NGC 2903 - First Galaxy of the Season (Again 2019)

NGC 2903 is once again the first galaxy I have imaged for galaxy season.  It is a barred spiral galaxy about 20 million light-years distant and popular among amateur astronomers as it is easy to find. Being in the constellation Leo, near the top of the lion's head it was in the perfect spot for me to image.  This year I have a new larger telescope so I may go after more galaxies this year.  I am happy with how this one turned out and processing was very easy compared to my last couple of projects.

The spiral arms show more detail than last years image and along with the details of the bright core and extraordinary dust and gas clouds makes for a pleasant image. NGC 2903 exhibits an exceptional rate of star formation activity near its center. The size of this galaxy is just a little smaller than our own Milky Way at about 80,000 light-years across making it a good twin of us (source: APOD).  If you have a good eye just below the galaxy there is a small 'little fuzzy', this is PGC 27115 - UGC 5086, Stellarium has it listed as an active magnitude 18.00 galaxy. 

NGC 2903

Location: Home Monroe, CT
Date: 3-5-19, 3-7-19, 3-25-19
Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
Telescope: Astro-Tech AT115EDT 115mm Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 805mm
f/7
Focal Reducer: Astro-Tech 0.8x Focal Reducer/Field Flattener for Refractor Telescopes
Mount: Orion Sirius
Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW 8x 1.25"
Filter: ZWO R, G, B, L
Autoguiding: QHY-5L-II-M attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope with Helical Focuser
Exposure: R 40 x 90, G 39 x 90, B 38 x 90, L 57 x 90 (4.4 hrs)
Gain: 139
Offset 21
Temp: 0 C
Post Processing: PixInsight and Photoshop
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