Object: | Constellation: | Coordinates: | Size: | Brightness: |
M 104 (= NGC 4594) |
Vir | 12h40m / -11°37' | 8.5' x 5.4' | 8.3mag |
The spiral galaxy Messier 104 (Sombrero Galaxy, NGC 4594) in the
constellation Virgo on April 15 / 16, 2015. The galaxy is approximately 30 million light years from Earth and was
discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781 (source: Wikipedia). Twenty-one 3 minute exposures at ISO 800 with no dark frame subtraction were stacked with Deep Sky Stacker (resulting in a 1 h 7 min exposure) and further processed in Photoshop. Wind, cirrus clouds and the low position in the sky had an impact on image quality. |
Equipment: Canon EOS 450D Baader modified camera, TeleVue Paracorr Type II coma corrector, 16" f/4.5 "Ninja" dobsonian telescope riding on a dual-axis Tom Osypowski equatorial platform, Lacerta MGEN autoguider, Lacerta off axis system (field of view comparison: image of the moon with the same equipment). |
Search chart for Messier 104. Map © 2015 "The Mag-7 Star Atlas Project", www.siaris.net. Map is modified. The map can be downloaded here . |