M106 Galaxy

M106 is a very active galaxy 22 to 25 million lightyears distant and 135,000 lighyears in diameter. It’s central supermassive black hole energizes the gas in the core producing a lot of light.

Another result from Antenna Site in the desert west of Phoenix. Skies were great and I got some excellent luminance data. Color was captured at my house in Chandler. I have been lucky with a lot of clear skies so I captured an absolute ton of RGB data – most of which was good to use, but I did lose some reds to thin clouds.

Gear

Telescope	Orion Optics UK ODK12
Mount	10Micron GM1000HPS
Imaging Camera	QHY163M
Guide Camera	QHY5III178
Filter Wheel	QHYCFW2
Filters	Baader L, R, G, B 36mm unmounted
Focuser	FT3015B-A

Shot Details

Automation Software	TBA
Image Processing	PixInsight
Guiding	None
L	48 x 120sec at -10°C
R	77 x 120sec at -10°C
G	84 x 120sec at -10°C
B	85 x 120sec at -10°C
Total Integration	9.8 hours
Gain	120
Offset	70
Ambient	25°C
Moon	<5%
Bortle	1 and 6/7
Location	Salome, AZ; Phoenix, AZ