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February 2021 - Picture of the Month
Spiral Galaxy NGC 2403 in Camelopardalis
This image of NGC2403 was provided David Ratledge. You can find more details on David's blog and a larger version by clicking on the image above. I've gone for a galaxy this month because we're heading towards season, and besides when was the last time I had one on Picture of the Month (it was May 2020). So if you're going to choose a galaxy it might as well be a spectacular example of its kind.
I think that NGC 2403, as presented here by David Ratledge, is just that: a bright spiral galaxy actively forming stars and hence supernovae. It's part of the M81 group, and relatively local to us at about 10 million light-years. It's been the subject of more than one APOD, and it was even Galaxy of the Month in January 2013.
Most importantly it's a galaxy that I've managed to observe from my light polluted home even marking it as worth a revisit. It was caught at relatively low power (x64) with my 10-in scope, as always a darker sky would have been helpful. I didn't catch much detail that night, which explains the note to revisit. So this isn't just another object for astrophotographers.
James Whinfrey - Website Administrator.