IC 5332 is a rarely imaged spiral galaxy located 39 million light years away in Sculptor.
The galaxy is quite faint but is seen face on and is quite symmetrical in configuration.
There is clear evidence of continuing star formation in the spiral arms of the galaxy.
From an astrophotographers point of view this galaxy presented quite a challenge. The galaxy it self is a magnitude 10.7, however it has a very low surface brightness of 23.8 mag/squ arc sec. This results and a lack of range of contrast and makes resolving details quite difficult.
Imaged in LRGB and H alpha on our RiDK 700 at Observatorio El Sauce, Chile
Integration Time: 37 hours
Image Processing: Mark Hanson and Mike Selby