Primordial Light: NGC 2903
 
ngc2903
The Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 2903 lies at a distance of 20.5 million light years from Earth at RA 09h 32m DEC 21° 29' in the constellation Leo. NGC 2903 has a visual magnitude of 9.6. TeleVue 76, Canon 20D with Tele Vue .8x Focal Reducer/Field Flattener. Two four-minute exposures @ ISO 400, combined in Photoshop. This image has been enlarged 100% from the image below. As is often the case with the objects I photograph, I did not see this object visually; I used computer software to steer my telescope to it. Made on February 12, 2005.
ngc2903-2916
The rest of the story: this wider view of the NGC 2903 image reveals a smudge near the left side. That is the magnitude 12.7 spiral galaxy NGC 2916. Extreme enlargement and contrast enhancement of this image showed hints of spiral structure in NGC 2916 as well. The distance to NGC 2916 is unknown. This photo clearly illustrates why amateur astronomers often refer to deep-sky objects as “faint fuzzies.”
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