Deep in the constellation of Pavo, also known as
the "Peacock”, there lives a spiral galaxy.
Caldwell 101, also known as the NGC 6744, is an intermediate spiral galaxy. It is about 30 million light-years away.
Very much like our own Milky Way Galaxy, Caldwell 101 is almost twice as big. Its massive disk stretches 175,000 light-years across.
This Intermediate Spiral Galaxy is classified somewhere between a barred spiral and an unbarred spiral galaxy. A small companion galaxy is located nearby that is quite similar to our galaxy's companion galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud.
This companion galaxy, called NGC 6744A for short, can be seen as a blob in the main galaxy's outer arm (lower right of the image).
To shoot distant galaxies like this requires special equipment and processing. To capture details, like the detail in this image,
I use remote a telescope service located in high and desert-like regions. In the desert, the light pollution is pretty low, less humidity increases the quality of seeing. Large apertures and longer focal lengths have to be used to capture deep space's true beauty and mystery.
This photo was shot using a remote access 24-inch mirrored telescope in Chile.
Four different filters with a monochrome CCD sensor were used to create an LRGB image. L stands for Luminance while R, G, and B stand for Red, Green, and Blue channels. The Luminance channel is widely used in astrophotography when galaxy shooting. It is the brightness information collected from the deep space object that allows for the capture of this image.
This photograph required years of preparation, study, observation, and process. My creations require a personal and unique combination of technology, art, science, patience, and magic. My life goal is to bring the true majesty of the universe to life.
This is both my passion and my life purpose.
Properties
Object Type: Spiral Galaxy
Distance: 30 million light-years
Telescope: Planewave CDK-24
Dimensions: 2816x2816 pixels
File Type: Jpeg
Image Credits: Mustafa Aydın / Telescope Live
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