2026
June
4
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The flocculent spiral galaxy M63
Somehow I have been an amateur astrophotographer for 58 years without ever photographing M63, perhaps because it is in the
same area of the sky as the well-known galaxy M51, which competes
with it for my attention, and which I also need to re-do with newer equipment.
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As you can see, it is a flocculent (fluffy) spiral galaxy with elaborate structure.
I need to take a longer exposure and bring out more detail.
To the right of M63, past the bright star and to its lower right, are a couple of streaks that are indeed
part of M63's complex outlying structure.
Many of the faint fuzzy objects in the picture are more distant galaxies, not stars.
This was taken in haste. At this time of year, twilight isn't over until 10:20 p.m. or so, and the
moon was due to come up an hour and a half later. I wasted some time troubleshooting network connections
between pieces of equipment but managed to take 120 30-second exposures, of which I stacked the best 105.
Celestron 8 EdgeHD, Altair 26C camera, in my driveway.
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