M97 (NGC 3587; Owl Nebula) at 2032mm focal length - Images https://vtastro.org/community/images/m97-ngc-3587-owl-nebula-at-2032mm-focal-length/ vtastro.org Discussion Board en-US Sat, 04 Apr 2026 07:45:40 +0000 wpForo 60 RE: M97 (NGC 3587; Owl Nebula) at 2032mm focal length https://vtastro.org/community/images/m97-ngc-3587-owl-nebula-at-2032mm-focal-length/#post-839 Tue, 05 Mar 2024 22:48:46 +0000 @peter-gillette Thanks so much, Peter!  Imaging this at a long focal length was definitely a first for me -- and a bit of a challenge to process. 

Greg

]]> Images Greg Erianne https://vtastro.org/community/images/m97-ngc-3587-owl-nebula-at-2032mm-focal-length/#post-839 RE: M97 (NGC 3587; Owl Nebula) at 2032mm focal length https://vtastro.org/community/images/m97-ngc-3587-owl-nebula-at-2032mm-focal-length/#post-838 Tue, 05 Mar 2024 22:16:48 +0000 Hi Greg,

I'm pretty sure that's the most detail I've ever seen in the Owl, and I appreciate your touch with the colors!

                      -P-

]]> Images peter gillette https://vtastro.org/community/images/m97-ngc-3587-owl-nebula-at-2032mm-focal-length/#post-838 RE: M97 (NGC 3587; Owl Nebula) at 2032mm focal length https://vtastro.org/community/images/m97-ngc-3587-owl-nebula-at-2032mm-focal-length/#post-837 Tue, 05 Mar 2024 14:51:17 +0000 @terri Thanks again, Terri!  Yes, there are several galaxies (very small) in the background and I started to try and annotate them -- and gave up quickly! 🤣 

This is kind of a tough one to process since it always looks 'blurry'.  I wanted to reach for a focus knob when I was processing!! 

Greg

]]> Images Greg Erianne https://vtastro.org/community/images/m97-ngc-3587-owl-nebula-at-2032mm-focal-length/#post-837 RE: M97 (NGC 3587; Owl Nebula) at 2032mm focal length https://vtastro.org/community/images/m97-ngc-3587-owl-nebula-at-2032mm-focal-length/#post-835 Tue, 05 Mar 2024 13:58:15 +0000 A nicely detailed and colored owl nebula Greg, bravo!   I like seeing the other background objects around it so nicely processed!

 

Terri

]]> Images Terri Zittritsch https://vtastro.org/community/images/m97-ngc-3587-owl-nebula-at-2032mm-focal-length/#post-835 M97 (NGC 3587; Owl Nebula) at 2032mm focal length https://vtastro.org/community/images/m97-ngc-3587-owl-nebula-at-2032mm-focal-length/#post-833 Tue, 05 Mar 2024 03:24:33 +0000 M97 (NGC 3587; Owl Nebula) is a roughly circular nebula centered about its central dying star, which is becoming a white dwarf (in center of image and slightly bluish).  The nebula is about 2,000 light years away from Earth and is located just under the Bowl of the Big Dipper asterism in the constellation of Ursa Major.  M97 is believed to be 6,000 to 8,000 years old.

The material contained in Owl Nebula is believed to be slightly over 10% of the mass of our sun and is comprised of several gases including hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur.  In this image, the central core of the nebula is largely oxygen shown in blue-green, while the outer shell is primarily hydrogen gas shown in red.

M97’s owl-like appearance results from an inner shell that is not symmetrical, but rather it forms a barrel-like structure aligned at an angle of 45° to our line of sight from Earth.

Capture Date: 2/20/24

Equipment

Celestron EdgeHD 800 (native fL of 2032mm) with Celestron OAG and ASI174mm mini guide camera
ASIAir Plus, ASI2600MC, ZWO AM5 mount, ZWO 5-position filter wheel

Filter: Antlia Triband Ultra RGB

Processed with PixInsight and Adobe Photoshop for cropping and JPEG generation.

]]> Images Greg Erianne https://vtastro.org/community/images/m97-ngc-3587-owl-nebula-at-2032mm-focal-length/#post-833