Messier 100 is a grand design spiral galaxy located in the constellation Coma Berenices. It is one of the brightest and largest galaxies in the Virgo Cluster and lies about 55 million light-years from Earth.
M100 spans over 100,000 light-years in diameter and contains hundreds of billions of stars. It is seen almost face-on, revealing two prominent, well-defined spiral arms along with several fainter ones. These arms are rich in gas, dust, and young, hot blue stars, giving the galaxy its striking, symmetrical appearance.
Messier 100 is a starburst galaxy. Its most intense star formation occurs near the center, where gas is concentrated in a ring-like structure formed by tightly wound spiral arms and a small central bar. This region has been producing new stars in repeated bursts for at least 500 million years.
Discovered in 1781 by Pierre Méchain and later added to the Messier catalog by Charles Messier, M100 was among the first galaxies recognized to have a spiral structure. Today, it remains an important object for studying how galaxies evolve, form stars, and interact with their environments.
Setup
Main Deep Sky Setup
Telescope / Camera Lens
UNC200
Camera
Omegon veTEC 571c
Mount
Skywatcher EQ6r-Pro
Filter
Astronomik L-2, L-eXtreme
Integration Time
RGB: 188 x 180 s = 9 h 24 min
L-eXtreme: 87 x 300 s = 7 h 15 min
Total: 16 h 39 min
Comments
-
Type of Main Object
Galaxy
Constellation
Coma Berenices
Observation Site
Goldau, CH
Bortle Class 4
Date
31st December 2025
24th - 26th February 2026

