SBIG ST10 E
L=9x2m 2xBin, R=7x2m,G=6x2m,B=9x2m 3xBin
Pollux 0.8m azimutal mounted telescope
3557mm (=140 inch) f/4.44
SBIG Filter Set provided with the CFW8
3-lens Wynne corrector
average of 2.3 arc seconds
MaximDL LRGB composit, PS 5.5, CCDSharp
during the exposure the sky foged in and during the color exposures only the brightest stars in the sky where visible. We where surprised how bad conditions can get unless you really have to stop imaging.
Philipp Keller and Christian Fuchs

The galaxy is very nearby (less than 1 degree) the famous owl nebula M97 and belongs to the Ursa Major cloud which is about 45 Million light years away. The galaxy has a lot of dust and nearly no core is visible. Several large HII regions can be seen. It is not imaged that often by amateurs although it shows nice details even in modest telescopes.