The barred spiral galaxy Messier 83 (Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, NGC 5236) in the
constellation Hydra on April 19 / 20, 2015. The galaxy is approximately 15 million light years from Earth and was
discovered by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille at the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) in 1752 (source: Wikipedia).
Forty-one 3 minute exposures at ISO 800 with no dark frame subtraction were stacked with Deep Sky Stacker (resulting in a 2 h 10 min exposure)
and further processed in Photoshop. The low position in the sky (declination -30°, observing latitude 47° 08' North, Switzerland) was a
real challenge (maximum height above horizon: 13°).
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Equipment: Canon EOS 450D Baader modified camera, TeleVue Paracorr Type II coma corrector,
16" f/4.5 "Ninja" dobsonian telescope riding on a dual-axis Tom Osypowski equatorial platform,
Lacerta MGEN autoguider, Lacerta off axis system (field of view comparison:
image of the moon with the same equipment).
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