3 Galaxies at once – Messier 65, Messier 66 & NGC3628

Date2017/03/29
LocationLa Palma / Spain
ObjectMessier 65, Messier 66 & NGC3628
CameraAtik383L+
Guidingyes, QHY5-II Mono via OAG
Telescope8" GSO Newtonian
Barlow lensnone
MountEQ6Syntrek
Cooling-10°C
Luminance9x 600s, bin: 1x1
Red9x 150s, bin: 2x2
Green9x 150s, bin: 2x2
Blue9x 150s, bin: 2x2
Dark2x
Flat10x
Total exposure~2h37m

I was able to record this image of three galaxies in a quite windy but clear night with my own equipment. This night I was based on a quiet place in Tacande on La Palma. I used my 8″ GSO Newton telescope in combination with an Atik383L+ cooled camera. The optics were mounted on an EQ6 Syntrek mount. The total exposure time of the resulting image is about ~2h37m.

It is a combination of 9 luminance frames a 600 seconds exposure time (binning 1×1) and 9 frames a 150 seconds exposure time (binning 2×2) for red, green and blue frames.
A full resolution image is available here.

The three objects shown on the picture are M65, M66 and NGC3628 (also known as the Hamburger Galaxy). All are located in constellation Leo. M65 and M66 were discovered by Charles Messier in 1780. Both are intermediate spiral galaxies and between 35 million and 36 million light-years away. The Hamburger Galaxy is an unbarred spiral galaxy also about 35 million light-years away which was discovered 4 years later by William Herschel.

Clear skies!

Last updated: June 16, 2022 at 12:30 pm

Astrophotography – Imaging the galaxies M65 & M66

Tonight I imaged three galaxies at a time! The spiral galaxy M65, the “Hamburger Galaxy” NGC3628 and another spiral galaxy M66. All those objects are located in the constellation Leo. The picture is also available in full resolution here. For stacking I used DeepSkyStacker 3.3.2 with Kappa-Sigma Clipping.

Date2013/04/01
LocationBöblingen / Germany
ObjectSpiral Galaxy M65 & 66 and Hamburger Galaxy NGC3628
CameraAtik383L+
Guidingyes, DMK31AU03.AS via OAG
Telescope8" GSO Newtonian
Barlow lensnone
MountEQ6Syntrek
Cooling-15°C
Luminance6x 300s, bin: 1x1
Red5x 100s, bin: 2x2
Green5x 100s, bin: 2x2
Blue5x, 100s, bin: 2x2
Dark5x
Flat-
Total exposure~55min.

Clear skies!

Last updated: June 20, 2022 at 22:16 pm