Cadets Capture Whirlpool Galaxy with New Observatory Camera

The new Meade 16-inch telescope in the Cadet Observatory has taken its first images with the SBIG STX-16803 full-frame camera. The camera is designed for imaging deep-space objects and it is not yet set up to work fully robotically. The first images were taken “manually,” without an electronic focuser or filters. Our target was the Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as Messier Object 51 (M51). M51 is the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral in 1845. It is located in the constellation Canes Venatici (Hunting Dogs) not too far from the third star in the handle of the Big Dipper asterism. According to some sources, M51 is in the process of merging with the smaller galaxy seen at the bottom. The image, capturing light that left the Whirlpool Galaxy about 30 million years ago, was taken by CDT Abigail Daniel and Dr. Paula Fekete with assistance via Skype from Mr. Patric Knoll, an amateur astronomer from CA.