M109 - Vacuum Cleaner Galaxy

Messier 109 (a.k.a. M109 or NGC 3992) is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation of Ursa Major and is approximately 83.5 Million light-years from Earth, making it the furthest object in Messier's catalog (source: Free Star Charts). The bright star Phecda (bottom cup star of the Big Dipper) makes fing M109 much easier.  For being so far away, it is still a relatively bright object. This was a last minute decision to image M109 and I couldn't pass on the opportunity.  Of course I would have liked to obtain more exposures but my window of opportunity is small due to overhanging trees.

Closeup

Crop 1

Wide Field

M109
Location: Happy Frog Observatory, Monroe, CT
Date: 2-27-17
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
Focal Reducer: Orion 0.8x Focal Reducer for Refractor Telescopes
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: 36 x 90s (54 min)
ISO: 1600
Temp: 0 C
Post Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop, Lightroom, Gradient Exterminator, Astronomy Tools