I got a few more clear nights so I took a few images of Messier object 33 (M33) in the constellation of Triangulum. M33 is member of what is know as the local group which also includes our galaxy, Andromeda (M31) and few others that are all gravitationally bound together. M33 is ~3 million light years away and somewhat smaller than our galaxy. These images where taken at a focal length of 4096mm (Prime focus for my Schmidt Cassegrain telescope, note: this galaxy is a bit large to completely fit into this focal). These images where made with a 60megapixel monochrome camera. The first image contains data using Luminance, Red, Green and Blue filters and then combining the data into a full color image. The second image added in data taken using a narrow band 5nm Hydrogen Alpha filter to the red channel. The hydrogen Alpha line shows where hydrogen gas is glowing due to ionization from UV star light. These regions typically indicate where new stars are being formed. The next two images are the same as the first two only color enhanced to really show the difference in color of the of the outer arms verses the center of the galaxy. The bluer outer arms contain more young blue stars while the center region has more old red stars. (Which images do you like best?). All questions, comments and suggestions are welcome.

I got a few more clear nights so I took a few images of Messier object 33 (M33) in the constellation of Triangulum. M33 is member of what is know as the local group which also includes our galaxy, Andromeda (M31) and few others that are all gravitationally bound together. M33 is ~3 million light years away and somewhat smaller than our galaxy. These images where taken at a focal length of 4096mm (Prime focus for my Schmidt Cassegrain telescope, note: this galaxy is a bit large to completely fit into this focal). These images where made with a 60megapixel monochrome camera. The first image contains data using Luminance, Red, Green and Blue filters and then combining the data into a full color image. The second image added in data taken using a narrow band 5nm Hydrogen Alpha filter to the red channel. The hydrogen Alpha line shows where hydrogen gas is glowing due to ionization from UV star light. These regions typically indicate where new stars are being formed. The next two images are the same as the first two only color enhanced to really show the difference in color of the of the outer arms verses the center of the galaxy. The bluer outer arms contain more young blue stars while the center region has more old red stars. (Which images do you like best?). All questions, comments and suggestions are welcome.

I got a few more clear nights so I took a few images of Messier object 33 (M33) in the constellation of Triangulum. M33 is member of what is know as the local group which also includes our galaxy, Andromeda (M31) and few others that are all gravitationally bound together. M33 is ~3 million light years away and somewhat smaller than our galaxy. These images where taken at a focal length of 4096mm (Prime focus for my Schmidt Cassegrain telescope, note: this galaxy is a bit large to completely fit into this focal). These images where made with a 60megapixel monochrome camera. The first image contains data using Luminance, Red, Green and Blue filters and then combining the data into a full color image. The second image added in data taken using a narrow band 5nm Hydrogen Alpha filter to the red channel. The hydrogen Alpha line shows where hydrogen gas is glowing due to ionization from UV star light. These regions typically indicate where new stars are being formed. The next two images are the same as the first two only color enhanced to really show the difference in color of the of the outer arms verses the center of the galaxy. The bluer outer arms contain more young blue stars while the center region has more old red stars. (Which images do you like best?). All questions, comments and suggestions are welcome.