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Photographer:

Jon Greif

Location of Photo:

Julian, CA, USA

Date/Time of photo:

June 12, 2020, 11:30 PM PDT

Equipment:

Astrotech AT72EDII, SkyWatcher AZ-GTI Equatorial Mode, ZWO ASI533MC Pro, Ekos Controller, Pixinsight processing.

Description:

More of "Galaxy Season." This is M101, the Pinwheel Galaxy, also known as NGC 5457, located near the bend of the Big Dipper's handle. M101 is a large face-on spiral galaxy, 21 million light-years away from Earth, with a diameter of 170,000 light-years, more than half again the size of the Milky Way. M101 has around a trillion stars, twice the number in the Milky Way, and has at least seven prominent companion galaxies, which interact with each other, and compose the "M101 Galaxy Group," visible and labeled in this image. The image is a stack of 35 thirty-second color exposures shot through a 72 mm refractor a little before midnight on June 12 in Julian, CA.

Website:

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

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