If you feel like looking at some of my other images, learning about the targets, seeing what goes into making images like this, updates about my life, or want some lame astronomy memes, you should go check out my instagram
This is a spectacular galaxy, but it is extraordinarily small. Using a large 14.5" telescope with a high magnification it allows me to get the close up detail especially within the dust lanes within the galaxy. However, the wider field of view also reveals faint "tidal" structures which are gravitational effects on the galaxy that are distorting it. Many galaxies have similar tidal structures, but are similar to this in that they require MUCH more light than the galaxy itself to actually see them. In order to help with this, I combined this with an image of the same galaxy taken with a 12" telescope. This telescope has a much lower f-number (f/3.8 vs f/7), which essentially means it can collect much more light per pixel compared to the other scope. These two combined images allow us to see the Sunflower Galaxy in fantastic detail, while also revealing the faint structures surrounding it. While neither image on its own is one I am particularly fond of, combining the two turned two images I was iffy on into one of my favorites.
FAQ
How do you expose for 38 hours?
This image was taken over the course of multiple nights using 1200" and 600" exposures with a tracking mount and then later combined in post to give a total exposure time of 38 hours.
Is this just a hobby for you?
For the most part, yes. My day job is studying planets, which may sound similar, but is very different from any sort of cosmology.
Is this image what you would see if you were in a spaceship?
Yes and no. The colors you see here are not false, where you see blue, you would see blue, red, you would see red, etc. so in that sense it is natural color. However since this is so dim, it is very hard to actually see these colors with your naked eye. So while the colors are fairly accurately represented, what you would actually see with your eye would not be this. You can read more about true color vs visual vs false color here.
Why use two different telescopes?
They are made for very different things. The 14.5" telescope has a focal length of ~4000 mm, while the other has a focal length of ~1000 mm. By combining the detail taken with the 14.5" telescope, it allows me to get a wider field of view of the area, without sacrificing any details.
A bright spiral galaxy of the northern sky, Messier 63 is about 25 million light-years distant in the loyal constellation Canes Venatici. Also cataloged as NGC 5055, the majestic island universe is nearly 100,000 light-years across. That's about the size of our own Milky Way Galaxy. Known by the popular moniker, The Sunflower Galaxy, M63 sports a bright yellowish core in this sharp, colorful galaxy portrait. Its sweeping blue spiral arms are streaked with cosmic dust lanes and dotted with pink star forming regions. A dominant member of a known galaxy group, M63 has faint, extended features that could be the result of gravitational interactions with nearby galaxies. In fact, M63 shines across the electromagnetic spectrum and is thought to have undergone bursts of intense star formation.
Source: APOD
Equipment:
RC Optical Systems RCOS 14.5"
RH-305
SBIG STX 16803
Paramount ME
Astrodon filters
Acquisition
Luminance - 29x1200" and 37x600"
Red – 25x1200" and 17x600"
Green – 8x1200" and 18x600"
Blue – 8x1200" and 17x600"
Total integration time - 38.2 hours
Taken from the Deep Sky West Observatory in Rowe, New Mexico. A Bortle 2 site.
Gorgeous shot. Your posts are a huge source of inspiration for me. I especially love how you are able to capture all of the distant galaxies adrift in the background... Really adds a sense of depth to the image.
Idontlikecock on June 9th, 2019 at 00:00 UTC »
If you feel like looking at some of my other images, learning about the targets, seeing what goes into making images like this, updates about my life, or want some lame astronomy memes, you should go check out my instagram
This is a spectacular galaxy, but it is extraordinarily small. Using a large 14.5" telescope with a high magnification it allows me to get the close up detail especially within the dust lanes within the galaxy. However, the wider field of view also reveals faint "tidal" structures which are gravitational effects on the galaxy that are distorting it. Many galaxies have similar tidal structures, but are similar to this in that they require MUCH more light than the galaxy itself to actually see them. In order to help with this, I combined this with an image of the same galaxy taken with a 12" telescope. This telescope has a much lower f-number (f/3.8 vs f/7), which essentially means it can collect much more light per pixel compared to the other scope. These two combined images allow us to see the Sunflower Galaxy in fantastic detail, while also revealing the faint structures surrounding it. While neither image on its own is one I am particularly fond of, combining the two turned two images I was iffy on into one of my favorites.
FAQ
How do you expose for 38 hours?This image was taken over the course of multiple nights using 1200" and 600" exposures with a tracking mount and then later combined in post to give a total exposure time of 38 hours.
Is this just a hobby for you?For the most part, yes. My day job is studying planets, which may sound similar, but is very different from any sort of cosmology.
Is this image what you would see if you were in a spaceship?Yes and no. The colors you see here are not false, where you see blue, you would see blue, red, you would see red, etc. so in that sense it is natural color. However since this is so dim, it is very hard to actually see these colors with your naked eye. So while the colors are fairly accurately represented, what you would actually see with your eye would not be this. You can read more about true color vs visual vs false color here.
Why use two different telescopes?They are made for very different things. The 14.5" telescope has a focal length of ~4000 mm, while the other has a focal length of ~1000 mm. By combining the detail taken with the 14.5" telescope, it allows me to get a wider field of view of the area, without sacrificing any details.
A bright spiral galaxy of the northern sky, Messier 63 is about 25 million light-years distant in the loyal constellation Canes Venatici. Also cataloged as NGC 5055, the majestic island universe is nearly 100,000 light-years across. That's about the size of our own Milky Way Galaxy. Known by the popular moniker, The Sunflower Galaxy, M63 sports a bright yellowish core in this sharp, colorful galaxy portrait. Its sweeping blue spiral arms are streaked with cosmic dust lanes and dotted with pink star forming regions. A dominant member of a known galaxy group, M63 has faint, extended features that could be the result of gravitational interactions with nearby galaxies. In fact, M63 shines across the electromagnetic spectrum and is thought to have undergone bursts of intense star formation.
Source: APOD
Equipment:
RC Optical Systems RCOS 14.5"
RH-305
SBIG STX 16803
Paramount ME
Astrodon filters
Acquisition
Luminance - 29x1200" and 37x600"
Red – 25x1200" and 17x600"
Green – 8x1200" and 18x600"
Blue – 8x1200" and 17x600"
Total integration time - 38.2 hours
Taken from the Deep Sky West Observatory in Rowe, New Mexico. A Bortle 2 site.
ajamesmccarthy on June 9th, 2019 at 00:04 UTC »
Gorgeous shot. Your posts are a huge source of inspiration for me. I especially love how you are able to capture all of the distant galaxies adrift in the background... Really adds a sense of depth to the image.
Person_Impersonator on June 9th, 2019 at 01:03 UTC »
Thank you for your beautiful and ingenious image, Idontlikecock.