Messier 108 (NGC 3556) from my new „Jade“ observatory

I imaged Messier 97 (the Owl Nebula) and Messier 108 (the Surfboard Galaxy) together in the same field on three occasions over the years. My first attempts came in 2010 and 2011, both using DSLR equipment from my backyard, where modest exposure times already revealed the striking contrast between the smooth planetary nebula and the dusty, edge-on spiral galaxy. Most recently, in 2025, I revisited this pair from my Jade Observatory, capturing a deep luminance dataset with modern CMOS hardware. I combined this high-resolution 2025 luminance with the 2011 RGB data to produce a new, significantly more detailed LRGB image of the field.

Messier 108 is an SBcd-type barred spiral galaxy seen almost perfectly edge-on at a distance of about 45 million light-years. Its chaotic dust lanes, scattered H II regions, and clumpy star-forming knots make it a rewarding target for high-contrast processing. Together, the pair offers a striking juxtaposition of a dying star in our own galaxy and an entire island universe far beyond.

Data calibration, registration and the final processing was done with PixInsight. The result was as follows:

Here is an overview of the used equipment and the exposure times:

• Date: March 2025
• Location: Varel
• Telescope/Lense: 6″ Lacerta Newton
• Focal length [mm]: 600
• Focal ratio: 4
• Mount: Skywatcher EQ 8
• Camera: Lacerta Deepsky 2600 M
• Autoguiding: Off-Axis with ZWO Asi 120 MM Mini
• Filter: L
• Exposure time [min]: 96
• Resolution: 0.66″/px (2* Drizzle)