NGC2276 and not so friendly friend

[petevasey]

NGC 2276 mag 11.3 small spiral galaxy lies just on the border between Cepheus and Ursa Minor, and indeed is only 4 degrees from Polaris. So from my 55 deg North latitude it never gets lower than 51 degrees altitude. Although there was a 30% waxing Moon on the evening of 7th January 2022, the sky was very clear so I decided to try for some data before clouds arrived around midnight. One or two problems with power and focus, but I managed to get just enough data for this image. QSI683 on RC10, 10 x 10 minutes Luminance, RGB 4 each x 10 minutes all binned 2x2. This galaxy is distorted by the proximity of elliptical galaxy mag 11.1 NGC 2300, more information and a Hubble Space Telescope image here . Because of the location of the galaxy, I should have an opportunity for a full night's data this season, and will try unbinned, hopefully to improve fine detail under stable conditions. Also an image with information on the several distant galaxies. North is up.

Cheers,

Peter

 

Edited January 10, 2022 by petevasey
Added PGC 2789997

[wimvb]

Very nice image. I've been targeting the same galaxy and can only add that to do this pair justice you will need a lot more data. At more than 15 hours (I believe), I've so far managed to show ngc 2300 to its full size compared to ngc 2276 (it's 2 times larger) and reveal the slightest hints of ifn. I'll post my attempt later.

[petevasey]

10 minutes ago, wimvb said:

 to do this pair justice you will need a lot more data.

Absolutely!  As I say I intend to return to this and get a lot more data.  This was just an initial quick look - Moonlight doesn't help when looking 'deep' 😉  Best of luck with your imaging - looking forward to seeing your result.  It's almost 5 degrees higher for you, and I suspect you have clearer and more stable sky.

Cheers,

Peter

Edited January 9, 2022 by petevasey

[wimvb]

Guiding was consistently below 0.5”, and seeing was good but not exceptional if my star hfr value during focusing is anything to rely on. But being this close to Polaris, I found out that good polar alignment is absolutely critical. I think I am about 5 arc minutes or less out, and I got severe field rotation between pre and post flip subs. I had to crop quite a lot.

[wimvb]

11 hours ago, petevasey said:

looking forward to seeing your result.