Triple APOD - July 12, 2024: The Pinwheel Galaxy by Daniel Tomcej – All-Star Telescope Canada

Triple APOD - July 12, 2024: The Pinwheel Galaxy by Daniel Tomcej

M101, also known as the Pinwheel Galaxy, is maybe the best example of a face-on, grand design spiral galaxy in our night sky. Gravitational interactions with nearby satellite galaxies introduce tidal forces which interrupt the otherwise even circular motion of the main galaxy, creating spiraling regions of brighter more intense star formation, called 'arms'.

M101 is about 21 million light years away, a close neighbor in the galactic scale, and it has approximately 1 trillion stars, ten times more than the Milky Way. Its large size, proximity, and many active star forming regions due to the spiral arms means M101 is a hotspot for supernova, as six have been recorded since 1909.

Over the course of 3 nights, Daniel has collected 9 hours worth of data to make this image! This has allowed for many of the faint arms and structures to be revealed.

Mount: ZWO AM5
Telescope: ASKAR 103APO (F4 0.6x Reducer)
Imaging Camera: ASI533MC Pro
Filter: Optolong IR/UV
Guide Scope and Camera: SVBony SV106 60mm w/ASI715MC
Imaging and Guiding Software: ASIAir Plus
Image Processing Software: PixInsight

Exposure Details:
Camera Temperature -10C
Gain: 100
Lights: 270 @120sec
Flats: 60 @ 1s
Darks: 20 @120sec
Biases: 20 @1m

Exposures were taken May 31/June 5/June 6 2024

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