M74 is a unusual type of object, related to quasars. Its brilliant nucleus, toned down here by both DDP and Luminance layering is always totally overexposed in film shots. There is considerable detail in the core, and suitably processed CCD images are the only way to reveal them clearly. This galaxy is very bright because of its core at mag 10.0, however its faint arms are difficult to image because they are so much fainter. This object is quite large, at 10 x 11 arcmins and parts of it are no doubt beyond this field. M74 has a large number of resolved pink HII regions as well.

Instrument:  12.5" f/5 Home made Newtonian
Platform:  Astrophysics 1200 QMD
CCD Camera:  SBIG ST7E w/Enhanced Cooling
Exposure:  LRGB = 60:20:20:36 (RGB Binned 2x2)
Filters:  RGB Tricolor
Location:  Payson, Arizona
Elevation:  5150 ft.
Sky:  Seeing FMHW = 2.3 arcsec, Transparency 7/10
Outside Temperature:  10 C
CCD Temperature:  -25 C
Processing:  Maxim DL, Photoshop, PW Pro.