NGC 3521 “Marquise in the SKy”

Like a big solitaire marquise diamond, this wonderful nighttime galactic gem is 35 million light years away in the constellation Leo.

 A flocculent intermediate spiral galaxy, NGC 3521 lacks the clearly-defined arm structure that we see in some other spirals. Surrounded by dust, the galaxy has numerous star-forming areas and a luminous center. The dust bubbles are likely from encounters and mergers long ago with satellite galaxies.

 Also, notice the rarely seen Hydrogen Alpha jets emanation from this galaxy.

 Imaged in LRGB and H alpha on our PlaneWave CDK 1000 and CDK 700 at Observatorio El Sauce, Chile.

 Image Processing: Mark Hanson and Mike Selby

 Enjoy,

 Hanson & Selby