Cobbled together over 6 nights from 19 March to 17 May in varying conditions, this was a challenge to collect
and put together....
NGC 3521 is a beautiful colourful and glowing galaxy in Leo that is often overlooked for the more famous Leo Triplet of galaxies. The galaxy has a faint but complex system of billowing outer star clouds and if you look closely, a deep exposure like this also reveals a very faint extended halo arching out to the right and above the galaxy, with shell structure evident and well noticeable in a high contrast stretch. The galaxy seems to have a two tiered spiral structure (like a spring) too...?
NGC 3521
Faint Extended Halo (High contrast stretch)
Cheers
Mike