We Observed a Spiral Galaxy, Nebula Which on the Messier Naming System Is M99

We observed a spiral galaxy, nebula which on the Messier naming system is M99. Despite the deceptive naming of this object (Pinwheel Nebula), in actuality it is a spiral galaxy. This nebula was the second to be recognized as a spiral. M99 is part of the constellation, Coma Berenices. It is also one of the spiral members of the Virgo Clusters of galaxies. The distance to this object is 60 million light years away. Some of the interesting attributes to our picture are the spiral arms, and upon closer observation, there is a bright star in the upper left corner of the photograph. One other interesting fact is that there have been three supernovae discovered in M99. The date of our observation was on April 22, 2003, at around 100:55 pm. The observers of M99 are: Jared Jonker, Mark Speyers, Jim Thrower, and Ian Heyboer. We took 3 separate pictures of 300 seconds a piece. In order to calibrate our pictures we subtracted the dark picture from the 3 photographs. The next step was correcting the problem of dust particles on the lens; we divide the picture by the flat image. Those were the steps in the process of attained this finished product.