The Coma Cluster (also known as Abell 1656) is a large cluster of galaxies containing more than 1000 galaxies. It's located in and is named for the constellation Coma Berenices and lies a mean distance of 321 million light years from Earth. By studying gravitational anomalies in the Coma Cluster, in 1933 astronomer Fritz Zwicky proposed that galaxies are bound by an unexplained mass he termed dark matter.

Technical Information       

Date:                       April, 2014

Location:                 Green Valley, Arizona

Telescope:              Takahashi FSQ-106EDX

Camera:                  SBIG STT-8300M

Filters:                     Astrodon Gen 2

Mount:                     AstroPhysics 1200

Exposure:                LRGB = 6:2:2:2 hours, all unbinned

Software:                 Acquisition: Maxim DL 5, TheSkyX, Pinpoint, CCD Commander

                                Processing: CCDStack, PhotoShop CS6 with various plugins