M 109 is a beautiful example of a barred spiral galaxy, with
the arms containing younger, bluer stars, and the central bar
of the galaxy containing older, more yellowish stars. M 109 is
a major member of the Ursa Major galaxy cluster, and you can see
a few other member galaxies in this image. M 109 is located near
the bottom left corner of the Big Dipper. It is 40-50 million light
years away, and 100,000 light years in diameter.
Image data:
Camera: Canon 350 XT (modified)
Exposure: ISO 800, 8 minutes x 17
Telescope: 10" Schmidt-Newtonian, Baader MPCC, LPS filter