The Last Porchlight in M88

by Andrew Burwell

Objects in field: M 88, NGC 4501

Equipment: Celestron EdgeHD 11", ZWO ASI2600MC Pro

Integration: 15h

Cal Rusk lived on Mercy, a dry little rock on the far outer limb of M88, where the spiral arm thinned into dust, cold hydrogen, and bad decisions. His cabin leaned into the wind even though Mercy had no wind worth mentioning, just habit and pessimism. At night, Cal sat on the porch with a tin cup of engine coffee and watched the galaxy curve overhead like a silver lariat, all those inner stars…