Telescope: Astro-Tech 8” f/8 Ritchey-Chretien, Orion Atlas EQ-G
Camera: Canon EOS Ra, Baader Mk III MPCC
Filter: Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter
Guide scope: Astro-Tech 60mm, Starlight Xpress Super Star, PHD2
Exposure: 17x120sec, ISO 800, saved as RAW
Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)
Flats: 32×1/2sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dusk
Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, fair transparency, moonlight
Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.4
Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.
White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic
Software: Backyard EOS, Deep Sky Stacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop
M77 is the closest and brightest example of a Seyfert Galaxy. These galaxies are characterized by a bright stellar core and very strong radio emissions. It is now known that these arise from a super massive black hole at the galaxy’s core. At the core of M77 lies a black hole with an estimated mass of 11 million suns. As a radio source M77 is known as Cetus A. M77 lies about 1 degree east of the 4th magnitude star delta Cetus making it fairly easy to locate. Through a telescope the bright core of M77 is easy to spot, but the spiral arms are quite faint.
M77 is currently located in the southern sky during the early evening.
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