NGC 4244

Click on image for larger version.

NGC 4244 is a nearby spiral galaxy that is estimated to be between 4-8 million light years away. Its nearness is evident in this image in that many small features of the galaxy are resolved. Note the periodic "clumping" of stellar regions along the disk. These are probably regions that are line-of-sight along the spiral arms of the galaxy. Judging from the spaces between the clumps, this galaxy probably has widely spaced arms (Sc).It is difficult to say whether the "star" in the center of the disk is a foreground star which happens to be in that direction, or whether this is the nucleus of the galaxy.

Equipment

16in RC Optical Systems telescope Operating at f/8
Paramount ME Robotic Telescope Mount
SBIG ST10XME CCD camera with color filter wheel

L R G B color production was used to create this image.

Luminance = 90 minutes binned 1x1
 Red = 20 minutes binned 2x2
 Green = 20 minutes binned 2x2
 Blue = 20 minutes binned 2x2
  • One iteration of L-R deconvolution (sharpening) algorithm using CCDsharp was applied to the luminance image.

  • Digital Development (DDP) via Maxim/DL was also used in order to display the the very dim and very bright details of the image simultaneously.

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    Minimum credit line: Joe Naughton and Steve Stafford/Adam Block/NOAO/AURA/NSF

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    Updated: 2/05/2003