M74 - The Phantom Galaxy

Messier 74 is a spiral galaxy that appears face-on and lies at an approximately 30 million light years from Earth. It has a diameter of 95,000 light years, almost the size of the Milky Way. The galaxy is home to about 100 billion stars and two well developed spiral arms.  Located in the constellation Pisces, M74 is not an easy object to observe because it has a low surface brightness and requires exceptionally clear, dark skies source: Messier Objects).

Closeup

Crop 2

Crop 1

Widefield

M74 - The Phantom Galaxy
Location: Happy Frog Observatory, Monroe, CT
Date/Time: 11/4, 11/5, 11/6 (2016)/11:30 pm
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i(a), Backyard EOS
Telescope: Orion ED80 80mm f/7.5 Apochromatic Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 600mm
f/7.5
Mount: Orion Sirius EQ-G GoTo Telescope Mount
Filter: Astrodon UV/IR
Autoguiding: QHY-5L-II-M attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope with Helical Focuser
Exposure: 26 x 180 sec, 11 x 180 sec, 25 x 180 (186 min)
ISO: 800
Temp: 40 F/4.4 C

Post Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop, Lightroom, StarTools