M 101 "Pinwheel Galaxy"
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Telescope: RCOS 14.5” at Rowe, NM
Camera Filters: Red, Blue, Green, Luminance, Hydrogen
Total exposure: 23 hours
Image width: 1/3 degree
M 101, a spiral galaxy, lies about 21M light-years from earth and is about 70% larger than our Milky Way. The many reddish smears in the galaxy’s arms are caused by Hydrogen-cloud emissions in areas of high star-birth. Blue regions indicate hot, blue, young stars.