M77 (Cetus A, NGC 1068) in Cetus
M77 (Cetus A, NGC 1068) is the prototype of pecular class of extragalactic objects known as Seyfert galaxies, having very active nuclei and showing strong emission lines similar to quasars.
The galaxy is shining at 8.9mag at a real distance of about 50 million lightyears. The diameter of the bright part is about 120’000 light years, while the faint extensions are going to nearly 170’000 lightyears, one of the biggest objects in Charles Messier’s catalog.
The galaxy in the upper left corner is NGC 1072 with a visual brightness of 13.4 mag.
[description from O’Meara and SEDS]
Details
Telescope:
RCOS 14.5″ f/8
Mount:
ASA DDM85
Camera:
Apogee U16M
Filters:
Astrodon Gen2
Exposure:
LRGB 440:140:160:140 min.
Location:
ROSA Remote Observatories Southern Alps
Author:
© Martin Rusterholz, Astrophotographer
↑ Back to Galaxies
Hello, my name is Martin Rusterholz. I’m a Swiss amateur astrophotographer living near Zurich, the biggest town in Switzerland. My interest in astronomy started when I was 16. At that time, I built my first Newtonian telescope and mount. I studied physics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) which was the only study including at least some aspects of astronomy and astrophysics.
“Looking at the nights sky is an experience touching everybody deeply inside, something common to all human beings independent to the language spoken by the individuals”.
Deep-sky astrophotography is my passion.