Posts about galaxies

M 31 - The Andromeda Galaxy

"The Andromeda Galaxy is a barred spiral galaxy and is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way. It was originally named the Andromeda Nebula and is cataloged as Messier 31, M31, and NGC 224. It has a diameter of about 46.56 kiloparsecs (152,000 light-years) and is approximately 765 kpc (2.5 million light-years) from Earth. The galaxy's name stems from the area of Earth's sky in which it appears, the constellation of Andromeda, which itself is named after the princess who was the wife of Perseus in Greek mythology.


</galleries/01_galaxies/180_M31_430mm_133x180s_DT.jpg>

The Andromeda Galaxy M31 in Constellation Andromeda, Telescope Newton f=430mm f/3.3, Camera EOS60DaISO800, Total Exposure Time 6h39min

Read more…

M 106 - Galaxy in Constellation Canes Venatici

The galaxy Messier 106 (M 106) in the constellation Canes Venatici is one of our closer neighbour galaxies in roughly 23 million light years distance from the Milkyway and the Earth. The galaxy hosts an active nucleus with a black hole of approximately 40 million solar masses. The galaxy core is known as a radio source since the 1950s. Further the galaxy undergoes a period of increased star-formation (starburst galaxy).

<//galleries/01_galaxies/170_M106_LRGB4_L159xR21xG18xB16x300s_Crop01_DT.jpg>

Crop of M 106 in Constellation Canes Venatici, Telescope Newton 10" f/4, Camera Atik 460EXM, Total Exposure Time 17h50min

Read more…

Markarian Chain and Virgo Galaxy

The Markarian Chain is a group of galaxies in the Virgo galaxy cluster. The association is named after the Armenien astrophysicist Benjamin Markarian who studied them in the 1970s.

</galleries/01_galaxies/082_Markarian_198x300s_f580mm_f7_DT_WM.jpg

Markarian Chain and Virgo Galaxy, telescope Skopos f=560x0,8=448mm @f/5.6, Camera Atik 460EXM, 14/26/24/46x300s LRGB

Read more…

Leo-1 Dwarf Galaxy (PGC 29488, UGC 5470)

What is this diffuse spot close to Regulus, the main star in constellation Leo? These thoughts were not pondered by a famous discoverer but by myself while looking for deep sky object around constellation Leo worthwhile for a longer shooting session. I used the planetarium software Stellarium at that time. And the faint spot had never come across to me as a prominent object until that moment. There was no special catalogue identifier or label visible although the object appeared to be extended and not too dim.

</galleries/01_galaxies/160_LEO1_14x300s_L_26_24_46x300s_RGB_10x30s_RGB_f448mm_a56_DT_WM.jpg>

Leo-1 Dwarf galaxy, PGC24988, telescope Skopos f=560x0,8=448mm @f/5.6, Camera Atik 460EXM, 14/26/24/46x300s LRGB

Read more…

"Whale" Galaxie NGC 4631 and "Hockestick/Crowbar" Galaxie NGC 4656/4657

With this picture we dive into the constellation Canes Venatici. The galaxy NGC 4631 on the left half of the image is known as whale galaxy while NGC 4656 and NGC 4657 on the right half of the image pane are known as hockey-stick or crowbar galaxy. The elongated part is catalogued as NGC 4656 while the smaller angled end is NGC 4657.

</galleries/01_galaxies/150_Hockey_NGC4656_Whale_NGC4627_f448_a56_38_25_24_34x300s_LRGB_DT_WM.jpg>

Bilddaten: "Wal"-Galaxie NGC 4631 und "Hockeyschläger"-Galaxie NGC 4656, Teleskop Skopos f=560x0,8=448mm @f/5.6, Camera Atik 460EXM, 38/25/24/34x300s LRGB

Read more…

NGC 300

NGC 300 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor in a distance of roughly 6 million light years. It's appearance with hydrogen-alpha emission areas indicating star formation activities resembles one of our nearest neighbor galaxies, the triangulum galaxy M33 in approx. 2.7 Mio. light years distance.

</galleries/01_galaxies/100-NGC300_R2_28x600s_L_8x600s_Ha_6x600s_RGB_sRGB_DT.jpg>

Image data: telescope Takahashi FSQ106ED @f/5, Camera Atik 460EXM, L: 28x600s, Ha: 6x600s, RGB 6x300s per channel, Atik 460EXM, September 2019, Farm Tivoli, Namibia

Read more…