Messier 74 - The Phantom Galaxy

Messier 74, also known as NGC 628, or The Phantom Galaxy, is a large spiral galaxy in the constellation of Pisces. It is about 32 million light-years away from Earth. The galaxy contains two clearly defined spiral arms and is therefore used as an archetypal example of a grand design spiral galaxy.

The galaxy's low surface brightness makes it the most difficult Messier object for amateur astronomers to observe. Its relatively large angular size and the galaxy's face-on orientation make it an ideal object for professional astronomers who want to study spiral arm structure and spiral density waves. It is estimated that M74 contains about 100 billion stars.
>br> Messier 74 was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780. He then communicated his discovery to Charles Messier, who listed the galaxy as Messier 74 in his catalog of permanent celestial objects that should not be confused comets.

Equipment:
OTA: Apertura 6" Ritchey-Chrétien Reflector (f/9)
Filter: SVBONY CLS City Light Supression Filter.
Camera: ZWO ASI183MC Pro Cooled Color Camera (20.1 mp)
Mount: Explore Scientific EX02GT w/PMC-8
246x30s subs (2 hours) stacked in SharpCap 4.1 with darks & flats.
Processed with GraXpert, Topaz Denoise AI, and Siril.