CLICK ON IMAGE FOR FULL SIZE VIEW (1800x1351)

Scope: FSQ-106N 106 mm refractor at f/5, Location: Blair Valley, Anza Borrego Desert, CA  10 March 2013  Camera: Artemis285

Exposure: 15 x 6 min  (1x1 bin) exposure with UV/IR block, 10 x 3 min (2x2 bin) RGB exposures.

Processing: Data Collection -  Artemis Capture (as FITs).  Calibrated, stacked (Sigma Combine), LRGB channel registration, equalization, central gradient removal - Astroart.  Curves, Levels, LRGB combine and finishing  - Photoshop. Final color Calibration with eXcalibrator. This image is a straightforward LRGB combine with Luminance layering.     Final Image size is approximately 1800x1351.

North is to the left in this image.  NGC 4261  is the elliptical galaxy in upper left in this field. NGC 4281 is the lower galaxy in the triangular group on the right. There are many smaller galaxies in this field as well.  There is also the Abel 1516 galaxy cluster that can be seen in the upper right corner - the dominant galaxy in this cluster is the faint reddish PGC 97407 galaxy. The pretty blue spiral seen in the NGC 4281 group is  NGC 4273.  NGC 4281 is about 110 million light years distant from Earth. Horizontal FOV is 55'

Image center is approximately - Equatorial 2000: RA: 12h 19m 58s Dec: +05°34'23"