✨ M101 - The Pinwheel Galaxy ✨
Sat Jun 27 2026
I’m finally considering this one done despite my original plan of collecting at least 36 hours of data including hydrogen alpha. The weather just didn’t cooperate and we’ve only had 3 clear nights in the last 8-10 weeks and this is disappearing from my skies. I am normally not organized enough for multi-year projects but we’ll see if maybe I can start this one back up next year.
About this object
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Ursa Major (the Great Bear)
- Distance
- ~21 million light-years
- Apparent magnitude
- 7.9
- Apparent size
- 24.0′ × 23.1′
- Also known as
- Pinwheel Galaxy
- Catalogue designations
- M 101, NGC 5457
The Pinwheel Galaxy (M101) is a large, face-on spiral galaxy in Ursa Major with beautifully symmetric arms. Its high rate of star formation lights up numerous glowing nebulae across its disc.
Acquisition
- Antlia V-Pro Red 36 mm: 181 × 2m (6h 2m)
- Antlia V-Pro Green 36 mm: 130 × 2m (4h 20m)
- Antlia V-Pro Blue 36 mm: 73 × 2m (2h 26m)
- Total integration: 12h 48m
Equipment
- Telescope / Lens: Celestron C8
- Camera: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
- Mount: Celestron CGEM II
- Filters: Antlia V-Pro Blue 36 mm, Antlia V-Pro Green 36 mm, Antlia V-Pro Red 36 mm
- Guiding scope: SVBony SV106 60mm Guide Scope
- Guiding camera: ZWO ASI174MM Mini
- Accessories: Celestron 0.63X SCT Reducer (94175), ZWO EFW 7 x 36mm
- Software: Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight
Astrophotography by David Joyce, AstroDavido.