NGC 253, The Sculptor Galaxy

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This is the Sculptor Galaxy in the constellation Sculptor of course and it's also known as the Silver Coin Galaxy.  NGC 253 is an almost edge on spiral galaxy and is a large object at about half a degree along its long axis.  It's an easy object to observe even with binoculars from dark sky because of its bright core and large size.  This object was discovered in 1783 by Caroline Herschel (William Herschel's sister) using a small Newtonian telescope of about 27 inches in length.

Date:  10/1/2008

Location:  Okie-Tex Star Party

Telescope:  LX200 10" SCT @ f/6.3

Mount:  AP-1200 GTOCP3

Camera:  Hutech Modified Canon 350D @ ISO 800

Exposure Count:  24 x 10 min, 240 minutes total exposure

Guiding:  SBIG ST402ME, CCDSoft