ngc 205

[wimvb]

NGC 205 in Andromeda; often imaged, but rarely noticed, it seems. I decided to put it centre stage.

In most images, this elliptical galaxy shows no details. But there are actually very subtle dark dust bands near the center, and there's also a very weak tidal stream that ties it to its larger neighbour.

Imaged in November of 2017

Equipment as in my profile

L: 14 x 180 s, at - 30 C, gain 0

RGB: 6 x 300 s each

Integration time: 2.2 hours

(click on image to enlarge)

A reprocessed version with a little more detail in the core is posted further down.

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/308426-ngc-205/?tab=comments#comment-3373998

 

[MikeODay]

Very nice image Wim!

[wimvb]

1 hour ago, MikeODay said:

Very nice image Wim!

Thanks Mike.

[gorann]

Yes, very nice Wim - great to see some structure in what is usually just presented as a white fuzz.

[RobertI]

Very nice highlighting of the tidal stream in B&W and some lovely detail in the core, I learnt a few things here! 

[wimvb]

16 minutes ago, gorann said:

Yes, very nice Wim - great to see some structure in what is usually just presented as a white fuzz.

 

5 minutes ago, RobertI said:

Very nice highlighting of the tidal stream in B&W and some lovely detail in the core, I learnt a few things here! 

Thanks guys.

I'm trying to get the most out of a small sensor and a long fl, and go for details that are easily overlooked. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate (no surprise there). I would've liked a few more hours to get the noise down. Maybe next year ...

[gorann]

Sounds like you have the perfect set-up for planetary nebulae (weather permitting - does not look too promising right now)

[wimvb]

Yes, or galaxies. The pixel size is a bit large (5.86 um), which gives me slight undersampling at 750 mm. But in the long run I plan to invest in a longer fl scope. Just haven't decided between a refractor (ed, apo is not within my budget) or a newton. With a bit of luck, next summer.

Btw, I read up on M 110 (ngc 205). Apparently this galaxy contains a few (observed) planetary nebulae, as well as star forming regions. And the last time it dipped through M 31 was some 93 Myears ago. That caused the tidal stream. If I get the chance to collect more data next season, I'll try to enhance that part.

[gorann]

3 hours ago, wimvb said:

Yes, or galaxies. The pixel size is a bit large (5.86 um), which gives me slight undersampling at 750 mm. But in the long run I plan to invest in a longer fl scope. Just haven't decided between a refractor (ed, apo is not within my budget) or a newton. With a bit of luck, next summer.

Btw, I read up on M 110 (ngc 205). Apparently this galaxy contains a few (observed) planetary nebulae, as well as star forming regions. And the last time it dipped through M 31 was some 93 Myears ago. That caused the tidal stream. If I get the chance to collect more data next season, I'll try to enhance that part.

I understand that the MN190 is the most bang for the buck you can get, so I assume it is on your list of possibilities

[wimvb]

Hadn't really looked into that option, to be honest. I'll have a look on astrobin, to see what it can do.

[gorann]

I understand that even Olly holds it high in regard

[wimvb]

2 hours ago, gorann said:

I understand that even Olly holds it high in regard

I checked it, and read a review. Seems optically very good, but there are some drawbacks: weight (12.5 kg), focuser, it being a closed design (= long cool down), and the front lens is a "dew magnet". But it seems to hold collimation really well, so that's a +.

In the mean time, I tweaked the galaxy image a bit. HDR processing in PixInsight to enhance the central dust structure. Unfortunately there isn't enough colour data to support pushing it further.

(As always: click on the image to see a larger version)

[wimvb]

I did a bit more research on this galaxy. As I wrote before, there are planetary nebulae and star forming regions. But there are also globular clusters, and it seems I've captured at least five of them. The blue markers indicate these.

http://www.angelfire.com/space2/robertspellman/oriong3gallery3.html

http://www.astrosurf.com/asanz/GNGC205.htm

 

[RobertI]

Very interesting, great work.

[Rodd]

That is sublime.  What scope?  really has depth--which is rarely I'mparted to this little jewel as it is not imaged by itself very often.  

Rodd

[wimvb]

1 hour ago, Rodd said:

That is sublime.  What scope?  really has depth--which is rarely I'mparted to this little jewel as it is not imaged by itself very often.  

Rodd

Thanks Rodd.

Equipment as per my signature:

Skywatcher explorer 150PDS, on an AZ-EQ6 mount, with a ZWO ASI174MM-cool camera. Guiding with PHD2. All this controlled with INDI on Raspberry Pi/Rock64 single board computers.

[Rodd]

2 minutes ago, wimvb said:

Thanks Rodd.

Equipment as per my signature:

Skywatcher explorer 150PDS, on an AZ-EQ6 mount, with a ZWO ASI174MM-cool camera. Guiding with PHD2. All this controlled with INDI on Raspberry Pi/Rock64 single board computers.

Wow--I guess I should give my ASi 1600mmcool a try.  This image is proof that CMOS has arrived--I have the 174 but not cooled--I use it for lunar.  Nice little camera

Rodd

[wimvb]

Just now, Rodd said:

Wow--I guess I should give my ASi 1600mmcool a try.  This image is proof that CMOS has arrived--I have the 174 but not cooled--I use it for lunar.  Nice little camera

Rodd

Do try it. But imaging with cooled mono cmos is entirely different from dslr imaging. I'm still figuring out which gain and exposure times work best.

The smaller sensor of the ASI174 doesn't go well with large vistas, so I tend to go for details and small stuff. The only problem I have is limited imaging time. There are usually not more than about 2 clear nights per month, and targets disappear out of view too fast. As a result, I can't collect the amount of data I would like too.

With a bit of luck, there will be a gap in the clouds again tomorrow night ...