RA 1h 37m · Dec +16° 03′

5′

A nearly face-on grand-design spiral, often cited as the most challenging Messier object to observe due to its very low surface brightness spread over a large area. Deep imaging rewards the effort — the two well-defined spiral arms and knotty HII regions are beautiful.

Galaxy

Phantom Galaxy

M 74 · Pisces

These photons are ~32 million years old

UV/IRUV/IR-cut. Blocks ultraviolet and infrared so refractor optics stay in focus across the visible band.

ZWO Seestar S50ZWO Seestar S50Aperture 50mm · Focal length 250mm · f/5 · Apo triplet with ED element · Sony IMX462 colour CMOS sensor (1920 x 1080, 2.1MP)…View equipment →

⧉ 5 versions of this capture — pick one to see its image and log

Date: 25/09/2025
Location: 36.3858° N, 28.0412° E
Integration: 27m (161 × 10s)
Software: ZWO Seestar app
Notes: ·
Total effort: 2h 15m over 1 night
Moon: 🌒Waxing crescent, 10% lit
Plate solve
Centre RA: 1h 36m 50.0s
Centre Dec: +16° 03′ 17″
Field: 42.8′ × 76.0′
Pixel scale: 2.38″/px
Orientation: -133.0° E of N
Hemisphere: Northern

Also in this frame

M74

Catalogued objects inside the plate-solved field, nearest the centre first. Highlighted names have their own photo here.

TelescopeZWO Seestar S50

CameraZWO Seestar S50 Camera

RigFamily Holiday Rig

Where to find it

Finder chart

Star field and catalogued objects inside the plate-solved field, oriented to the solve. Fully offline, from the bundled star and deep-sky catalogues.

Interactive sky chart centred on 1 36 50.0 +16 03 17. Drag to pan, scroll to zoom, click a star or object to identify it. Zoom in to the plate-solved field for the DSS survey photo; zoom out for constellation figures and neighbouring catalogue objects. Fully self-hosted: the star and deep-sky catalogues and the survey image are all served from this site, so nothing external loads. Imagery: DSS2 colour (STScI / POSS-II). Constellation figures © Dominic Ford (GPLv3).

Captured from · Ρόδος (Rhodes)

36.3858° N, 28.0412° E · view on OpenStreetMap ↗ · Place data © GeoNames (CC BY)

Frequently asked questions

What kind of object is M 74?

M 74 is a galaxy.

Which constellation is M 74 in?

M 74 lies in the constellation Pisces.

How far away is M 74?

The light in this image left M 74 roughly ~32 million years ago, so that is how far back in time you are seeing it.

What are the coordinates of M 74?

M 74 sits at right ascension 01h 36m 50s and declination +16° 03′ 17″ (J2000).

When is the best time to photograph M 74?

M 74 rides highest in the evening sky around October, reaching about 70° above the horizon from around 36°N.

What equipment was used to photograph M 74?

This image of M 74 was captured with ZWO Seestar S50 and ZWO Seestar S50 Camera.

How much exposure time went into this image?

This image of M 74 represents 27m (161 × 10s) + 27m (161 x 10s) of total integration time.

Phantom Galaxy

Where to find it

Frequently asked questions

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