This is Messier 101 — the Pinwheel Galaxy — captured at 0.68 arcseconds per pixel across 13.2 hours of LRGB, from a 14-inch RC and a QHY600 under the dark high-desert skies of Deming, New Mexico. We have already done the calibration, registration, and integration — these are the linear master files, free to download. Combine the channels, draw out the spiral arms and the pink HII regions, and make the Pinwheel your own.
Acquisition
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Target | Messier 101 / NGC 5457 — Pinwheel Galaxy |
| Constellation | Ursa Major (northern sky) |
| Site | Deming, New Mexico — dark-sky high desert |
| Telescope | GSO 14″ RC + 0.8× reducer |
| Focal length | 2278 mm (f/6.4) |
| Mount | Paramount ME |
| Camera | QHY600 (Sony IMX455, full-frame) |
| Pixel size | 3.76 µm — imaged at 2×2 (7.52 µm effective) |
| Image scale | 0.68 ″/px |
| Field of view | ~55′ × 37′ (4856 × 3265 px) |
| Channels | L, R, G, B |
| Sub exposure | 600 s |
| Integration | L 5.3 h · R 3.0 h · G 3.0 h · B 1.83 h — 13.2 h total (79 subs) |
| State | Calibrated, registered, integrated — linear |
| Format | 32-bit FITS (~254 MB total) |
What's in the download
- Four linear master files — Luminance, Red, Green, Blue
- 32-bit FITS, ready to open in PixInsight, APP, or any FITS-aware tool
- Already calibrated, registered, and integrated (600 s subs, integrated in Astro Pixel Processor)
- ~254 MB total — no re-stacking, straight to channel combination and stretching
License
Released under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0. Process it, publish it, print it — commercial use is fine. All we ask is a credit and a link back to stellarnomads.com.
Join the Processing Challenge
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Get the data
The master files are free — join Stellar Nomads (also free) and they're yours, along with every new dataset as it drops.
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