Spiral Galaxy NGC 6503 in the constellation Draco the dragon shows considerable detail of dust, gas, and stellar concentration, but if you look closely you will see a halo of stars extending half way to the edge of the image.  Highlighted below, the galaxy itself extends almost to the edge of this image and beyond.  The brightest star in this image exhibits a cross like pattern that is merely an artifact of imperfect optics amplified by the CCD camera.  That star is actually over ten times fainter than the faintest star an average human can see with the unaided eye.  The stats for NGC 6503 are NGC 6503 RA: 17h 49m 28.1s, Dec: +70° 08' 38", Mag: 10.9 (B), Size: 7.1'x2.4', and Class: SA(s)cd.

Optics:
Camera:
Exposure:

Celestron C11 F/10 (2800mm Focal Length)
SBIG ST10XME with Adaptive Optics
LRGB = 180:50:50:70 minutes

Date:
Location:
Imager:

May 19-20, 2006
Columbus, Texas
Kent E. Biggs