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Scope: C8 f/8; Location: Dos Picos Park - Ramona, CA;
29 May. 2006; Camera: Artemis285
Exposure: 10 x 300 sec Luminance exposures with IR Block Filter (bin 1x1);
8 x 120 sec RGB (bin 2x2)
Processing: Images were captured in Artemis Capture (as FITs). Aligned/stacked in Registax
3 and saved as FITS. Luminance and Color channels were numerically scaled and
color balanced in Astroart. Channels were co-registered in Astroart.
Central Gradient was removed in Astroart using a generated Flat. Curves and Levels applied in
Photoshop to optimize object features. Final LRGB combine was done in Photoshop using Luminance Layering (or
LLRGB). G2V color calibration factors as well as Atmospheric Extinction
factors were applied to the color channels for color correction. Selective sharpening with layer mask was applied to galaxy
the dust lanes and spiral arms. Color
balancing and final touches were done in Photoshop. SGBNR was used to smooth
background noise on the luminance construction and the final result.
Final Image size is approximately 1392x1040.
This image was a guided image. North is up. This image replaces an earlier image that can be seen in the
Archives here. M83 is well known object
in the constellation of Hydra
right on the border with Centaurus. It is also known as the Southern Pinwheel
Galaxy. It is about 15 million light years distant from Earth. M83 is an
intermediate class galaxy between a normal spiral and a barred spiral galaxy.
Two faint galaxies PGC48132 and PGC724525 can be seen as small patches just to
the left of M83. Horizontal FOV is about 20'
Image Center is approximately Equatorial 2000: RA: 13h 37m 00s Dec: -29°52'02"