NGC 2903

Leo - Spiral Galaxy - Magnitude 8.9

NGC 2903 - Spiral Galaxy in Leo

Because it's not a Messier classified galaxy, this great object tends to get overlooked. It's bright, around 8.9 magnitude, and quite large, bigger than those other, more famous, Leo galaxies that ARE listed as Messier objects. Even worse than that, this object didn't even qualify for Sir Patrick Moore's Caldwell catalog, which I guess should be expected since many people don't give that catalog a whole lot of credibility. This excellent galaxy can be found close to the "mouth" of the lion in the Leo constellation. Simply a great object, visible in scopes of all sizes from dark skies. Don't let the fact that people tend to forget about it keep you from viewing it your next night under the stars.

Location: Ballauer Observatory in Azle, Texas
Seeing: 6/10 (1.5 FWHM)
Transparency: 3/10
Date and Time: March 17, 2003 @ 1:00AM
Equipment: Tak FSQ-106 @ f/5 and Takahashi NJP mount
Camera: SBIG ST-10xme with CFW-8a filter wheel, standard SBIG filters
Exposure Information: RGB image, 20:20:20 minutes (10 minute subexposures)
Processing Information: Dark frame calibration, deblooming, gradient removal, registration and Sigma Combine in MaxIm 3.0. Digital development in Images Plus. Levels, Curves, color balance, and cropping in Photoshop CS.

Exposure Notes: More exposure time is need for this object. An imbalance along the DEC axis caused the poor guiding, shown here by the slightly elongated star images. Special thanks to Fred Koch for the loan of the NJP mount and ST-10xme camera. This is a "first light" shot taken with that mount.