M-102 (NGC-5866)

M-102 (NGC-5866) An edge-on lenticular galaxy with dust lane, located in the constellation of Draco, not far from the larger edge-on spiral galaxy NGC-5907. This galaxy was originally listed in the NGC catalog as number 5866, but later was added to the list of Messier Objects (non-stellar objects cataloged by Charles Messier between 1771 and 1781) as an additional item, number 102. This was due to an error in listing the coordinates of the object when it was first observed by Messier's assistant Pierre Mechain, who observed it in April of 1781. Due to the confusion about the exact coordinates, this object was originally thought to be a duplicate observation of M-101. Later studies corrected this error, and NGC-5866 was given the additional designation of M-102.
This image, acquired on July 14, 2012, is a 30 minute integration of 100 second exposures through the Celestron C-11 at f/2, using the HyperStar III imaging system and the Starlight Express SXVR-H694C color CCD camera, operating at -10 degrees below ambient temperature and binned 1 X 1. Guided, captured and combined using Maxim DL5 Pro. Post processed using PhotoShop CS2, Gradient XTerminator, StarShrink, Carboni's Astro-Tools and NoiseWare.