Astrophotography by Keith B. Quattrocchi

NGC 2903
 Spiral Galaxy in Leo
 LRGB Image
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  Published in:
Astronomy Magazine: Spectacular Universe", page 80, 2011
Astronomy Magazine: "Spring's Best and Brightest Galaxies". April, 2018
Astronomy Magazine: "Into the Lion's Den", page 64, April, 2019

Image Acquisition Information                      
 
Telescope: 16" RCOS Ritchey-Chretien Telescope (ion milled at f/9) 
Camera: SBIG STL-6303 M
Guiding: SBIG AOL, Astrodon  MOAG AOG (SBIG 237 with FLR)
Filters: Astrodon L, R, G, B
Mount: Software Bisque Paramount ME
Acquisition Programs:  The Sky,CCDAutopliot III, CCD Soft. 
Processing Programs: CCDStack, Maxim DL, Photoshop
Date: February 12-March 9, 2008                               
Time: 21x20 min ( 7 hours) each for L, R, G, B: total 28 hrs                           
Processing:  CCD Stack and PhotoShop CS/3
 
Image Infornmation:  NGC 20903 is a spiral galaxy in Leo, some 20 million light years distant.  It is known for its bright blue spiral arms, large number of star clusters and the high frequency of star formation at the center of the galaxy.  In this image a small cluster of bright globular objects can be seen at the center of the galaxy, in the midpoint of the barred section of the galaxy. The significance of this finding is unknown to me, though it may represent areas of intense star formation.
Additional Comments:  Image processing was performed by layering the luminance layer with an RGB layer in PS CS/3.  Additional procesing included data stretching (curves/levels), high pass filtering and smoothing with Kodac Gem.