M61 Barred Spiral Galaxy
Messier 61 (also known as M61 or NGC 4303) is an intermediate barred spiral galaxy in the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. It was first discovered by Barnaba Oriani on May 5, 1779, six days before Charles Messier discovered the same galaxy.  Messier had observed it on the same night as Oriani but had mistaken it for a comet.

M61 is one of the largest members of Virgo Cluster, and belongs to a smaller subgroup known as the S Cloud. Eight extra-galactic supernovae have so far been observed in M61, making it one of the most productive galaxies for such cataclysmic events, with the last supernova occurring in 2020.(SN2020jfo). Here is a link to my image of the last Supernova that appeared in this galaxy in 2020. https://www.galacticimages.com/m61-spiral-galaxy-with-supernova-2020-jfo/

Captured on 03-19-2021 with my
Explore Scientific 102mm Triplet APO Refractor telescope, Bisque ME Mount, QHY 183C Cooled Cmos Camera, 120min exposure, (24 x 300sec subs), SkyX Camera capture software, PHD2, DSS, Pixinsight, & Adobe CS 2021.

Best Regards,

John Chumack

www.galacticimages.com