The Messier Ten Minute Challenge

M101 - Galaxy in Ursa Major

Click here for a review of the strengths and weaknesses of the Global Rent-A-Scope operation.

This image was created by median combining 7 x 90 second unfiltered images taken with a Takahashi Epsilon 250 with SBIG ST-8XE CCD. The image has been cut down to be 20 x 20 arc minutes in size.

The spiral galaxy M101 is a beautiful, large, face-on spiral galaxy. Several knots of emission nebulosity and star forming regions with NGC designations can be seen in this image. M101 is of a notable unsymmetric shape with its core being considerably displaced. Cepheid variables suggest a distance of about 22 million light-years.

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In collaboration with the Remote Astronomical Society Observatory

Martin Nicholson - Daventry, United Kingdom.

This page was last updated on April 15th 2009.