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Photographer:

Jon Greif

Location of Photo:

La Jolla, CA, USA

Date/Time of photo:

December 12-15, 2022, between 7 pm and 1 am PST

Equipment:

Takahashi FSQ-85ED with 1.01x flattener/reducer. ZWO ASI533MC Pro imaging camera. Optolong L-Pro filter. Rainbow Astro RST-135 Mount. ZWO 30mm Mini Guide Scope with ZWO ASI290 Mini guide camera. ASIAIR Plus controller. Processed in Pixinsight 1.8.9.

Description:

A stunning face-on spiral galaxy, Messier 74 was discovered in 1780 by Charles Messier’s observing assistant, the French astronomer Pierre Méchain. M74 is located roughly 32 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Pisces. With an apparent magnitude of only 10, this galaxy appears as a very faint patch of light through small telescopes. M74 is a perfect example of a grand-design spiral galaxy. Symmetrical spiral arms reach out from the galaxy’s central nucleus and are traced by winding dust lanes. The arms are dotted with clusters of young, blue stars. This image is an integration of 16 hours of exposure time over 3 consecutive clear nights from our deck in Bortle 7, La Jolla, CA.

Website:

https://www.skyandtelescope.com/author/jgreif/