This is the 101's and 102nd entries in Messier's catalog. Apparently, Pierre Mechain discovered this object in 1781 and made a 2nd entry of this object but with an error in the location. Messier observed this object in 1781 after Mechain told him of it. Mechain corrected his original error two years later in 1783, Messier did not. The galaxy is is about 17.5 million light years away. This face on spiral is pretty large in a telescope, so it spreads it light over a large area making it a difficult object to observe or photograph.

This photo was taken on a night that was far cloudier than the weatherman or the Clear Sky Clock called for. I never would have even gone out with the scope if I had known what I was going to get. The photo turned out pretty well given the circumstances. I'd like to try again on a nice clear night with good skies and get at least 2 hours of time with the camera.

Details:

Date: May 21, 2009
Telescope: William Optics FLT 110 Lite
Camera: Canon Rebel XT, modified by Hap Griffin
Mount: Celestron CGE, Guided
Exposures: 12 x 5 minutes ISO1600
Processed with: Deep Sky Stacker, PixInsight LE, Photoshop CS3, AIP4WIN