M74, Phantom Galaxy, or NGC 628 in Pices
M74 in Pices is a face on spiral galaxy sometimes called The Phantom Galaxy.
With just two arms, M74 is an archetypal grand design galaxy.
Date: 29 October 2022
FOV: cropped to 68' × 45'; M74 is about 9.4'
Telescope: Stellarvue SVX102T + SFFX-1 flattener (714mm, f/7)
Guiding: ZWO ASI120MM mini mono guide camera,
Stellarvue F050G 50mm guide scope
Computer: ASIair pro Raspberry Pi
Mount: iOptron CEM40
Camera: ZWO ASI071MC Pro Cooled (-10°C) Color CMOS with gain 240
Filter: Baader Light Pollution Moonglow filter with IR cut
Stacking: One-hundred-twelve 240 second frames with darks and flats
in Deep Sky Stacker
Total Time: 7 hours 28 minutes
Processing: GIMP – Levels, Curves, Saturation, Color Balance,
Brightness-Contrast, and Star Reduction using Value Propagate
Location: Darling Hill Observatory near Vesper, NY