M-74 (NGC-628) Type SA spiral galaxy located in the constellation of Pisces. Sometimes called "The Phantom Galaxy". It is 32 million light years away from Earth and is 95,000 light year in diameter. It contains over 100 billion stars. The galaxy contains two clearly defined spiral arms, so is a typical "grand design" spiral galaxy. It was discovered by Pierre Mechain in 1780 and added to Messier's catalog as number 74.
This image is a 2 hour integration of 10 minute exposures through the Celestron C-11 at f/2 using the HyperStar III imaging system and the Starlight Express SXVR-H694C color CCD camera. Guided, captured and combined using Maxim DL5 Pro. Post processed using PhotoShop CS2, Gradient XTerminator, StarShrink, Carboni's Astro Tools, and NoiseWare.