Astrophotography by Keith B. Quattrocchi


M28: The Cigar Galaxy
Starburst Galaxy in Ursa Major
Ha/RGB Image
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Copyright 2026
Keith B Quattrocchi

Image Acquisition Information  
                    
Telescope: 16" RCOS Richey Chretien Telescope (ion milled at f/9) 
L-500 PlaneWave Mount
Camera: ZWO Full Frame Back Illuminated CMOS ASI 6200 MM
Guiding: Starlight Xpress AO with Zwo ASI174 Autoguiding Camera.
Filters: Astrodon LRBG, H-alpha, LRGB E Series
Acquisition Programs: NINA, The SkyX, PHD2, PWI4
Processing Programs: PixInsight, RC Astro, CCDStack, Photoshop CS4
Date: Data processed on June 1 2026.  Data acquisition:  April and May of 2026                          
Time:  Total: 64 hours.  Each filter: 16 hours (10 minute exposures). Total of 64 hours for the Ha/RGB image.                
              
Image Information: Messier 82 (M82), or the Cigar Galaxy, is a prototypical starburst galaxy located 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. Spanning up to 40,000 light-years across with a magnitude of 8.4, it creates stars ten times faster than the Milky Way. This frenzied activity is fueled by gravitational interactions with the neighboring spiral galaxy M81, which compresses vast gas clouds into M82's core.
The rapid birth and death of these massive stars generate a powerful galactic superwind that drives the galaxy's most distinctive visual aspect: brilliant, bright red flares of glowing hydrogen gas blasting out from the center. In visible light, thick, dark lanes of dust obscure the rest of this energetic core, giving the galaxy its elongated cigar shape.

Processing Information: These LRGB images were obtained using AstroDon filters.  The LRGB images were batch processed (calibrated, registered, normalized and integrated) in PixInsignt.   Layers, further stretching, C/L, HL&S, was high pass filtering was performed with Adobe Photoshop CS/4.