Date Posted: 5/7/2025
Date Taken: Three nights, from 10/26 thru 11/3/2024
Scope: Planewave CDK 12.5 f/8, 2541mm
Camera: SBIG STL-11000 with Astrodon Tru-Balance E-Series Gen2 filters
Temp: -15C
Mount: Losmandy Titan
Guiding: On-axis via ONAG-XM and SX UltraStar at 2541mm. FocusLock real-time focus for focusing.
Exposure: LRGB, 435:135:130:140, total 14 hours. Luminance and Ha 15min unbinned; RGB 5min binned 2x2.

Calibrated and Stacked with CCDStack2; RGB combine and DDP with MaximDL. Processed with CS4.

NGC 1540 is a nearly edge-on spiral galaxy located in Camelopardalis. As galaxies go, it's relatively close to us at a (still unimaginable) distance 9.75 million light years. It is also relatively small, at 'only' about 35000 light years in diameter. The galaxy is part of the Maffei-1 galaxy group, which also includes IC 342. It has a negative radial velocity, meaning it is moving towards us, at a rate of about 35 km/sec.