This is an image of M77. It is a barred spiral galaxy about 47 million light years away in the constellation Cetus. It is an active galaxy, defined as one with an active galactic nucleus. An active galactic nucleus (AGN) is a compact region at the center of a galaxy that has a much higher than normal luminosity over at least some portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The radiation from an AGN is believed to be a result of accretion of matter by a supermassive black hole at the center of its host galaxy.
October 24 - November 15, 2017
Location: DarkSky New Mexico
Telescope: Planewave CDK-17
Camera: FLI PL16803
Mount: Paramount ME
Luminance: 27x20 minutes (binned 1x1)
Red: 12x15 minutes (binned 2x2)
Green: 12x15 minutes (binned 2x2)
Blue: 11x15 minutes (binned 2x2)