View allAll Photos Tagged up
Captured 19 May 2021, 00:16 hrs ET, Springfield, VA, USA. Bortle 8 skies, Mallincam DS10C camera, Celestron 8 inch SCT f/6.2, exposure 60 sec, gain 10, bin 1, stack of 10 light frames, dark and flat frames subtracted, no filter.
Clouds: clear
Seeing: ok
Transparency: ok
Moon phase: 41%
FOV: 47 x 36 arcmin before crop
Resolution: 0.8 arcsec/pixel
Orientation: Up is South
Apparent magnitude: +8.4
Apparent size: 11 x 7 arcmin
Appearance: Beautiful interacting spiral galaxies.
From Wikipedia:
The Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as Messier 51a, M51a, and NGC 5194, is an interacting grand-design spiral galaxy with a Seyfert 2 active galactic nucleus. It lies in the constellation Canes Venatici, and was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy. Its distance is estimated to be 31 million light-years away from Earth.
The galaxy and its companion, NGC 5195, are easily observed by amateur astronomers, and the two galaxies may be seen with binoculars. The Whirlpool Galaxy has been extensively observed by professional astronomers, who study it to understand galaxy structure (particularly structure associated with the spiral arms) and galaxy interactions.
What later became known as the Whirlpool Galaxy was discovered on October 13, 1773, by Charles Messier while hunting for objects that could confuse comet hunters, and was designated in Messier's catalogue as M51. Its companion galaxy, NGC 5195, was discovered in 1781 by Pierre Méchain, although it was not known whether it was interacting or merely another galaxy passing at a distance. In 1845, William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, employing a 72-inch (1.8 m) reflecting telescope at Birr Castle, Ireland, found that the Whirlpool possessed a spiral structure, the first "nebula" to be known to have one. These "spiral nebulae" were not recognized as galaxies until Edwin Hubble was able to observe Cepheid variables in some of these spiral nebulae, which provided evidence that they were so far away that they must be entirely separate galaxies even though they are seen close together.
The advent of radio astronomy and subsequent radio images of M51 unequivocally demonstrated that the Whirlpool and its companion galaxy are indeed interacting. Sometimes the designation M51 is used to refer to the pair of galaxies, in which case the individual galaxies may be referred to as M51a (NGC 5194) and M51b (NGC 5195).
Deep in the constellation Canes Venatici, M51 is often found by finding the easternmost star of the Big Dipper, Eta Ursae Majoris, and going 3.5° southwest. Its declination is, rounded, +47°, making it a circumpolar (never setting) for observers above the 43rd parallel north; it reaches a high altitude throughout this hemisphere making it an accessible object from the early hours in November through to the end of May, after which observation is more coincidental in modest latitudes with the risen sun (due to the Sun approaching to and receding from its Right Ascension, specifically figuring in Gemini, just to the north).
M51 is visible through binoculars under dark sky conditions, and it can be resolved in detail with modern amateur telescopes. When seen through a 100 mm telescope the basic outlines of M51 (limited to 5×6') and its companion are visible. Under dark skies, and with a moderate eyepiece through a 150 mm telescope, M51's intrinsic spiral structure can be detected. With larger (>300 mm) instruments under dark sky conditions, the various spiral bands are apparent with HII regions visible, and M51 can be seen to be attached to M51B.
As is usual for galaxies, the true extent of its structure can only be gathered from inspecting photographs; long exposures reveal a large nebula extending beyond the visible circular appearance. In 1984, thanks to the high-speed detector—the so-called image-photon-counting- IPCS—system—developed jointly by the CNRS Laboratoire d'Astronomie Spatiald (L.A.S.- CNRS) and the Observatoire de Haute Provence (O.H.P.) along with the particularly nice seeing offered by the Canada-France-Hawaii-Telescope (C.F.H.T.) 3.60m Cassegrain focus at Mauna Kea summit in Hawaii, Hua et al. detected the double component of the very nucleus of the Whirlpool galaxy (article in Astrophysical Letters and Communications, 1987, vol. 25, pp. 187–204).
Whirlpool Galaxy lies 31 million light-years from Earth and has an estimated diameter of 76,000 light-years. Overall the galaxy is about 43% the size of the Milky Way. Its mass is estimated to be 160 billion solar masses, or around 10.3% of the mass of Milky Way Galaxy.
A black hole, once thought to be surrounded by a ring of dust, but now believed to be partially occluded by dust instead, exists at the heart of the spiral. A pair of ionization cones extend from the active galactic nucleus.
The pronounced spiral structure of the Whirlpool Galaxy is believed to be the result of the close interaction between it and its companion galaxy NGC 5195, which may have passed through the main disk of M51 about 500 to 600 million years ago. In this proposed scenario, NGC 5195 came from behind M51 through the disk towards the observer and made another disk crossing as recently as 50 to 100 million years ago until it is where we observe it to be now, slightly behind M51.
The central region of M51 appears to be undergoing a period of enhanced star formation. The present efficiency of star formation, defined as the ratio of mass of new stars to the mass of star-forming gas, is only ~1%, quite comparable to the global value for the Milky Way and other galaxies. It is estimated that the current high rate of star formation can last no more than another 100 million years or so.
Three supernovae have been observed in the Whirlpool Galaxy:
In 1994, SN 1994I was observed in the Whirlpool Galaxy. It was classified as type Ic, indicating that its progenitor star was very massive and had already shed much of its mass, and its brightness peaked at apparent magnitude 12.91.
In June 2005 the type II supernova SN 2005cs was observed in the Whirlpool Galaxy, peaking at apparent magnitude 14.
On 31 May 2011 a type II supernova was detected in the Whirlpool Galaxy, peaking at magnitude 12.1. This supernova, designated SN 2011dh, showed a spectrum much bluer than average, with P Cygni profiles, which indicate rapidly expanding material, in its hydrogen-Balmer lines. The progenitor was probably a yellow supergiant and not a red or blue supergiant, which are thought to be the most common supernova progenitors.
On 22 January 2019, a supernova impostor, designated AT2019abn, was discovered in Messier 51. The transient was later identified as a luminous red nova. The progenitor star was detected in archival Spitzer Space Telescope infrared images. No object could be seen at the position of the transient in archival Hubble images, indicating that the progenitor star was heavily obstructed by interstellar dust. 2019abn peaked at magnitude 17, reaching an intrinsic brightness of -14.9.
In September 2020, the detection of a candidate exoplanet, named M51-ULS-1b, orbiting the high-mass X-ray binary M51-ULS-1 in this galaxy was announced. If confirmed, it would be the first known instance of an extragalactic planet, a planet outside the Milky Way Galaxy. The planet was detected by eclipses of the X-ray source (XRS), which consists of a stellar remnant (either a neutron star or a black hole) and a massive star, likely a B-type supergiant. The planet would be slightly smaller than Saturn and orbit at a distance of some tens of astronomical units.
NGC 5195 (also known as Messier 51b or M51b) is a dwarf galaxy that is interacting with the Whirlpool Galaxy (also known as M51a or NGC 5194). Both galaxies are located approximately 25 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici. Together, the two galaxies are one of the most widely studied interacting galaxy pairs.
The Whirlpool Galaxy is the brightest galaxy in the M51 Group, a small group of galaxies that also includes M63 (the Sunflower Galaxy), NGC 5023, and NGC 5229. This small group may actually be a subclump at the southeast end of a large, elongated group that includes the M101 Group and the NGC 5866 Group, although most group identification methods and catalogs identify the three groups as separate entities.
it took me quite awhile to find the right balance and decide which blades needed piecing. i think this is it.
I did this face-up a little while back for a friend of mine. He has some beauty marks over his face :)
I also had to sand his cheeks to his face would become a bit thinner. The originally round cheeks of this mold were not really fitting the character she had in mind for him.
Serra da Estrela - Covão da Ametade
Exposição 0,167 sec (1/6)
Abertura f/13.0
Distância focal 8 mm
Onde nasce o rio Zêzere
"O Covão da Ametade é uma depressão onde repousam sedimentos originando uma pequena planície naquilo que foi uma antiga lagoa de origem glaciar, aos pés do Cântaro Magro e logo acima do Covão de Albergaria, no início do Vale Glaciar que vai até Manteigas (o maior vale glaciar da Europa)"
This little guy is just one of the stars of Issue 31! Get it digitally ow.ly/pWeiP or in print ow.ly/pWelb to find out how to take fantastic wildlife close ups like this!
Ripping up the techy downhill on the Flat Creek Loop at the Aska Area Trails (aka Rich Mountain) near Blue Ridge, GA. This is only a 20 mile ride, but there's 4,000' of gain in those miles. One of the toughest, most satisfying rides in Georgia....
The Light up the City 1 mile stroll in aid of Pilgrims Hospices, taken in Cantebury City Centre by Duncan Smith
Union Pacific GP60 No. 1089 (patched Cotton Belt) trails on the Roseville to Warm Springs manifest, the MRVWS, as it passes by at Bahia, CA at Milepost 38.8 on UP's Martinez Subdivision.
Tutorial on how to pick up stitches with crochet. I use this technique on my Zombie girl and Yeti pattern.
It is true. If you need a lift in Moscow, just raise your hand. The first three times I did it, the very first car coming by stopped to pick me up. Agree on the price, but haggle better than I did. My local hosts told me that I kept overpaying...