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M109 Barred Spiral Galaxy: DCT First Light Big Pic Gallery

Jul 21, 2012 03:00 AM ET
Lowell Observatory. Used with permission.

July 21, 2012 — The Discovery Channel Telescope at Lowell Observatory, near Flagstaff, Arizona, is complete and has begun observing the cosmos with its 16-million-pixel camera. This camera is a close relative to the NSF-funded 36-million-pixel Large Monolithic Imager (LMI) that is now undergoing advanced testing and will soon be the primary imager for the DCT.

In this first light observation by the DCT, the barred spiral galaxy M109 has been imaged. M109 is around 84 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major.

PHOTOS: Get a behind-the-scenes tour of the Discovery Channel Telescope

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