NGC 5364 is quite a spectacular galaxy.  It has very large extended spiral arms with significant nebulosity and star formation.  More impressive, however, is the complete inner ring, adding the "r" to the classification of this galaxy.  The ring is surprisingly luminous and surpassed in brightness only by the galactic nucleus.  The ring is not merely the overlapping of the two main arms at the center, and perhaps it was caused by a recent galactic encounter.  According to its redshif, it is ~60 million light years away.  You can see quite a bit more of the extended spiral arm structure in the over-processed luminance image below.   Its stats are RA: 13h 56m 12.0s, Dec: +05° 00' 55", Mag: 11.2 (B), Size: 6.7'x5.4', Class: SA(rs)bc pec  

Optics:
Camera:
Exposure:

Celestron C11 F/10 (2800mm Focal Length)
SBIG ST10XME with Adaptive Optics
LRGB = 140:50:50:70 minutes

Date:
Location:
Imager:

May 19-20, 2006
Columbus, Texas
Kent E. Biggs