M94

Image Description: Messier 94 (M94) is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Canes Venatici. It’s about 16 million light years from us and has two rings. The inner ring structure is about 5,400 light years wide, and the outer ring is about 45,000 light years across. The outer ring contains more than 20% of the galaxy’s mass. There is a lot of star formation occurring occurring in this galaxy, particularly in the central region. There are numerous other little galaxies in the image, but I didn’t find any of them in the catalogues that I had readily available.

Tekkies:
Acquisition, focusing, and control of Paramount MX mount with N.I.N.A., TheSkyX and PHD2. Focus with Optec DirectSync motor and controller. Equipment control with PrimaLuce Labs Eagle 3 (2021) and 4 (2023) Pro computer. All pre-processing and processing in PixInsight. Acquired from my SkyShed in Guelph. Average transparency and seeing. Data acquired May 24-29, 2023 in a nearly moonless sky.

Luminance: Sky-Watcher Esprit 150 f/7 refractor and QHY600M camera with Optolong UV/IR filter
Chrominance: Takahashi FSQ-106 ED IV @ f/5 and QHY367C Pro one-shot colour camera with Optolong UV/IR filter

231 x 5m Lum = 19hr15m

234 x 5m chrominance = 19hr30m
Total: 38hr45m

 Copyright: Ron Brecher