M 77, Cetus

M 77 is a bright Seyfert type galaxy which has a very bright central core.  This made it a challenge to image in order to show the bright central regions and the very dim outer shell.  Several bright spiral bands and star forming regions can be seen in the compact central region.  In the faint outer shell, several 16th magnitude background galxies can also be seen.  The estimated distance to M77 is 60 million light years.

Image Details

Optics      8" LX200 f6.3
Mount              LX200 fork mount
Camera
 Starlight Xpress SXV-H9
Filter
 Astronomik Type 2C
Date
 24 Nov 03
Location  
 My Backyard Observatory in Ocean Springs, MS, Limiting 4.5   
Exposure
 120:20:20:20  RGB Binned 2X2
Notes
 Fairly poor seeing