M101 in LHaRGB (Ursa Major) , May 13-16th 2023
Planewave CDK12.5" telecope and A-P 1100GTO AE mount
ASI6200MM Camera, Antlia Pro BB & 3nm Ha Filters
Lum (50 x 200s exposures, Bin 2x2, Gain 100)
RGB (3 x 29 x 240s exposures, Bin 2x2 Gain 100)
Ha (23 x 400s exposures, Bin 2x2, Gain200)
Total Integration Time = 12.1 hours
M101 is a face on spiral galaxy, 21 million ly away. It is very large, with a diameter 50% greater (at 170,000 lys) than the Milky Way and contains a trillion stars. It's distorted spiral shape is thought to be due to the gravitational influence of six companion galaxies. It is very rich in star forming areas, as indicated by the red (Ha emitting) blobs contain throughout the spirals.
Other than that, it may be apparent to the expert eye that my telescope was in need of collimation...
What I wanted to do is get a "before" shot of the galaxy prior to SN 2023ixf ;-)