The Phantom Galaxy ... Messier 77
(Click on Picture for larger view)

Added December 19, 2019 ...

The Phantom Galaxy ... Messier 77
A large galaxy in the constellation Cetus (The Sea Monster)

I took this image Thursday night (Dec 19) using the large 11" Celestron EdgeHD telescope in its native form (f/10). The exposure time was 1hr 54min. The sky was exceptionally clear with no lunar interference.
This is a large spiral galaxy at a distance of about 47 million light-years away from Earth. In miles that would be 276,300,000,000,000 miles (276 TRILLION). It contains about 300 billion stars, slightly more than of our own Milky Way Galaxy of 250 billion stars. The core of this galaxy is very active containing an energetic supermasive black hole. You can see a cloud of million of stars within an outer shell around the main galatic structure. There are many distant galaxies within this view, perhaps more than 500 million light-years away (That would be Quadrillions of miles). I pointed arrows to them.

The Techy Stuff
Telescope: Celestron 11" Edge HD at f/10
Camera: Altair Hypercam 294c Pro TEC
Filter: Baader UV/IR Light Pollution Suppression
Camera Settings: 120 seconds at gain of 5,000 ... Black Level: 25
Sensor temp: 14°F (-10°C)
Capture Software: SharpCap Pro v3.2.6054 64 bit
Mount: Celestron CGX
Mount Control: Celestron PWI v2.2.3
Subframes: 57
Calibration Frames: Darks, Flats, & Bias ... 30ea
Guide Scope: Orion StarShoot AutoGuider Pro & 60mm Scope
Guiding Software: PHD 2
Polar Alignment: QHY Pole Master
Stacking: Deep Sky Staker v4.2.2 64 bit
Post Procession: PixInsight & PhotoShop CC
Bortle Light Pollution zone: 4.5
Seeing Conditions: 10 (out of 10)
Temperature: 37°F (2.8°C)
Location: My Heavenly Garden Backyard, Savannah, GA

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