M63: This is a 9th magnitude spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici. It is estimated to be approximately 24 million light years from earth, and approximately 90,000 light years in diameter.

Technical Information:

LRGB: 75:35:40:25 (five minute images, L, R and G all unbinned; B binned 2x2).

Equipment: 10" LX200 at f/4.6, and an SBIG ST-7E camera/CFW-8 color filter wheel

Image Acquisition/Camera Control: CCDSoft V5.

Processing: All images calibrated (darks and dawn flats) and registered in AIP4WIN. All layers mean combined in Ray Gralak's sigma reject program. Luminance layer run through Richardson-Lucy in AIP4WIN. Color combine, and adjustment of curves and levels performed, and unsharp mask and gaussian blurs applied, in Photoshop 6.

Location: My yard in Redmond, Washington, elevation 500'.

Date: All images taken during the night of 3/1/02.

Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous.

CCD Temperature: -30C

Copyright Mark de Regt, 2002