Messier 74, sometimes called Phantom Galaxy, is a galaxy located in the constellation Pisces. This galaxy has two prominent spiral arms and it is a typical example of a spiral galaxy. The distance of 35 million light-years from Earth has been estimated, therefore what we are looking at here is a 35 million year old picture.
The photo was taken in Schwarzwald under decent dark skies and it’s an integration of 45 photos, each 3 minutes exposure, i.e. more than 2 hours of exposure time in total.

Technical details:
Telescope | Newton 150/600 mm |
Aperture | 150 mm |
Focal length | 660 mm |
Mount | iOptron CEM25P |
Autoguiding | QHYCCD miniGuideScope 130 mm f/4.3, ZWO 174 MM |
Camera | ZWO 071 Pro @-10C |
Corrector | Explore Scientific HR coma corrector |
Filters | Astronomik L-1 – UV IR Block Filter |
Exposure | 45x180s, Gain 94, bin 1×1, |
Date | 2018-10-12 |