M51 (also called the Whirlpool Galaxy) is a spiral galaxy roughly 23 million light years away. The galaxy and its interacting companion (NGC 5195) can easily be seen in small telescopes and even with binoculars on a dark night. As seen here, a large nebula extends beyond the much brighter spiral arms.

Technical Information       

Date:                       March, 2014

Location:                 Green Valley, Arizona

Telescope:              Takahashi FSQ-106EDX

Camera:                  SBIG STT-8300M

Filters:                     Astrodon Gen 2

Mount:                     AstroPhysics 1200

Exposure:                LRGB = 380:120:120:120 minutes, all unbinned

Software:                 Acquisition: Maxim DL 5, TheSkyX, Pinpoint, CCD Commander

                                Processing: CCDStack, PhotoShop CS6 with various plugins