Featured Photograph

Messier 51 (Whirlpool Galaxy)
© 2026 James Glish

The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) is easily observed by most any telescope looking to the north in our clear, dark Flagstaff sky. M51 itself is an interacting grand spiral galaxy that's paired with its neighbor dwarf galaxy NGC 5195. They are connected by a tidal bridge of dust and gas and both are surrounded by a subtle translucent plume of material extending out from the pair. During post-processing, I've tried to maintain a balance between the contrasting spiral structure details of M51, the brilliant light of NGC 5195, and the ethereal glow of the plume.

DETAILS: Captured using a Celestron Edge HD 8 inch SCT telescope at a native focal length of 2100mm (f/10) and an ASI294mc cooled camera (with UV/IR filter) controlled by an ASIAir Plus and ZWO autofocuser. A stacked image consisting of 75 three-minute sub frames (3.75 hours) was processed with Pixinsight and Topaz DeNoise AI.

Jim Glish

The featured photograph is any astronomical photograph provided by one of our members. If you are a member and have a photograph you would like to submit, please refer to the Featured Photo Guidelines for more information.

Of Note

Read the recent New York Times article celebrating Flagstaff’s dark skies which featured CAS member Jim Glish and some of his stunning astrophotography.

Members contributions on the Mars and Saturn Conjunction

CAS donation of SeeStar Telescope under Outreach

Special Events

Activities for June 2026

CAS Monthly Meetings and Astronomical Programs are held the Saturday closest to the Full Moon at the Mars Hill Campus of Lowell Observatory, Hendricks Center for Planetary Studies Auditorium (6:45 pm - 8:00 pm), unless otherwise noted followed by refreshments, and informal discussion. Meetings are open and free to the public.