NGC 3521

NGC 3521

NGC 3521 - Spiral Galaxy in Leo

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NGC 3521 is a 12th magnitude spiral galaxy in Leo 35 million light years from the Sun. It has a diameter of 98,000 light years. The bright star in the field is SAO 118661, a blue-white A8/A9 spectrum star 395 light years from the Sun. A spectrum stars are typically 1.4 to 2.1 the size of the Sun and burn much hotter (7600-10,000 K) compared to the Sun's temperature of 5772 K.

  • Location/Date: Gainesville FL, April 7, 2021
  • Telescope: Astro-Tech 10" Ritchey Chretien
  • Camera: QHY268M
  • Guider: QHY OAG-M; Lodestar X2
  • Mount: Astro-Physics 1100GTO
  • Image Acquisition/Guiding Software: N.I.N.A./PHD2
  • Image Processing: PixInsight; Photoshop
  • Captures: 200s subframes; LRGB 10-12 each