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 Luminance

                               Mount:        Software Bisque Paramount ME

                               Acquisition Programs:   The Sky,CCDAutopliot III, CCD Soft. 

                               Processing Programs: CCDStack, Maxim DL, Photoshop

                               Date: February 12-March 19, 2008                              

                               Time: 21x20 min: total 7 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:  Songle Luminance channel used to produce this image, showing the central bright globular rgions at the center of this galaxy.  Minimal processing was performed, including data stretching (curves/levels in PS CS/3), deconvolution (CCD Stack) and unsharp masking.   

 

 

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