NGC 5907 - Draco

[Mike JW]

NGC 5907 (Splinter or Knife Edge Galaxy) is a wonderful sight and belongs to the NGC 5886 galaxy group. The unusual feature of this spiral is that it is low in metals and high in the number of dwarf stars.

Take a look at this link https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080619.html - what an amazing picture. Looks like a child has scribbled over it.

Mike

 

[roelb]

Here are some of my NGC 5907 recordings.

1. 6 SE @ F/5 + Lodestar X2 Mono   7 x 30 s

2. Evo 8 @ F/5 ATIK Infinity Color   7 x 40 s

3. Evo 8 @ F/5 ASI290MM    9 x 8 s

[Mike JW]

Hi Roelb, Thanks for your posts. It provides a useful comparison. Of the three my least favourite is the colour using the Atik. All the best, Mike

[Bill S]

Inspired by Mike’s and roelb’s images of NGC 5907 I decided to have a look at this galaxy myself. As is usual I spent more time looking up information than actually observing. Again, as usual, I found one thing leads to another on the Web. The number of tabs I can have open on my browser is only exceeded by the number of shortcuts on my desktop…

As Mike said NGC 5907 is also known as the Splinter or Knife Edge Galaxy. Its classification is Sb+ or Sc according to the sources I looked at so a spiral without a bar and not very tightly wound arms. Of course, its orientation does not help to see its spiral character.

Sometimes it is referred to as NGC 5906 but this is not correct. NGC 5906 is a particular part of NGC 5907 (sometimes called a GxyP). In this case it’s an HII region of star formation. I think it’s the bright bit I have labelled in my snapshot.

 

To further add to my confusion at least one website says NGC 5907 is Messier 102. There has been a bit of controversy over M102. It was thought to be a duplicate observation of M101 for many years but now many people say that it is NGC 5866. NGC 5907 is definitely not M102, although it is a member of the NGC 5866 group.

NGC 5907 is interesting for having a low (metallicity i.e. a lack of heavier chemical elements) and few giant stars. It is mainly dwarf stars.

Best regards

Bill S

[Mike JW]

Hi Bill, Thanks for the extra information. I had not spotted the existence of NGC 5906. I have taken a closer look at my original image and below is a cropped view of the key area. It looks like their are two star forming regions at this point - presumably both form 5906?