NGC 3628 is a great example of an edge on view of a spiral galaxy. The dust band running through the center of the galaxy is the dust and gas located in its spiral arms which are enveloped in a halo of stars, gas, and more dust. There is some debate as to whether NGC3628 is a barred spiral galaxy or just a spiral galaxy, this may have something to do with the orientation of the bars relative to our view here on Earth. I wonder if there will ever be a way to definitively know, in the meantime it’s something interesting to ponder. Also, dimly visible in this image is a portion of its 300,000-light-year tidal tail drifting off to the left, this is the product of its interaction with other nearby galaxies. NGC 3628 is also part of the galaxy group known as the Leo Triplet. At about 35 million light years distant, light we see from this galaxy left NGC 3628 when here on Earth Daphoenus roamed North America during the Middle Eocene. Daphoenus or ‘bear dogs’ were an interesting predatory mammal that were about the size of a coyote based on the fossil record and had characteristics of both bears and dogs hence the name. I’ll bet they would eat a hamburger if they ever came across one 😊 Technical Info: Captured and processed by: Tom Masterson and Terry Hancock using Grand Mesa Observatory's System 2a William Optics FLT156mm APO now available with our subscription:
https://grandmesaobservatory.com/equipment-rentals.Location: GrandMesaObservatory.com Purdy Mesa, Colorado
Captured over 4 nights in March 2023 for Total acquisition time of 9.6 hours
RGB 86 min 144 x 244 sec
Camera: QHY294C one shot color CMOS
Filter Wheel: QHYCFW3 Medium
Gain 2850, Offset 76
Calibrated with dark, and dark Flat Frames
Optics: William Optics FLT 156mm F7.8 1228mm
Image Scale: 0.76 arcsec/pix
Field of View: 0.90 0.61
EQ Mount: Paramount ME
Image Acquisition software NINA Pre-Processing in PixInsight Post Processed in Photoshop CC
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