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M97 and M108 are less than one degree from each other in the sky, and can been seen in the same low-power field of view in a telescope. M97 is visible in small telescope. Large apertures are required to see the dark areas, or "eyes," inside the "face" of M97, which give it the appearance of an owl, hence its common name, the Owl Nebula. M97 is estimated to be 2,600 light-years from our solar system. M108 has a high surface brightness and is also visible in small telescopes. Moderate apertures are required to see the mottling from dust lanes in the galaxy. M108 is estimated to be 45 million light-years from our solar system.

Instrument: ST-10XME/Vixen 102-ED
F-ratio: f/6.5
Exposure: LRGB: L 8 x 4 minutes, binned 1x1: R 9 x 4 minutes: G 9 x 4 minutes: B 8 x 4 minutes: RGB binned 2x2
Date: April 10, 2005
Location: Landers, California, USA
Technical Notes: Individual exposures were dithered using CCDAutoPilot2 and then sigma combined. RGB images were combined in Registar 1.0 and the LRGB image composited in Photoshop CS.