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M101
M101
Spiral Galaxy in Ursa Major

 


 

M101: A striking example of the spiral galaxy (like our galaxy, the Milky Way) is M101, shown above, whose relatively close distance of about 22 million light years allow it to be studied in some detail. It is located in Ursa Major (of which the Big Dipper is a part), near the tip of the handle of the Big Dipper. Recent evidence indicates that a close gravitational interaction with a neighboring galaxy created waves of high mass and condensed gas which continue to circle the galaxy. These waves compress existing gas and cause star formation. One result is that M101 has several extremely bright star-forming regions (called HII regions) spread across its spiral arms (which appear as pinkish blobs in the picture). M101 is so large that its immense gravity distorts smaller nearby galaxies.

 

Technical Information:

LRGB: 100:30:30:60 (ten minute images, L unbinned; R, G and B binned 2x2).

Equipment: 10" LX200 at f/4.6, and an SBIG ST-7E camera/CFW-8 color filter wheel

Image Acquisition/Camera Control: CCDSoft V5 Beta 13.

Processing: All images dark subtracted and registered in AIP4WIN. All add combined in CCDSoft. Luminance layer run through Richardson-Lucy in AIP4WIN. Color combine, and adjustment of curves and levels, performed in Photoshop 5.5.

Location: My back yard in Bellevue, Washington, elevation 600'.

Date: All images taken during the night of 5/30/01.

Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous.

CCD Temperature: -18C

Copyright Mark de Regt, 2001