M51 – A Struggle Under the Full Moon

Last night, I decided to capture M51 – the Whirlpool Galaxy – despite the rather unforgiving conditions caused by the full Moon. The sky was bright, contrast was low, and I knew from the start that it wouldn’t be easy. But sometimes, it’s in these challenging nights that we learn the most.
The session started with a series of unexpected hiccups. My guiding wasn’t as tight as usual – small calibration issues and a few odd spikes made it tricky to get consistent subs. On top of that, a minor gear issue slowed me down early on. Still, I pushed through the difficulties, determined to make the most of the night.

Despite the hardware struggles and heavy moonlight, I managed to get a few decent hours of data. Noise was an issue – as expected – but I’ll be doing my best to process this one cleanly and bring out the detail M51 deserves.

M51, also known as NGC 5194, is one of the most iconic galaxies in the night sky. Located approximately 23 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici, it’s a grand-design spiral galaxy interacting with a smaller companion – NGC 5195 – which is thought to have passed through M51’s disk, triggering waves of star formation and those distinctive spiral arms.
M51 is a favorite target for amateur astrophotographers due to its relatively bright core and detailed structure. Its active nucleus is classified as a Seyfert galaxy, meaning it harbors a supermassive black hole that’s actively accreting material and emitting strong radiation.
Even under less-than-ideal skies, the Whirlpool never fails to impress.
Stay tuned for the final image – it may have been captured under pressure, but I believe it’ll tell a powerful story of persistence and the beauty of the cosmos.
Clear skies!