SUNSET: 
0
Photographer:
Gary Thompson
Location of Photo:
Rock Top Observatory, Johnsonburg PA USA
Date/Time of photo:
March 9, 2026
Equipment:
C8 telescope, EQ6R Pro mount, ZWOASI 294mc pro camera
Description:
The Whirlpool Galaxy (M 51) is a face on spiral galaxy about 30 million light years away in the constellation Canes Venatici. It is gravitationally linked to a smaller companion galaxy (NGC 5195) , and was the first galaxy to be identified as a spiral. It was discovered in 1845 with its blue star clusters and pinkish hydrogen gas in its arms and the yellowish core of older stars. I used my C8 telescope with a starizona .7x reducer , field flattner and a IR cut filter on a sky-watcher EQ6R Pro mount from my Rock Top Observatory. I used 62 ea 4 minute exposures to capture this image.
