Messier 97 (Ursa Major)
Fig. 1 - Roundish shell with two dark patches looking like the eyes of a cosmic barn owl: The planetary nebula Messier 97 in Ursa Major, photographed with a 16-inch f/4.5 Dob on an equatorial platform.
| Object name: | Constellation: | Coordinates: | Apparent size: | Visual brightness: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Messier 97 (= NGC 3587) | Ursa Major | 11h15m / +55°01' | 3.4' x 3.3' | 9.9 mag |
The planetary nebula Messier 97 (M97, "Owl nebula") in the constellation Ursa Major. The Owl nebula is 2,640 light-years from Earth and estimated to be about 8,000 years old. It is approximately circular in cross-section with a faint internal structure. Messier 97 was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781. The small nebulous region near the star below Messier 97 is the spiral galaxy PGC 34279 (mag 16), partly eclipsed by a foreground star (source: Wikipedia).
Exposure time: 55min (18x approx. 3min) at ISO 800, taken on March 3/4, 2013. Processing with DeepSkyStacker and Photoshop. No calibration frames were taken.
Equipment: Canon EOS 450D Baader modified camera, TeleVue Universal Paracorr coma corrector, 16" f/4.5 "Ninja" dobsonian telescope riding on a dual-axis Tom Osypowski equatorial platform, Lacerta MGEN autoguider, Teleskop-Service off axis system TS-OAG9 EOS.
Field of view comparison: image of the moon with the same setup.
Fig. 2 - Search chart for Messier 97. Copyright 2025 'The Mag-7 Star Atlas Project', www.siaris.net.