Observation Log - May 7, 2000 - Tinton Falls, NJ

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NGC6118, a spiral galaxy in Serpens, magnitude 12.0, diameter 4'.7. This composite was created from 14 images taken between 3:17 a.m. and 3:58 a.m., for a total integration time of 28 minutes. Equipment included the f/6.3 focal reducer producing a focal ratio of f/4. Processing included dark frame subtraction, flat frames, then compositing using MaxIm, flatten background, process filter (FFT, low-pass, mild), and finally a contrast stretch.

NGC5394/NGC5395, two interacting galaxies in Canes Veratici. On the left is NGC 5395, magnitude 11.6, dimensions 3'.1 x 1'.7. At the top right is NGC 5394, magnitude 13.0, dimensions 1'.9 x 1'.1. This composite was created from 30 images taken between 01:53 a.m. and 02:38 a.m., for a total integration time of 30 minutes. Equipment included the f/6.3 focal reducer producing a focal ratio of f/4. Processing included dark frame subtraction, flat frames, then compositing using MaxIm, unsharp masking (kernel, low-pass), and finally a contrast stretch. If you look closely to the right of this pair, there is another, yet unidentified, tiny little galaxy, barely visible.

NGC5746, a galaxy in Virgo, magnitude 10.3, dimensions 7'.4 x 1'.1. This composite was created from 29 images taken between 12:31 a.m. and 01:41 a.m., for a total integration time of 39 minutes. Equipment included the f/6.3 focal reducer producing a focal ratio of f/4. Processing included dark frame subtraction, flat frames, then compositing using MaxIm, flatten background, unsharp masking (kernel, low-pass), and finally a contrast stretch.

NGC4656, a galaxy in Canes Venatici, magnitude 10.4, diameter 13'.8. This composite was created from 19 images taken between 11:09 p.m. and 12:09 a.m., for a total integration time of 48 minutes. Equipment included the f/6.3 focal reducer producing a focal ratio of f/4. Processing included dark frame subtraction, flat frames, then compositing using MaxIm, and finally a contrast stretch. Here is another rendition of the same image, this time with less contrast stretch to reveal detail in the core. NGC 4656 is highly distorted due to interaction with NGC 4631 (The Whale Galaxy).