepskyphotography #astrophotography