Messier 100 (NGC4321) is a spiral galaxy in the southern part of constellation Coma Berenices. It is one of the brightest galaxies in the Virgo cluster. Scroll down to read about a supernova in M100.
M100 is approximately 55 million light years away from Earth and has a diameter of 160,000 light years, 60% larger than our own Milky Way. The edge-on galaxy toward the upper-right is NGC4312.
In addition to NGC4312, scores of other galaxies are visible. Click the Larger Image button and look for fuzzy smudges of light. Some are bright, but most are very faint. Some are elliptical, while others are nearly circular. It's awe-inspiring to consider that each smudge is a galaxy with hundreds of millions, if not billions of stars. And how many Earth-like planets?
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| Processing |
• With PixInsight: ☞ Calibrate, star-align, and integrate subframes ☞ Neutralize background, remove gradients ☞ Reduce background noise ☞ Process for high-dynamic range • Final tweaking in Photoshop CS6 |
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| Date and Location |
• April 20 & 21, 2020 • Louisa County, Virginia, USA |
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Equipment |
• TMB-130SS APO refractor @ f/7 on an A-P 1200 mount • ZWO ASI-1600MC Pro color camera • Guided with an ST-402 camera on a 60mm f/5 scope • Imaging and autoguiding with MaxIm DL 6.20 • Automated image acquisition with ACP Observatory Control |
In 2006 a supernova exploded in M100. I was able to capture it in the left image below. A 2010 photo (right) shows no trace of the supernova. (The star near the crosshairs in the right image is the small star next to the supernova in the left photo.)
Updated May 23, 2023