Imaging a Galaxy that is in Quarantine!?!

[ThomasC]

Hi All,

It is Galaxy Season, and spring is upon us! I decided, given the current climate of isolation and quarantine, to image a galaxy that is in isolation itself (i.e. it isn't part of any known galaxy cluster and is gravitationally isolated).

Check out my video on Galaxy season and imaging galaxies, it is fun and entertaining!

 

 

 

It is a video of NGC 2903 taken from my backyard. It is a field galaxy which makes it quite fitting for this time we live within (given it too is in isolation), it is a total of 11.8 hours of imaging I completed. 5 hours of luminance data acquired, and 6 hours of RGB data acquired on 25th March 2020 in my backyard in San Antonio Texas.

NGC 2903 is a field barred spiral galaxy approximately 80,000 light years wide and located in the constellation LEO 30 million light years away from Earth. It was discovered by William Hershcel in 1784 and somehow missed by Charles Messier during his catalouging of the night sky. It is one of the brightest galaxies in the NGC catalouge. The reason why this galaxy is called a field galaxy is because it is not part of any galaxy cluster and gravitationally isolated, as if it were quarantined by the universe.

It has a high rate of star formation, which is evident by the thick nebulosity throughout the galaxy and especially in the “hotspot” having it’s own NGC designation as NGC 2905 where most of the star formation is associated with a circumnuclear ring-like structure surrounding the system’s core.

Thanks.

AstroEd

[tooth_dr]

Hi

Nice write up! Can you post the image as well as the video?

 

Thanks!

Adam. 

[ThomasC]

On 28/03/2020 at 02:05, tooth_dr said:

Hi

Nice write up! Can you post the image as well as the video?

 

Thanks!

Adam. 

[ThomasC]

On 28/03/2020 at 02:05, tooth_dr said:

Hi

Nice write up! Can you post the image as well as the video?

 

Thanks!

Adam. 

Sure can, see above or below. I've also included the non-cropped full frame version showing another galaxy in the top left corner.