M51

Whirlpool Galaxy

M51

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Object Info

Type

Spiral Galaxy

Constellation

Canes Venatici

Distance

37,000,000 ly

Capture Details

Date

March 4, 2011

Location

Little Blair Valley, Anza-Borrego Desert, CA

Exposure

Lum 10x10 (bin 1x1), R 6x5, G 6x5, B 6x5 (bin 2x2)

Equipment

Optics

Celestron C11 Carbon Fiber SCT w/XLT

Focal Length

1700mm @f/6

Mount

Astro-Physics 900GTO

Camera

SBIG ST-10XME

Focuser

Robo-Focus

Filters

CFW10A, Astrodon Gen 2 LRGB

Software

Maxim DL, CCDStack, Photoshop