M51, The Whirlpool Galaxy

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Photographer:

Rod Pommier

Location of Photo:

Pommier Observatory, Portland, OR, USA

Date/Time of photo:

2014-06-02 through 2014-06-20

Equipment:

Telescope/Mount: Celestron Compustar14 (f/11). Camera: SBIG STL 11000 CCD camera with Baader Planetarium L,R,G,B filters. Other equipment: SBIG AO-L adapative optics at 4.5 Hz. Exposures: L:R:G:B =410:130:130:130 = 13 hours 20 minutes total exposure.

Description:

M51, the Whirlpool galaxy, lies approximately 25 million-light years from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici. The whirlpool effect is caused by gravitational interactions with the dwarf galaxy NGC 5195. This image reveals the faint tidal tails streamiing away from both galaxies as a result of this interaction. Many other faint, distant galaxies are visible in the image.

Website:

www.rodpommier.com