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10.1'' reflector 96x A spectacular face-on spiral. At low and medium powers the spiral structure of the "arms" reveals itself; the upper spiral arm appears slightly brighter at the top. Very bright central core. NGC 5195 is the satellite galaxy, with a bright core and nebulousity extending towards the left. You can see the lower spiral arm curling in the direction of the satellite galaxy. Total apparent size approximately 10' across. North at 8 o'clock, East at 5 o'clock. |
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| 10.1'' reflector Mallincam DS432cTEC with Nebular filter Exposure = 15 sec, Gain = 80/250, Live Stacked frames = 100 Multiple stacked frames totalling 25 minutes reveals a lot more detail in near-real time with the Mallincam. Some very faint extended nebulosity can be seen around NGC 5195, typically seen only in longer exposure photographs. Lots of dark lane and bright knot details are visible within M51's spiral arms, only a hint of which can be seen visually through the eyepiece. North at 10 o'clock, East at 7 o'clock. |