Date: 4/12/2012
Target: M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy
Telescope: Orion 8" f/4.9
Camera: ST-8300M
Filters: Baader LRGB
Exposures: LRGB = 150:60:60:60 minutes
Framing: North is up
Location: Mocksville, NC
Seeing: 3/5
Transparency: 4/5
FWHM: 3.9
Start Time: 9:30PM
End Time: 3:00AM
Captured with Sequence Generator Pro, processed with PixInsight.

From Wikipedia.org:

The Whirlpool Galaxy (also known as Messier 51a,M51a, or NGC 5194) is an interacting grand-design spiral galaxy located at a distance of approximately 23 million light-years in the constellation Canes Venatici. It is one of the most famous galaxies in the sky. The galaxy and its companion (NGC 5195) are easily observed by amateur astronomers, and the two galaxies may even be seen with binoculars.The Whirlpool Galaxy is also a popular target for professional astronomers, who study it to further understanding of galaxy structure(particularly structure associated with the spiral arms) and galaxy interactions.