NGC 4725 - The One-Armed Spiral

[PhotoGav]

Lockdown has been very productive for my observatory. I am slowly making my way through the multiple target data sets that I have acquired through the spring and summer. Here is my latest process: NGC 4725, the One-Armed Spiral Galaxy and it is pretty clear to see why it has that name! Most spiral galaxies have two or more arms, but unusually, NGC 4725 appears to have just one. It forms a ring around the core of the galaxy, giving rise to its alternative name, the Ringed Galaxy. Why just one arm or how it formed is a bit of a mystery! NGC 4725 lives about 41 million light years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices, the patch of sky found between Ursa Major, Leo, Boötes and Virgo. It stretches across about 140,000 light years, making it bigger than our own Milky Way, which is about 100,000 light years across.

 

 

Data captured with Celestron EdgeHD 8" and QSI 683-WSG8 with 31mm Astrodon filters all on a Mesu 200.

RGB = 10 x 600s each
L = 27 x 1200s
TOTAL = 14 hours

Thanks for looking and I hope you like it! All thoughts and comments gratefully received.

Clear skies and stay safe!

Edited August 18, 2020 by PhotoGav

[MarkAR]

Lovely image and a sweet target.

[Laurin Dave]

Very nice Gav..  great target nicely processed

Dave

 

[tomato]

Another very nice galaxy image to add to your collection.

[ollypenrice]

Nice! I absolutely adore this galaxy. It might be my favourite of all.

Olly

[mackiedlm]

That's a wonderful image. 

[PhotoGav]

Thank you all for your kind comments. It is definitely an interesting target. I like @ollypenrice’s idea of ‘favourite galaxy’ - this one would certainly be on the list, but which would be top of my list? I’ll have to consider that one!

[ollypenrice]

12 minutes ago, PhotoGav said:

Thank you all for your kind comments. It is definitely an interesting target. I like @ollypenrice’s idea of ‘favourite galaxy’ - this one would certainly be on the list, but which would be top of my list? I’ll have to consider that one!

M66 is a bit of a corker...

Olly