M63

The Sunflower Galaxy or M63, is a tilted spiral located in the constellation of Canes Venatici, not far in the sky from where M51, the Whirlpool galaxy resides. This shot was taken at the Central Florida Astro Society's Astrofest 2004. The stars around the galaxy have an unusual shape (flaring coma), but that's due to some shifting in the optics relative to the focal reducer and ccd chip. This was evident when looking at the first frame (lower in the sky) and comparing to the last (near the zenith). A close look in the frame reveals quite a few small and faint galaxies.

Image info:

12"LX200 on a Losmandy Titan Mount

Starlight Express
SXV-H9C

33x4 mins

f/5.3 (Optec FR)

Stacked in Maxim with Sigma Reject (Russ Croman) and processed in Astroart (no darks and no flats)

guided with an STV on a piggybacked Sky90 refractor

3.19.04

CFAS Astrofest in Seminole County