|
Date 2006 |
Location Coudersport PA |
Software Astroart 4 |
Mount Losmandy G-11 |
Guide STV w/ eFinder |
|
Optic MN56 w/ Siebert Barlow |
Camera SXV-H9C |
Filter O-S-C |
Exposure 24 x 450s |
Process Photoshop CS2 |
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Billions and Billions.com/Whirlpool
The Whirlpool Galaxy in Canes Venatici the hunting dogs- M51 and NGC 5195
The 'tail' at upper left was a separate galaxy captured in a collision with the larger one. First discovered in 1773 by 'Comet Ferret' Charles Messier, his friend Pierre Mechain spotted the smaller component in 1781. Sixty-four years later Ireland's William Parsons (Lord Rosse) first observed its spiral structure with his 'Leviathan' reflector. Though such galaxies were not confirmed to be beyond our Milky Way until Edwin Hubble, Rosse was the first to define the spiral nature of them with his observations of this object. Click the image for a larger version or return to the Gallery