Monday 29 December 2008

The Leo Trio...

Objects: NGC 3628 (top), Messier 65 (NGC 3623, lower right), Messier 66 (NGC 3627, lower left)
Type: Galaxies
Distance:
25 million light years (NGC 3628), 24 million light years (M65), 21.5 million light years (M66)
Constellation:
Leo
Date: 08 April 2008
Equipment: SXV-H9, Vixen ED114S (f.l. 600mm)
Subframes:
60 x 120 second 2x2 binned subframes, 16 darks, 16 flats/flat darks, calibrated and stacked in AIP4Win. Final processing in AstroArt and PSP7.

A very clear, almost moonless night and the AstroArt maximum entropy deconvolution filter both played a part in obtaining crisp, tight star images and a good level of detail in these three galaxies that comprise this well-known grouping.

The refractor's 600mm focal length was ideally suited to the framing of all three galaxies on the SXV-H9 chip without having to resort to a mosaic.

Click on the image to enlarge.

No comments: