19.3.17

messier 97 and 108

Lord Rosse drew the planetary nebula in 1848 after Méchain's discovery in 1781. It looked like an owl's face, hence the owl nebula. The spiral m108 is viewed almost edge on hence the spiral is lost. The owl, a star at the end of its life, is in our own galaxy at a distance of 2000 light years. the galaxy, 45000 light years away.
l to r planetary nebula m97 el buho and galaxy m108 in ursa major
canon 700d + pn208   21x180s @ ISO800