| Designation |
Messier 96 (NGC 3368)
|
| Type | Spiral Galaxy - type SAB(rs)ab II |
| Constellation | Leo |
| Coordinates | Telescope centered at RA '10 46 40' - Dec '+ 11 51 10' |
| Magnitude | 9.2 |
| Size | 66,000 light years in diameter |
| Distance | 31 million light years |
| Dimensions | 4.6 x 6.9 arcminutes |
| Image Field | 22 x 16 arcminutes |
|
Notes:
|
M96 is part of the Leo I Galaxy cloud and has an absolute magnitude of -20.7, which equates to a luminosity of about 16 billion suns. while it's diameter is roughly 66,000 light years, the outer ring, which is clearly visible above extends out 100,000 light years edge to edge. |
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|
| Telescopes | Meade 10" LX200 f/10 on Losmandy G-11 with Gemini L3 |
| Focal Length | 1575 mm @ f/6.3 |
| Guiding | SXV guidehead through Takahashi FS60C @ f/5.9 |
| Telescope Control | Maxim DL (V4.07) |
| CCD Camera |
Starlight Xpress SXV-H9 - USB 2 ExView progressive scan
1392
x 1040 (6.45 uM) pixel array (8.98 x 6.71 active area)
|
| Image Scale | .88 arcsec/pixel |
| Filters |
1.25" Astronomik Type II Dichroic IR blocking
filters in Astronomik filter drawer - Clear, Red, Green, Blue
|
| Exposures |
Total
exposure time: 132 minutes: Luminance 60 (12 x 5) unbinned,
RG&B - 24 (8x3) minutes each binned 2x2
Sigma combined
|
| Calibration | flats, bias |
| Processing Software | Maxim DL, Photoshop CS (8.0), NEAT image (color channel smoothing) |
| Location | Chiefland Astronomy Village, FL - 29.393 N , - 82.863 W |
| Date/Time | 03/13/05 / '01:02 - 03:46' UT |
