NGC4631 The Whale Galaxy

[Jkulin]

Although we have had high winds/gusts of up to 28mph I'm managing during this lock down to capture loads of images, this one I finished last night whilst capturing another object.

Indeed there will be many others who could achieve better, but I'm reasonably happy with it

I originally captured a couple of hours red, but wasn't happy with the influence of the moon, so I waited until this latest period, we still had some winds, but the mount handled it reasonably well.

So it has taken me a few hours processing and hasn't turned out too bad, I usually find galaxies are harder for me to get right than narrowband, but I have enjoyed the processing.

More details here: - https://www.astrobin.com/84dfva/

Essentially: -

Imaging telescope or lens:: -GSO 10" f/8 RC Truss

Imaging camera: - Moravian G2-8300 Mark II

Software: - Adobe Photoshop 2020 ,  Main Sequence Software Sequence Generator Pro ,  PixInsight Core version 1.8

Filters: - Chroma Ha 3nm ,  Chroma Green 2" unmounted ,  Chroma Blue 2" unmounted ,  Chroma Red 2" unmounted

Dates:April 20, 2020 ,  April 21, 2020

Chroma Blue 2" unmounted: 8x780" -20C bin 1x1
Chroma Green 2" unmounted: 10x600" -20C bin 1x1
Chroma Ha 3nm: 5x1200" -20C bin 1x1
Chroma Luminance 2" unmounted: 11x600" -20C bin 1x1
Chroma Red 2" unmounted: 8x696" -20C bin 1x1

Integration: 8.4 hours

Here's the bumf as usual: -

NGC 4631 (also known as the Whale Galaxy or Caldwell 32) is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. This galaxy's slightly distorted wedge shape gives it the appearance of a herring or a whale, hence its nickname. Because this nearby galaxy is seen edge-on from Earth, professional astronomers observe this galaxy to better understand the gas and stars located outside the plane of the galaxy.

NGC 4631 contains a central starburst, which is a region of intense star formation. The strong star formation is evident in the emission from ionized hydrogen and interstellar dust heated by the stars formed in the starburst. The most massive stars that form in star formation regions only burn hydrogen gas through fusion for a short period of time, after which they explode as supernovae. So many supernovae have exploded in the center of NGC 4631 that they are blowing gas out of the plane of the galaxy. This superwind can be seen in X-rays and in spectral line emission. The gas from this superwind has produced a giant, diffuse corona of hot, X-ray emitting gas around the whole galaxy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_4631

[simmo39]

Nice capture.

[Jkulin]

10 minutes ago, simmo39 said:

Nice capture.

Thank-you