Messier 83, the Southern Pinwheel galaxy
Constellation: Centaurus, Hydra
Messier 83 (also known as the Southern Pinwheel galaxy or NGC 5236) is a barred spiral galaxy located on the border between the constellations Hydra and Centaurus. It lies approx. 15 million Ly from Earth. It is one of the closest and brightest barred spiral galaxies in the sky, and is visible with binoculars. Link to interactive sky chart.
Dates:
This is derived from the outstanding data taken by Martin Pugh (Martin’s website: Remote Astrophotography with Martin Pugh (martinpughastrophotography.space).
His telescope is located in Chile (Observatory: El Sauce).
Image 1: April 2023
Image 2: June 2018
Telescope & Mount:
Image 1: Planewave CDK24 (F6.5) on a Planewave L600 mount.
Image 2: Planewave CDK17 on a Software Bisque Paramount ME mount.
Imaging:
Image 1:
Camera: Moravian G3-61000 (bin 2×2)
Data:
Astrodon L: 21x600s
Astrodon Ha: 23x900s
Astrodon R: 16x600s
Astrodon G: 18x600s
Astrodon B: 18x600s
Total integration time: 18h 24′
Image 2: Camera: SBIG STXL11002 (bin 1×1)
Data:
Astrodon L: 21x1200s
Astrodon Ha: 4x1800s
Astrodon R: 16x1200s
Astrodon G: 16x1200s
Astrodon B: 15x1200s
Total integration time: 24h 40′