SUNSET: 
0
Photographer:
massimo.difusco
Location of Photo:
Ferrara (Italy)
Date/Time of photo:
20/12/2023 00:00
Equipment:
Konus 200/1000 @950mm (f/4.8), Player One Poseidon-C @-5 °C camera, Sky-Watcher Eq6r Pro mount, SvBony CLS filter
Description:
Messier 97 (M97), also known as the Owl Nebula or NGC 3587, is a famous planetary nebula located in Ursa Major constellation at a distance of 2030 light years from Earth. It occupies an apparent area 3,4 by 3,3 arc minutes, which corresponds to a spatial diameter of 1,82 light years and it was named the Owl Nebula because of its appearance in larger telescopes, which reveal two dark patches that look like the eyes of an owl. M97 was discovered by French astronomer Pierre Méchain on February 16, 1781. Méchain reported the discovery to his friend and colleague Charles Messier, who added the nebula to his catalogue. M 108 (also known as Messier 108, NGC 3556 or also with the suggestive name of Surfboard Galaxy) is a spiral galaxy about 45 million light years away, in the constellation Ursa Major, discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781 who described it as a nebula in the vicinity of β Ursae Majoris. It was also observed by Charles Messier, who determined its location. However, this together with other objects was never included in the catalog he edited, since at the time of his observation and measurement it had already been published; the addition was made only in 1953, following the inclusion of objects observed by Messier but never included in the catalogue.
