Spring is the realm of galaxies in the night sky. Dim, tiny, fuzzy blobs that visually don't look like much, but photographically can be some of the most beautiful and impressive objects to work with. They can also be quite the challenge to image.

I took advantage of a day off and a fairly clear night to try my hand at a couple of galaxy images besides M-31 which, because it's so bright is usually considered an easy object. Despite my own stupidity of not having my guide camera's plug completely seated and wasting 45 minutes worth of exposures cause I had clicked the wrong checkbox in my image acquisition software, I was able to get a couple of decent starter shots.

First up is the Leo Trio in the constellation of, well, Leo. This grouping of galaxies consists of Messier 65, Messier 66, and NGC 3628. At about 35 million light years distant, the group presents a nicely framed contrast of galaxy types that fits within medium focal length scopes.

Click on the Thumbnails for larger verions:

AT106LE - 106mm triplet, f/6.95, FL 690mm
ATFF
SBIG ST-8300m CCD Camera using Autodarks
Orion Skyglow Imaging Filter
Orion ST-80 w/ Starshoot Autoguider
2 min X 30 exposures

Next up is Messier 51, the Whirlpool Galaxy and its companion NGC 5195. At about 25 million light years distant, this pair is one of the most famous galactic interactions. Tidal forces from the interaction has set off star forming regions in M-51 that shows up in this Hubble photo as the red areas in the galaxy's disk.

Mine isn't quite so colorful (as my camera is black & white) and it looks like my focus went a little soft on me. Oh well...it's a start.

AT106LE - 106mm triplet, f/6.95, FL 690mm
ATFF
SBIG ST-8300m CCD Camera using Autodarks
Orion Skyglow Imaging Filter
Orion ST-80 w/ Starshoot Autoguider
2 min X 31 exposures