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Eyad Khailany
Outskirts of Erbil, Iraq
10/06/2022
10:00 pm

Equipment Details:

ES CF102 Triplet (f 7)
AVX EQ Mount (autoguided through PHD2)
Stallarvue 60 mm guiding scope with ZWO AI224 MC (guiding camera)
Imaging camera: Canon D40 (Astro modification)
Filters: 2" Optolong L-Pro / Astronomik Light Pollution
Software: EOS Backyard / Stellarium / Astro Tortilla / PHD2

Post-processing Details:

5.2 hours of integration
67 x 280" ISO 1250
Numerous Dark, Bias and Flat frames
Stacked in DSS
Edited with minor cropping in PixInsight & GIMP 2

Image Details:

The Sculptor Galaxy (also known as the Silver Coin, Silver Dollar Galaxy, NGC 253, or Caldwell 65) is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor. The Sculptor Galaxy is a starburst galaxy, which means that it is currently undergoing a period of intense star formation.
As one of the brightest galaxies in the sky, the Sculptor Galaxy can be seen through binoculars and is near the star Beta Ceti. It is considered one of the most easily viewed galaxies in the sky after the Andromeda Galaxy.
The Sculptor Galaxy is a good target for observation with a telescope with a 300 mm diameter or larger. In such telescopes, it appears as a galaxy with a long, oval bulge and a mottled galactic disc. Although the bulge appears only slightly brighter than the rest of the galaxy, it is fairly extended compared to the disk. In 400 mm scopes and larger, a dark dust lane northwest of the nucleus is visible, and over a dozen faint stars can be seen superimposed on the bulge