Object

M63 (NGC 5055) The Whirlpool Galaxy

Object Information

Image information

Object Type

Galaxy (Spiral) Type Sb / Sc

Instrument

LX200GPS 14” OTA @ F5 effective FL≈1778mm

Constellation

Canes Venatici

Guiding

SXV / SkyWatcher 80mm achro @ F/6

Magnitude

+8.6

Focal Reducer

Optec NextGen 0.5x

Coordinates

RA 13:15.8 Dec +42:02

Mount

Paramount ME

Size

10 x 6 arc min

Location

Stoney Hills, S.E England

Distance

37 Million Light Years

Acquisition Date

12 - 16th April 2007

Notes

M63 The Sunflower Galaxy is a prominent galaxy in northern sky’s. It is associated with the M51 group.

It’s name comes from is clumpy appearance resembling the bloom of a sunflower.

The galaxy was the first deep sky object discovered by Pierre Méchain who observed it on June 14th 1779.

Capture Device

Starlight-Xpress SXV-H9 Sony ICX285AL Exview HAD Cooled CCD Array 1392 x 1040 @ 6.45uM / Pixel 

Filter Type

Astronomik Type IIc RGB

Colour Technique

LRGB

FOV

≈16.38 x 12.24 arc mins (0.706 arcsec/pixel) before cropping

Exposure

364.5 m (6 hours)Total

Integration

L (46 x 200 sec bin 1x1)

R (25 x 190 sec bin 2x2)

G (22 x 150 sec bin 2x2)

B (21 x 220 sec bin 2x2)

Notes

Conditions were not ideal, 15 mph winds and milky skys during most of the imaging, which may account for the limited colour information.

Stacked and dpp filtered in Maxim. Further processing in PSCS2.