| Description | After a break of 3 weeks, three Méchain galaxies (M98-M100) recorded April 13, 1781: "Nebula without star, of the same light as the preceding [M99], situated in the ear of Virgo. Seen by M. Méchain on March 15, 1781. These three nebulae, nos. 98, 99 & 100, are very difficult to recognize, because of the faintness of their light: one can observe them only in good weather, & near their passage of the Meridian." <--> This is one of the prettiest spiral galaxies in the Messier catalog: almost like a cross of M101 and the Fireworks Galaxy. I've been anxious to complete capturing all of the Messier Virgo / Leo / Coma galaxies before the end of Galaxy Season. This was the culmination of a couple of clear nights observing in only fair transparency with a nearly full moon, in this case only about 40° off the moon. SharpCap's native images are quite low contrast as a result, but we were able to enhance them in Affinity Photo to make them usable. We opted for Bin2 in order to speed up capture. |
