Messier 77 (M77), also known as NGC 1068 or the Squid Galaxy, is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellationCetus. It is about 47 million light-years (14 Mpc) away from Earth, and was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780, who originally described it as a nebula. Méchain then communicated his discovery to Charles Messier, who subsequently listed the object in his catalog.[8] Both Messier and William Herschel described this galaxy as a star cluster.[8] Today, however, the object is known to be a galaxy. It is one of the brightest Seyfert galaxies visible from Earth
Planewave CDK17 F4.5, ZWO ASI2600MC Duo, Paramount MEII mount with absolute encoders. Unguided 2.3 hour image At Desert Astro Observatory in Sierra Vista Dark skies. 12/15/25
