View allAll Photos Tagged blackeyegalaxy
Fly Away From This World
My Interplanetary Memories
Interplanetary Travel
That day, a spiral galaxy view greeted me with the sunset. I tried to focus on this galaxy to get away from the questions that were forming in my mind. As this spiral galaxy rose in the sky, the questions about my past and myself became stronger in my mind. And, I started asking myself questions. My first question was. When will you return home, Yusuf? I thought long and hard about this question. And I couldn't find an answer for myself. Despite the long years that have passed, I still have not been able to give myself an answer. The question of when I will return home continues to haunt me. Moreover, I ask myself this question more and more often than before. When will I be able to return to my home, that is, to life?
Camera: Canon EOS Kiss X7i
Photograph by Yusuf Alioglu
Location: Outer space (space)
The Black Eye Galaxy, Messier 64 (M64), or NGC 4826, is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices. The dark band of absorbing dust gives this galaxy the name “Black Eye” or “Evil Eye” galaxy.
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation: Coma Berenices
Right ascension: 12h 56m 43.696s
Declination: +21° 40′ 57.57″
Distance: 17.3 Mly
Apparent magnitude (V): 8.52
Tech Specs: Meade 12” LX-90, Celestron CGEM-DX pier mounted, Antares Focal Reducer, ZWO ASI290MC (on Orion 60mm Guidescope), ASI071MC-Pro, ZWO AAPlus, ZWO EAF, 96 x 60 seconds at 0C plus darks and flats, processed using PixInsight and DSS. Image Date: June 3, 2022. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle Class 4).
Messier 64 - The Black Eye Galaxy - is a famous and well-known Spiral Galaxy that is located 17 million light-years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices. It has prominent dust lanes to one side of the galaxy which is responsible for its common name.
I first shot M64 in May of 2020 and I wanted to try it again. I used the same exact scope - a Williams Optics 132 mm FLT APO. For the image in 2020, I used a ZWO ASI294MC-Pro OSC camera. That version of the image can be seen here:
cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/m64-black-eye-galaxy
For this one, I used the ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro Mono camera.
This was shot over 3 evenings on the nights of 5-29-22, 5-30-22, and 5-31-22.
The first night was kind of a fiasco and all I ended up with was 2 subs that were usable! That must be some kind of record! But things went well the other two nights before our clear streak ended, and I collected a total of 2.6 hours of useful subs.
Processing on the 2020 attempt with done with an older version of my brain that was still learning Pixinsight. This version of the image was processed with a newer version of my brain - one that has now had two years of Pixinsight experience. Don't get me wrong, I am still learning but I think I am in a better place now.
The story of the image and complete processing walk-through can be seen on my website at:
cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/messier-64-second
Thanks for looking, and let me know if you have any questions!
CS,
Pat
Comments
M 64 is an isolated galaxy 17 million light years from Earth in the constellation of Coma Berenices. Discovered by Edward Pigott and Johan Alert Bode in 1779, and later by Charles Messier in 1780.
The dark band of dust obscures the bright core giving the centre of the galaxy the appearance of an eye. It’s also known as the The Evil Eye Galaxy!
Its diameter is 53,800 light years. An unusual looking Galaxy that is a favourite for many astro photographers during the Spring months, perhaps due to its unusual nick names.
Imaged over 3 nights from my home in Gérgal, Spain.
A higher resolution image with imaging details can be found on my Astrobin page at: astrob.in/full/sxvmdp/0/
Thank you for looking.
Technical summary:
Captured: 27,28,29-03-2023
Imaging Sessions: 3
Location: Gérgal, Andalucía, Spain
Bortle Class: 4
Total Integration: 15h 25m
Filters:
Red 31x 300s 2h 35m BIN 2 Gain 100 -5C SQM 20.3
Green 31x 300s 2h 35m BIN 2 Gain 100 -5C SQM 20.3
Blue 32x 300s 2h 40m BIN 2 Gain 100 -5C SQM 20.3
UV/IR 91x 300s 7h 35m BIN 2 Gain 100 -5C SQM 20.3
Pixel Scale: 0.55 arcsec/pixel
Telescope: Celestron C11 Edge HD 2800mm fl
Image Camera: ZWO ASI 6200MM Pro
Guiding: ZWO OAG L with ZWO ASI 192MM Mini
Filters: Astronomik R, G, B, UV/IR
Mount: Celestron CGX
Computer: Minix NUC
Capture software: NINA, PHD2
Processing Software: PixInsight, Adobe Lightroom
I am going to have to come back to this and see what I can do with the mono camera and RGB filters at f/6.3. There's not much more detail in the galaxy that my original process of this, but the stars are much sharper with the hydrogen-alpha frames as the basis for registration.
RGB frames shot with an Atik 314L+ color CCD from Death Valley, CA
Hα frames shot with an Atik 414-EX monochrome CCD from Long Beach, CA
All taken with a Celestron Edge HD 925 at f/2.3 with Hyperstar; preprocessing in Nebulosity; registration, channel combination, and processing in PixInsight; final touches in Photoshop
The Black Eye Galaxy, also known as Messier 64 (M64), is a famous spiral galaxy located in the constellation Coma Berenices.
The galaxy is also sometimes called the Evil Eye Galaxy or Sleeping Beauty Galaxy. It has the designation NGC 4826 in the New General Catalogue.
M64 lies at an approximate distance of 24 million light years from Earth. It is known for the enormous light-absorbing dust band in front of its central region, which has earned the galaxy the names Black Eye or Evil Eye. The dust band obscures the stars in the galaxy’s bright core.
13 hours total integration (48x600s luminance, 12x600s for each RGB channel), Alcalalí, Spain on 18-19/4/2018
APM TMB 152 F8 LZOS, 10 Micron GM2000HPS, QSI6120ws8
In order to advance beyond a somewhat colorless result arising from using a combination of an OSC camera and a broad band LPF, the integrated image was first separated into starless and stars only components, followed by splitting the starless image into its RGB components which were individually weighted and then recombined using LRGB Combination followed by further processing.
Scope: WO Zenith Star 81mm f/6.9 with WO 6AIII Flattener/Focal Reducer x0.8
OSC Camera: ZWO ASI 2600 MC Pro at 100 Gain and 50 Offset
Mount: iOptron GEM28-EC
Guider: ZWO Off-Axis Guider
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI 174mm mini
Light Pollution Filter: Chroma LoGlow Broadband LPF
Date: 30-31 March 2023 and 2-5 April 2023
Location: Washington D.C.
Exposure: 244x300s subs (= 20.3 hours)
Software: Pixinsight
Processing Steps:
Preprocessing: FITS data > Image Calibration > Cosmetic Correction > Subframe Selector > Debayer > Select Reference Star and Star Align > Image Integration.
Linear Postprocessing: Integrated image > Rotation > Dynamic Crop > Dynamic Background Extractor (subtraction to remove light pollution gradients and division for flat field corrections) > Background Neutralization > Color Calibration > Blur Xterminator > Noise Xterminator.
Nonlinear Postprocessing: Linear postprocessed image > Histogram Transformation > Star Xterminator to separate into Starless and Stars Only images.
Starless image > Histogram Transformation > Noise Xterminator > Local Histogram Equalization > Split RGB Channels > Weight the original channels and use Pixel Math to generate new modified RGB channels.
Apply HDR Multiscale Transform to the L channel (= R channel for broad band image) and the new modified RGB channels.
LRGB combination > LRGB image.
LRGB image > Curves Transformation using color masks > Histogram Transformation (multiple steps as needed) > Local Histogram Equalization (multiple steps as needed) > Final Starless image.
Pixel Math to combine the Final Starless Image and the new Stars Only image > Rejoined image.
Rejoined image > Dark Structure Enhancement > New rejoined image.
New rejoined image > Topaz AI > AI image.
Pixel Math to combine New rejoined image and AI image > Final result.
Galaxy season is here! This is the Black Eye Galaxy (also called Sleeping Beauty Galaxy or Evil Eye Galaxy and designated Messier 64, M64, or NGC 4826) is a relatively isolated spiral galaxy 17 million light-years away in the mildly northern constellation of Coma Berenices. A dark band of absorbing dust partially in front of its bright nucleus gave rise to its nicknames of the "Black Eye", "Evil Eye", or "Sleeping Beauty" galaxy. (ref: Wikipedia)
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation: Coma Berenices
Right ascension: 12h 56m 43.696s
Declination: +21° 40′ 57.57″
Distance: 17.3 Mly
Apparent magnitude (V): 8.52
Tech Specs: Meade 12” LX-90 SCT Telescope, Antares Focal Reducer, ZWO ASI2600MC camera running at -10F, 76 x 60 second exposures, Celestron CGX-L pier mounted, ZWO EAF and ASIAir Pro, processed in PixInsight. Image Date: April 1, 2025. Location: The Dark Side Observatory (W59), Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle Class 4).
LLRGB image Black Eye Galaxy
Total 8hrs
C14edge F7.8
Skywatcher EQ8 mount
Baader filters
Atik414ex camera
Artemis capture. APP. Topaz labs. Photoshop.
www.instagram.com/stevenrobinsonpictures
The Black Eye Galaxy is a relatively isolated spiral galaxy 17 million light-years away in the mildly northern constellation of Coma Berenices.
The Black Eye Galaxy id also known as the Evil Eye Galaxy. The name Black Eye is associated with the extreme amount of interstellar dust the is circling the bright nucleus in the galactic disk.
M64 is located in the constellation Coma Berenices which is the Latin name for Berenice’s Hair. Berenice was a real historic figure who was a queen of Egypt. The galaxy is located about 17.3 million light years from Earth. It is about 54,000 light years in diameter, which makes it about half the size of our own Milky Way Galaxy. The light that was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) camera to form the Flickr image left the Black Eye Galaxy during the Earth’s Miocene Epoch 17.3 million year ago. The Earth’s Miocene Epoch was the geological period when the prehistoric ancestors of the current animals began to appear in forms that are reasonably similar in appearance to the animals we see today.
M64 is a Seyert galaxy with a HII Low Ionization Nuclear Emission Region (HII/LINER) near the center of the galaxy. The galaxy emits X-rays with longer wavelengths than most other active galactic nuclei (AGN).
M64 is unique because of the rotational characteristics of its interstellar gas that surrounds its galactic nucleus. The 100 billion stars of M64 are all rotating about the galactic center in the same direction. However, the outer and inner regions of the disk of interstellar gas are rotating in opposite directions. This suggest that either M64 has collided with a smaller gas-rich satellite galaxy in the distant past. This satellite galaxy was rotating in an orbit opposite to the rotation of M64. The other possibility is that a prolific source of intergalactic gas moving in a direction opposite to the stars is being absorbed at a high rate by the galaxy. The boundary between the oppositely rotating regions of interstellar gas is turbulent which induces a rate stellar formation that is above that of other regions of the galactic disk.
M64 is known as a flocculent (fluffy) galaxy due to the appearance of its spiral arms. The overall appearance of the galaxy makes it a spiral galaxy. The individual spiral arms are difficult to trace like those of Andromeda Galaxy, our nearest large neighbor galaxy. It is impossible to trace any long spiral arms in a flocculent galaxy.
The Flickr photo is my rendition of the Hubble Space Telescope’s (HST) image of the Black Eye Galaxy. The raw image data that was used to produce the Flickr image was extracted by me from NASA’s Hubble Legacy Archive (HLA). The HLA contained two black and white (greyscale) images of M64. I downloaded the HLA M64 to my home PC for postprocessing. Each image was produced by the HST cameras using different wideband filters that were placed in front of the cameras. The data obtained from Hubble’s F814W near infrared and F405W visible light wideband filters were assigned to the processing software’s red and blue channels, respectively. The missing green channel that was not supplied in the HLA but was constructed by me using the Pixinsight Pixel Math Process to produce a pseudo green channel. Pixel Math was set up to generate an average black and white image from the F814W and F405W FITS files data to produce the pseudo green FITS file.
The following are the list of the HLA FITS files that were assigned to the PixInsight software channels to produce the Flickr image:
Red Channel:hst_09042_84_wfpc2_f814w_wf_sci.fits
Green Channel: Pseudo green FITS file
Blue Channel: hst_09042_84_wfpc2_f450w_wf_sci.fits
The three greyscale images were colorized by placing them in the Pixinsight red, green, and blue processing software channels and blended together into one false color image containing a visible light version of the Black Eye Galaxy using the processing software on my home PC. I used both PixInsight, Photoshop 2021, Topaz Denoise, and Topaz Sharpen software packages that are installed on my PC to produce the final Flickr image.
This image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope features NGC 4826 — a spiral galaxy located 17 million light-years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices (Berenice’s Hair). This galaxy is often referred to as the “Black Eye” or “Evil Eye” galaxy because of the dark band of dust that sweeps across one side of its bright nucleus.
NGC 4826 is known by astronomers for its strange internal motion. The gas in the outer regions of this galaxy and the gas in its inner regions are rotating in opposite directions, which might be related to a recent merger. New stars are forming in the region where the counter-rotating gases collide.
This galaxy was first discovered in 1779 by the English astronomer Edward Pigott.
Text credit: European Space Agency (ESA)
Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team; Acknowledgment: Judy Schmidt
For more information: www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2021/hubble-looks-at-a...
This image taken with the Hubble Space Telescope features NGC 4826 — a spiral galaxy located 17 million light-years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices (Berenice’s Hair). This galaxy is often referred to as the “Black Eye” or “Evil Eye” galaxy because of the dark band of dust that sweeps across one side of its bright nucleus.
NGC 4826 is known by astronomers for its strange internal motion. The gas in the outer regions of this galaxy and the gas in its inner regions are rotating in opposite directions, which might be related to a recent merger. New stars are forming in the region where the counter-rotating gases collide.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team
Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt
For more information, visit: esahubble.org/images/potw2108a/
A beautiful and lesser known galaxy in Coma Berenices which looks like someone gave it a left hook, thus its nickname "black eye galaxy".
Celestron 8" SCT @ f/10 (prime focus)
Autoguided w/ Lodestar X2 on Skywatcher AZ-EQ6 mount
LRGB image using ZWO ASI 1600mm (-20C)
L: 20 x 180s RGB: 5 x 180 each (bin 2x2)
The Black Eye Galaxy (also called Sleeping Beauty Galaxy or Evil Eye Galaxy and designated Messier 64, M64, or NGC 4826) is a relatively isolated spiral galaxy 17 million light-years away in the mildly northern constellation of Coma Berenices. A dark band of absorbing dust partially in front of its bright nucleus gave rise to its nicknames of the "Black Eye", "Evil Eye", or "Sleeping Beauty" galaxy. (ref: Wikipedia)
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation: Coma Berenices
Right ascension: 12h 56m 43.696s
Declination: +21° 40′ 57.57″
Distance: 17.3 Mly
Apparent magnitude (V): 8.52
Tech Specs: Orion 8” RC Telescope, ZWO ASI2600MC camera running at -10F, 120 x 60 seconds, Celestron CGEM-DX pier mounted, ZWO EAF and ASIAir Pro, processed in PixInsight. Image Date: March 7, 2024. Location: The Dark Side Observatory (W59), Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle Class 4).
Source: hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2004/04/image/a/
Retouching: Lightroom
________________
A collision of two galaxies has left a merged star system with an unusual appearance as well as bizarre internal motions. Messier 64 (M64) has a spectacular dark band of absorbing dust in front of the galaxy's bright nucleus, giving rise to its nicknames of the "Black Eye" or "Evil Eye" galaxy.
Fine details of the dark band are revealed in this image of the central portion of M64 obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. M64 is well known among amateur astronomers because of its appearance in small telescopes. It was first cataloged in the 18th century by the French astronomer Messier. Located in the northern constellation Coma Berenices, M64 resides roughly 17 million light-years from Earth.
At first glance, M64 appears to be a fairly normal pinwheel-shaped spiral galaxy. As in the majority of galaxies, all of the stars in M64 are rotating in the same direction, clockwise as seen in the Hubble image. However, detailed studies in the 1990's led to the remarkable discovery that the interstellar gas in the outer regions of M64 rotates in the opposite direction from the gas and stars in the inner regions.
Active formation of new stars is occurring in the shear region where the oppositely rotating gases collide, are compressed, and contract. Particularly noticeable in the image are hot, blue young stars that have just formed, along with pink clouds of glowing hydrogen gas that fluoresce when exposed to ultraviolet light from newly formed stars.
Astronomers believe that the oppositely rotating gas arose when M64 absorbed a satellite galaxy that collided with it, perhaps more than one billion years ago. This small galaxy has now been almost completely destroyed, but signs of the collision persist in the backward motion of gas at the outer edge of M64.
Annotated image showing position of 2014 JO25 at 2017-04-20 06:18:21 UT from my backyard
Straight out of the camera (no darks or flats, 20 s exposure), then solved and annotated in PixInsight
Celstron Edge HD 9.25"
HyperStar (f/2.3)
Atik 314L+ color CCD
Baader light pollution filter
Aberkenfig, South Wales
Lat 51.542 N Long 3.593 W
Skywatcher 254mm Newtonian Reflector, Nikon D780 at prime focus. EQ6 Syntrek Mount.
51 frames used in processing.
31 x 25s @ ISO 3200
19 x 25s @ ISO 2500
Also 18 Dark Frames
Processed with Deep Sky Stacker and final levels adjusted with Adobe Lightroom & G.I.M.P.
Image has been slifghtly cropped.
Best viewed in intermediate expanded mode.
A spectacular dark band of light-absorbing dust in front of this galaxy's bright nucleus gives rise to its nicknames of the "Black Eye" or "Evil Eye" galaxy.
Fine details of the dark band are revealed in this image of the central portion of Messier 64 (M64) obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope.
M64 has bizarre internal motions as well as an unusual appearance. As in the majority of galaxies, all of the stars in M64 are rotating in the same direction, clockwise as seen in the Hubble image. However, detailed studies in the 1990s led to the discovery that the interstellar gas in the outer regions of M64 rotates in the opposite direction from the gas and stars in the inner regions.
Active formation of new stars is occurring in the shear region where the oppositely rotating gases collide, are compressed, and contract. Particularly noticeable in the image are hot, blue young stars that have just formed, along with pink clouds of glowing hydrogen gas that fluoresce when exposed to ultraviolet light from newly formed stars.
Astronomers believe that the oppositely rotating gas arose when M64 absorbed a satellite galaxy that collided with it, perhaps more than one billion years ago. This small galaxy has now been almost completely destroyed, but signs of the collision persist in the backward motion of gas at the outer edge of M64.
For more information, visit: hubblesite.org/image/1447/news_release/2004-04
Credit: NASA and the Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI);
Acknowledgment: S. Smartt (Institute of Astronomy) and D. Richstone (U. Michigan)
Images taken with iTelescope.net's T18 telescope in Nerpio, Spain. (LRGB images, 2 each, 300 sec exposure, combined using MaximDL) "The Black Eye Galaxy (also called Evil Eye Galaxy; designated Messier 64, M64, or NGC 4826) was discovered by Edward Pigott in March 1779, and independently by Johann Elert Bode in April of the same year, as well as by Charles Messier in 1780. It has a spectacular dark band of absorbing dust in front of the galaxy's bright nucleus, giving rise to its nicknames of the "Black Eye" or "Evil Eye" galaxy. M64 is well known among amateur astronomers because of its appearance in small telescopes. It is a spiral galaxy in the Coma Berenices constellation." (Source: Wikipedia)
Take in may,june & july; SW 200mm f5, t3 mod, MPCC, Heq5 pro,63x180". Mantiqueira´s observatory - Delfim Moreira - MG - Brazil
A distinctive dark dust-lane runs along the edge of the bright nucleus of the Spiral Galaxy M64. For that reason, it is called the Black-Eye Galaxy. From my backyard in suburbia, I can, on a good night, make out the dust-lane “the black eye” with my 6-inch refractor, but it is a challenge. John Mallas, author of the 1978 “The Messier Album” claimed that he could make out the black eye with a 2.4-inch refractor. I have tried to repeat this feat with my own 2.4-inch f/15 refractor several times under truly dark skies but have always failed. Regardless, I think that a good quality moderate-sized telescope under clear skies can make out the Black-Eye in M64 even in skies with some light pollution.
M64 is also noted as a galaxy that has two rotating disks of ionized gas and neutral hydrogen moving in opposite directions at different distances from the nucleus. The galaxy has obviously been stressed.
Both the counter-rotating disks of gas and the dark dust-lane are the result of a collision a billion or so years ago with another smaller galaxy. The Black-Eye was formed during the heavy-weight merger fight.
To see additional astronomy drawings visit: www.orrastrodrawing.com
It is easy to see why M64 is called the Blackeye Galaxy. The dark lane in the galaxy is due to a massive band of dark nebula.
Photo was taken with a ZWO Seestar stacking 10-second photos for 40 minutes on the morning of March 19, 2024.
M64 Black Eye Galaxy
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Eye_Galaxy
Equipment:
Mount-Paramount ME
Image Train:- SBIG STL 6303 -> Astrodon MOAG -> FLI PDF Focuser -> OTA
OTA: - Celestron HD14 0x7X reducer -> C14HD
Filtration: Heutech LPS, Astrodon 3nm NB
Plate solve:
RA 12h 56m 27s, Dec +21° 46' 05"
Pos Angle +359° 52', FL 2697.9 mm, 0.69"/Pixel
Collection Dates: April 13,15,16,17,19 2012
Exposure: Heutech LPS prefilter, Astrodon Gen II
13 X 10 minutes bin 1 Lum ( 130 minutes)
16 X 10 minutes bin 1 Red ( 160 minutes)
18 X 10 minutes bin 1 Grn ( 180 minutes)
14 X 10 minutes bin 1 Blue( 140 minutes)
Total time on target: ( 610 minutes) 10.16 hours
Imaging and guiding thru Maxim DL, Guided thru MOAG 0.2 hrz
Process: Calibration/Assembly Maxim DL, post processing PixInsite/Photohop
This spiral galaxy is known for its thick dust lane near its nucleus that gives it the appearance of a bruised eye. The Black Eye Galaxy (M64) is 17 million light years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. Also known as "The Sleeping Beauty Galaxy", this image was taken from Mesquite Springs Campground in Death Valley, CA.
This is a stack of 12 unguided 125s subframes with a Celestron Edge HD 9.25" scope at f/2.3 with Hyperstar and an Atik 314L+ color CCD. Initial preprocessing and stacking in Nebulosity; final processing in PixInsight and PS CS 5.1.
Image center is at RA 12h 56m 43.03s, DEC +21° 40' 57.01"
Description: Despite integrating ~20 hours of raw data, this proved to be a difficult image to process due to its wispy and diffuse ring structure and its faint coloring. Multiple passes of Local Histogram Equalization were required to reveal some structure in the ring system. A curious feature of this galaxy is that it seems to have counter-rotating disks.
Date / Location: 30-31 March 2023 and 2-5 April 2023 / Washington D.C.
Equipment:
Scope: WO Zenith Star 81mm f/6.9 with WO 6AIII Flattener/Focal Reducer x0.8
OSC Camera: ZWO ASI 2600 MC Pro at 100 Gain and 50 Offset
Mount: iOptron GEM28-EC
Guider: ZWO Off-Axis Guider
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI 174mm mini
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Light Pollution Filter: Chroma LoGlow Broadband
Processing Software: Pixinsight
Processing Steps:
Preprocessing: I preprocessed 244x300s subs (= 20.3 hours) in Pixinsight to get an integrated image using the following processes: Image Calibration > Cosmetic Correction > Subframe Selector > Debayer > Select Reference Star and Star Align > Image Integration.
Linear Postprocessing: Dynamic Background Extractor (both subtraction to remove light pollution gradients and division for flat field corrections) > Background Neutralization > Color Calibration > Noise Xterminator.
Nonlinear Postprocessing: Histogram Transformation > First Local Histogram Equalization > Curves Transformation > SCNR Noise Reduction > Second Local Histogram Equalization.
The Black Eye Galaxy (also called Sleeping Beauty Galaxy; designated Messier 64, M64, or NGC 4826) was discovered by Edward Pigott in March 1779, and independently by Johann Elert Bode in April of the same year, as well as by Charles Messier in 1780. It has a spectacular dark band of absorbing dust in front of the galaxy's bright nucleus, giving rise to its nicknames of the "Black Eye" or "Evil Eye" galaxy. M64 is well known among amateur astronomers because of its appearance in small telescopes. It is a spiral galaxy in the Coma Berenices constellation.
This image taken using a Meade LX-90 12" telescope with a Canon T3i at prime focus.
This image has been made by stacking 240 frames using DSS. Images captured earlier today using a Canon EOS 60 D mounted onto a Skywatcher 200 reflector.
M64 Black Eye Galaxy
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Eye_Galaxy
Not a lot of guide stars around so a rather large offset from center. This is a 60% crop of field.
Equipment:
Mount-Paramount ME
Image Train:- SBIG STL 6303 -> Astrodon MOAG -> FLI PDF Focuser -> OTA
OTA: - Celestron HD14 0x7X reducer -> Cestrond C14HD
Filtration: Heutech LPS, Astrodon 3nm NB
Plate solve:
RA 12h 56m 27s, Dec +21° 46' 05"
Pos Angle +359° 52', FL 2697.9 mm, 0.69"/Pixel
Collection Dates: April 13,15,16,17,19 2012
Exposure: Heutech LPS prefilter, Astrodon Gen II
13 X 10 minutes bin 1 Lum ( 130 minutes)
16 X 10 minutes bin 1 Red ( 160 minutes)
18 X 10 minutes bin 1 Grn ( 180 minutes)
14 X 10 minutes bin 1 Blue( 140 minutes)
Total time on target: ( 610 minutes) 10.16 hours
Imaging and guiding thru Maxim DL, Guided thru MOAG 0.2 hrz
Process: Calibration/Assembly Maxim DL, post processing PixInsite/Photohop
Taken with: Canon EOS 6D and Omegon 126/880 Triplet APO on a Skywatcher H-EQ5 mount.
17*120 sek., ISO 800
Celestron C8 with f/6.8 reducer, Celestron Nightscape 10100 Ccd Binned 2x2 (color binning). Celestron AVX mount with Starsense. ST80 Guidescope/Orion SSAG Guidecam. 45 x 2 minute sub exposures with 30 darks and 45 biases, no flats. Moonless night, 21.7 mags/sq arcsec sky site in New Zealand. Processing in Pixinsight and Photoshop Elements.
Edited Hubble Space Telescope image of the Black Eye Galaxy (for obvious reasons).
Original caption: This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week features NGC4826 — a spiral galaxy located 17 million light-years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices (Berenice’s Hair). This galaxy is often referred to as the “Black Eye”, or “Evil Eye”, galaxy because of the dark band of dust that sweeps across one side of its bright nucleus. NGC4826 is known by astronomers for its strange internal motion. The gas in the outer regions of this galaxy and the gas in its inner regions are rotating in opposite directions, which might be related to a recent merger. New stars are forming in the region where the counter rotating gases collide. This galaxy was first discovered in 1779 by the English astronomer Edward Pigott.
The Black Eye Galaxy (also called Evil Eye Galaxy and designated Messier 64, M64, or NGC 4826) is a type 2 Seyfert spiral galaxy 17 million light-years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices. It has a diameter of 54,000 light-years and contains approximately 100 billion stars. A dark band of absorbing dust partially in front of its bright nucleus gave rise to its nicknames of the "Black Eye" or "Evil Eye" galaxy.
We chose to image M64 because the targets we were originally aiming for (the Antennae Galaxies - NGC 4038 and NGC 4039) were too low in the south and completely obscured by clouds right up to the point where they were also obscured by trees. It was very cloudy (despite a clear night being forecast) but around 2 am the sky cleared enough to allow us to get about 90 minutes of exposure on M64.
12/04/2021
017 x 300-second exposures at Unity Gain (139) cooled to -20°C
050 x dark frames
010 x flat frames
100 x bias frames
Binning 1x1
Total integration time = 2 hours and 25 minutes
Captured with APT
Guided with PHD2
Processed in Nebulosity and Photoshop
Equipment:
Telescope: Sky-Watcher Explorer-150PDS
Mount: Skywatcher EQ5
Guide Scope: Orion 50mm Mini
Guiding Camera: ZWO ASI120MC
Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI1600MC Pro with anti-dew heater
Baader Mark-III MPCC Coma Corrector
Optolong L-Pro filter
GSO 8"RC with TSRCflat2"
astro60D ISO1600 600sec x 7
taken with Losmandy G11+Gemini2
OAG9+lodestar+PHD guiding
Reprocessing of some # old data. Better flat fielding, detail enhancement, and contrast all around.
-Object Info-
Name: M64
Other names: Black Eye Galaxy, NGC4826
Type: Spiral Galaxy, Seyfert Galaxy
Mag: 8.52
-Image Info-
Date: April 8, 2010
Location: Florida Tech, Melbourne, FL
Telescope: Ortega .8m
Imager: FLI 1024x1024
CCD Temp: -20 C
Filters: Clear
Exposure: 9 240s
Total Time: 36min
Processing: Maxim DL, CCDSharp, Photoshop
In the image North is up and East is to the left.
Credit: Don Schumacher, Akeem Wells
Shot from my backyard in Long Beach, CA, with a Celestron Edge HD 9.25" at f/2.3 with HyperStar and an Atik 314L+ color CCD with Baader UHC light pollution filter. Pre-processing was done in Nebulosity.
First, I stacked 38 exposures (20 s each) of all the good frames that contained the galaxy and the asteroid. Then, I recombined the individual frames with the stacked frames to show the progress of the asteroid. All of this was done in PixInsight - first time using the Pixel Math process - very handy. Final movie rendered in PS CS 5.1. In total, this was 10 minutes of its motion that night.
I didn't realize I had clouds passing through until I was dealing with the individual frames. This interference appears as the galaxy, M64, fading in and out of view and changing color.
I've been trying to image two targets over the past few days, NGC2264 and M64. The weather hasn't been very cooperative with clouds coming and going, so I've been imaging in the gaps between the clouds.
I think this galaxy requires a much longer focal length (maybe a C9.25 or similar scope), but I'm pleased with the details captured with the William Optics FLT132 at 910mm focal length, ASI2600MC Pro camera and Antlia Triband RGB Ultra 2" filter, on a ZWO AM5 mount.
Pre and post-processed in PixInsight, and final touches in Affinity Photo 2. This image is highly cropped to show the galaxy, as otherwise it would just appear as a little smudge in the centre of the photo.
Some information about M64:
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M64 was discovered by the English astronomer Edward Pigott. It is located 17 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Coma Berenices and is best observed in May. With an apparent magnitude of 9.8, the Black Eye galaxy can be spotted with a moderately sized telescope.
Easily identified by the spectacular band of absorbing dust partially obscuring its bright nucleus, M64, or the Black Eye galaxy, is characterized by its bizarre internal motion. The gas in the outer regions of this remarkable galaxy is rotating in the opposite direction from the gas and stars in its inner regions. This strange behavior can be attributed to a merger between M64 and a satellite galaxy over a billion years ago.
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More information: science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night...
More acquisition details: astrob.in/izgv7k/0/
-Object Info-
Name: M64
Other names: Black Eye Galaxy, NGC4826
Type: Spiral Galaxy, Seyfert Galaxy
Mag: 8.52
-Image Info-
Date: April 8, 2010
Location: Florida Tech, Melbourne, FL
Telescope: Ortega .8m
Imager: FLI 1024x1024
CCD Temp: -20 C
Filters: Clear
Exposure: 10 240s
Total Time: 40min
Processing: Maxim DL, CCDSharp, Photoshop
In the image North is up and East is to the left.
Credit: Don Schumacher, Akeem Wells
Camera: Meade DSI Color II
Exposure: 29m (15 x 1m) RGB + (14 x 1m)L
Focus Method: Prime focus
Telescope Aperature/Focal Length: 203×812mm
Mount: LXD75
Telescope: Meade 8" Schmidt-Newtonian
Guided: None
Stacked: DeepSkyStacker
Adjustments: cropped/leveled in Photoshop
Location: Flintstone, GA
This is Messier 64, also called the black eye galaxy. This is a 3 times drizzled, cropped section of a previous photo. Shot with an EOS 550D mounted to a Skywatcher 150/750 telescope. Exposure was around 35 minutes and 37 seconds with ISO 800.
The Black Eye Galaxy or Evil Eye Galaxy (M64) is a spiral galaxy approximately 24 million light years away from Earth in the Coma Berenices constellation. It gets its name from the dark band of absorbing dust in front of the galaxy's bright nucleus.
Imaged on 27th February 2015:
36 x 15 second exposures at 12800 ISO
28 x 20 second exposures at 6400 ISO
36 x 15 second exposures at 3200 ISO
30 x dark frames
21 x flat frames
Processed in Deep Sky Stacker and Photoshop
Entre um alvo e outro na Chapada dos Veadeiros, resolvi testar essa galáxia, a Galáxia do Olho Negro (M64) e até que gostei do resultado. Obviamente foi pouco tempo de exposição, porém ainda consegui vários detalhes interessantes para uma galáxia como essa. A captura foi feita a partir de um local bortle 1/2, o @campingecachoeiradoscristais sem filtros.
In the time between targets in Chapada dos Veadeiros, I gived it a try on this galaxy, the Black Eye Galaxy (M64) and kinda like the result. It's obvious, it were few expositions, resulting in little time, but I managed to get interesting details for a galaxy like this. The picture was taken from a bortle 1/2 site, the @campingecachoeiradoscristais , without filter.
Canon T3i modified, Sky-Watcher 200p (200/1000mm) with comma corrector 1.1x, ISO 800. Guiding with Asiair and ASI290mc in an adapted finderscope 50mm, Eq5 Sky-watcher mount and AstroEq tracking mod. 9 Ligth Frames of 180s, 62 darks and 50 bias. 27m total exposure. Processing on Pixinsight. Bortle 1/2.
#astrophotography #astrofotografia #nightsky #astronomy #astromomia #CanonT3i #canon600d #dslrmod #telescopio #telescope #skywatcher #skywatcher200p #Eq5 #skywatcherEq5 #AstroEq #DeepSkyStacker #deepsky #adobephotoshop #pixinsight #asi290mc #ZwoAsi #zwoasi290mc #longexposure #asiair #guiding #m64 #blackeyegalaxy #chapadadosveadeiros #astfotbr