Little Pinwheel Galaxy (NGC 3184) in Ursa Major
NGC 3184 is a striking, nearly face-on galaxy tickling the left hind toes of the Great Bear. In shape and size, NGC 3184 is very similar to M101, in the same constallation. Both galaxies measure about 60’000 light-years in true physical extent. The distance to NGC 3184 is about 36 million light-years, which in roughly twice the distance of M101.
The bright star above NGC 3184 is shining at 6.55 mag, while the galaxy to the right is NGC 3179 with 13.1 mag. The light scattering visible across the imges comes from Mu UMA, a star with 3.0 mag at an angular distance of 45 arc minutes.
[description from O’Meara]
Details
Telescope:
RCOS 14.5″ f/8
Mount:
ASA DDM85
Camera:
SBIG STL-11000M
Filters:
Astrodon Gen2
Exposure:
LRGB 540:160:160:160 min.
Location:
ROSA Remote Observatories Southern Alps
Author:
© Martin Rusterholz, Astrophotographer
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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.