t MILK Y WAY OVER OWENS VALLEY Mike Oria Caltech astronomers picked an isolated area just north of Big Pine, California, to get a "quiet" environment for the Owens Valley Radio Observatory and its big 40-meter dish. But it's also an awesomely dark place for stargazing. DETAILS: Pentax 645Z medium-format DSLR camera at ISO 1600 and 25-mm lens. Exposure: 25 seconds. q TRIANGULUM'S PINWHEEL David Collings Messier 33 is the third "anchor" in our Local Group of galaxies and the second-closest spiral (after M31). Its sweeping arms, though not as distinct as those of other spiral galaxies, bristle with intense bursts of star formation. DETAILS: Celestron EdgeHD 11 aplanatic Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with Hyperstar and Starlight Xpress Trius-SX814C color CCD camera. Total exposure: 72 minutes. q q STALKING THE HERON Bruce Waddington Arp 84, aptly named the Heron, consists of the nearly face-on spiral NGC 5395 and its entangled companion, NGC 5394. Both galaxies are tucked in southeastern Canes Venatici. DETAILS: PlaneWave Instruments CDK12.5 astrograph, QSI 640ws CCD camera, and LRGB filters. Total exposure: 9.8 hours. sk yandtelescope.com * FE B RUA RY 2 018 75http://www.skyandtelescope.com/