NGC 6339 is a barred spiral galaxy with a fantastic neighbor PGC 60007 to the lower left in this image.   Looking closely at the image reveals a wealth of other more distant (smaller and fainter) galaxies as smudges.   The blues and reds in 6339 shows lots of star formation.   The brownish color of PGC60007 indicates lots of dust and gas.   Both galaxies contain hundreds of billions of stars.   All stars in this image are indeed part of our own Milky Way galaxy and not part of these two galaxies.   NGC 6339 stats are NGC 6339 RA: 17h 17m 06.8s, Dec: +40° 50' 45", Mag: 13.3 (P), Size: 3.0'x1.7', Class: SBd.
 

Optics:
Camera:
Exposure:

RCOS 20" (4166mm Focal Length)
SBIG ST10XME with Adaptive Optics
LRGB = 370:70:80:60 minutes

Date:
Location:
Imager:

Jun 23, 2009
Columbus, Texas
Kent E. Biggs