M 87 and Virgo Galaxy Cluster

Show astrometry data

M 87 is a supergiant elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo, approximately 54 million light years from Earth. Almost featureless and without dust lanes, its stars show a nearly perfect spherical distribution and the galaxy's luminosity diminishes with distance from its center. M 87 is known for its large number of globular clusters, approximately 1,200 (compared to the Milky Way's 150-200). Globular clusters are groups of very old stars tightly bound by gravity.

M 87 lies at the center of the Virgo cluster, more than 1,300 galaxies covering approximately 8 degrees in the sky (for reference, the moon's diameter is approximately 1/2 degree, so the Virgo cluster spans 16 moon-diameters).

626 5-minute exposures were taken using Luminance, Red and Green filters using 3 telescopes on our widefield array, totaling 52 hours. We shot Blue exposures, but these were technically unusable. Instead, we constructed a synthetic Blue channel by subtracting Red and Green channels from the Luminance (white light) channel. The result is a fair approximation of true color. The image was processed in PixInsight and Photoshop.

Shot and processed by the SC Observatory Team: Mike Selby, Stefan Schmidt and Andy Chatman

Object details

Integrated Flux Nebula in Virgo

Right Ascension: 12h 30m 49s

Declination: +12° 23′ 28″

Magnitude: 9.59

Moon Age Average: 20.80 days

Moon Phase Average: 6.91 %

Additional images

Imaging Setup

Location:

SC Observatory, Central Thailand

Date:
Mar 14, 2018, Mar 15, 2018, Mar 16, 2018, Mar 17, 2018 and Mar 18, 2018
Telescope:
Officina Stellare Veloce RH 300
Focal Length:
900 mm
F-Ratio:
F/3
Mount:
Officina Stellare Polar Fork
Camera:
FLI ML 29052
Image Scale:
1.26 arcseconds/pixel
Imaging Software:

Voyager

Processing Software:

Adobe Photoshop

PixInsight 1.8


Exposure Detail

Filter Filter Brand Bin Qty Exposure
L Astrodon 1x 159 300
R Astrodon 1x 64 300


Imaging Setup

Location:

SC Observatory, Central Thailand

Date:
Mar 14, 2018, Mar 15, 2018, Mar 16, 2018, Mar 17, 2018 and Mar 18, 2018
Telescope:
Officina Stellare Veloce RH 300
Focal Length:
900 mm
F-Ratio:
F/3
Mount:
Officina Stellare Polar Fork
Camera:
FLI PL 16803
Image Scale:
2.06 arcseconds/pixel
Imaging Software:

Voyager

Processing Software:

Adobe Photoshop

PixInsight 1.8


Exposure Detail

Filter Filter Brand Bin Qty Exposure
L Baader 1x 160 300
G Baader 1x 64 300


Imaging Setup

Location:

SC Observatory, Central Thailand

Date:
Mar 14, 2018, Mar 16, 2018, Mar 17, 2018, Mar 18, 2018 and Mar 14, 2008
Telescope:
Officina Stellare Veloce RH 300
Focal Length:
900 mm
F-Ratio:
F/3
Mount:
Officina Stellare Polar Fork
Camera:
FLI PL 16803
Image Scale:
2.06 arcseconds/pixel
Imaging Software:

Voyager

Processing Software:

Adobe Photoshop

PixInsight 1.8


Exposure Detail

Filter Filter Brand Bin Qty Exposure
L FLI Chroma 1x 179 300


Total Exposure Time

52 hours, 10 minutes

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