More than astrophotography, an astronomical exploration.
M89, M90 and companions
David Cruz · Astromidnight
In the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, the elliptical M89 shines like a diffuse ball of a hundred billion stars. Below, the spiral M90 shows its arms and dust, surrounded by small galaxies.
| Catalogue | Messier, 1781 · NGC 4552 |
| Type | Elliptical galaxy |
| Distance | ≈ 50 million light-years |
| Field | 82.4′ × 55.0′ |
| Real width | ≈ 1.2 × 0.8 million light-years |
| Scale | 0.54″ / pixel |
| Orientation | −92° · west up |
| RA (centre) | 12h 35m 44s |
| DEC (centre) | +12° 45′ 51″ |
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Objects in field | M89 · M90 · 4 NGC · 4 IC |
Distances of M89 and M90 from NASA (Hubble's Messier catalogue). The real width assumes the distance of M89; the galaxies in the field belong to the Virgo Cluster but are not all at the same distance. Positions of the galaxies taken from the AstroBin astrometric solution; the position of the M89 plume was measured on the image and is approximate.
16 h 00 min of light
Each tick is a 240-second exposure. 240 in total, with the camera at −10 °C and gain 100. Calibrated with 30 darks, 30 flats and 30 bias. The Moon stayed below 30 % illumination throughout.
Carbon Newton 10' f/4
ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
Twinstar Friction Mount FG80
Askar M54 OAG · ZWO ASI120MM Mini
TS-Optics Maxfield .95X Coma Corrector
Adobe Photoshop · Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight · Stefan Berg Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy (N.I.N.A. / NINA)
São Pedro da Gafanhoeira, Évora · 358 m
Bortle 3