M100
Blowdryer Galaxy in Coma Berenices
10.1” f/4.5 Mallincam DS432cTEC
Exposures = 10-20 sec, Live-stacked frames = 50-40 (90 total), Gain = 15 of 250
Also known as the Mirror of M99, M100 is an intermediate spiral galaxy located about 55 million light years away. One of the largest galaxies in the Virgo Super Cluster, M100 is thought to be slightly larger than the Milky Way; in this image, it appears about 5 arc minutes across. There are two main spiral arms gently wrapping themselves loosely around the core, with what appears to be “split-end” fainter hints of arms next to them. Burnham’s describes bright nebulous regions ornamenting the spiral arms like pearls on a string; this effect appears especially in the southern arm. A couple of colours are apparent, a predominantly reddish colour along with blue-grey tinges in spots along the arms and nearer the core, vaguely resembling the colours seen in this image Hubble provides.
There are a number of other smaller galaxies appearing in the field of view, including a couple of satellite galaxies of M100 lying at 9 and 11 o’clock. How many smaller galaxies in total can you find?
