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

Links to the Image Index or Home Page.

[NOTE: The seeing was pretty good tonight. Cool, calm. Setup was focuser/f/3.3 reducer/camera. Temp about 32 degrees. Tonight the images were all taken WITHOUT the usual IR blocking filter. A new set of good flats were taken, as the camera WAS inserted all the way into the visual back. IMPORTANT NOTE: inserting the camera all the way into the visual back WITHOUT the IR filter in place allowed the camera to end up 3 or 4 mm closer to the f/3.3 focal reducer. This DRASTICALLY improved the final image, virtually eliminating the vignetting that was clearly visible in previous images taken in other configurations close to this. -GW]

NGC1003, a galaxy in Perseus, magnitude 11.4, dimensions 7'.0 x 3'.0, surface brightness 14.9 mag/sq arcmin. Note that there are several other galaxies in this field, all too faint to be identified using the SkyMap Pro 6.0 software. This effort used the f/3.3 focal reducer, but no IR blocking filter. The frames were shot between 11:19 and 12:14 a.m. the morning of the 7th. The composite was made from 26 exposures for a total integration time of 52 minutes. All images were processed in AstroArt with dark frame subtraction and flat frames, then compositing. The image was moved into MaxIm for a Digital Development filter (FFT, low-pass, mild), and finally a contrast stretch.

NGC1073, a spiral galaxy in Cetus, magnitude 11.0, dimensions 6'.0 x 6'.0, surface brightness 14.3 mag/sq arcmin. This image used the f/3.3 focal reducer, but no IR blocking filter. The frames were shot between 12:20 and 1:27 a.m. the morning of the 7th. The composite was made from 31 exposures for a total integration time of 62 minutes. All images were processed in AstroArt with dark frame subtraction and flat frames, then compositing and an unsharp mask. The image was moved into MaxIm for the final contrast stretch.

NGC2537, a spiral galaxy in Lynx, magnitude 11.7, dimensions 1'.7 x 1'.5, surface brightness 12.3 mag/sq arcmin. The smaller galaxy on the left is NGC2537a, magnitude 15.4, dimensions 36" x 36", surface brightness is 14.0. This image used the f/3.3 focal reducer, but no IR blocking filter. The frames were shot between 1:56 and 3:20 a.m. the morning of the 7th. The composite was made from 39 exposures for a total integration time of 78 minutes. All images were processed in AstroArt with dark frame subtraction and flat frames, then compositing and an unsharp mask. The image was moved into MaxIm for the final contrast stretch. Here is the same image with a lower contrast stretch that shows a little more detail in the galaxy core.

NGC3190, a galaxy in Leo, magnitude 11.1, dimensions 4'.5 x 1'.7, surface brightness 11.1 mag/sq arcmin. The galaxy on the left is NGC3192, magnitude 10.9, dimensions 2'.5 x 2'.5, surface brightness is 12.1. The spiral with the bar on the right is NGC3187, magnitude 13.4, dimensions 3'.5 x 1'.5, surface brightness 13.9. This image used the f/3.3 focal reducer, but no IR blocking filter. The frames were shot between 3:31 and 4:29 a.m. the morning of the 7th. The composite was made from 27 exposures for a total integration time of 55 minutes. All images were processed in AstroArt with dark frame subtraction and flat frames, then compositing and an unsharp mask. The image was moved into MaxIm for the final contrast stretch.

NGC3338, a spiral galaxy in Leo, magnitude 11.1, dimensions 5'.2 x 3'.5, surface brightness 13.5 mag/sq arcmin. This image used the f/3.3 focal reducer, but no IR blocking filter. The frames were shot between 4:33 and 5:37 a.m. the morning of the 7th. The composite was made from 30 exposures for a total integration time of 60 minutes. All images were processed in AstroArt with dark frame subtraction and flat frames, then compositing and an unsharp mask.