![Rolf Olsen >
Atoms for Peace Galaxy (NGC 7252 / Arp 226)
This peculiar galaxy is the result of a merger between two separate disc galaxies which has now just entered the phase of settling down. The two original galaxy cores have recently merged leaving giant arcs and swirls of the collision still remaining in orbit around the now combined centre.
The resulting structure is known as the Atoms for Peace Galaxy, named for its resemblance to the traditional depiction of an atom, with electrons orbiting the central nucleus. The name was directly inspired by the famous Atoms for Peace speech given by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower before the United Nations in 1953.
This intriguing galaxy is located in Aquarius at a distance of 220 million light years. The outer loops and especially the long ejecta streams are very faint, but the core shines relatively brightly as a stellar point. The combined magnitude of the system is 12.7 within an area of approximately 1.9 x 1.6 arc minutes.
The galaxy is also known as Arp 226, the 226th entry in Arp’s list of peculiar galaxies.
Also visible in the background are numerous distant background galaxies.
Within the swirls of the collision are numerous bright knots some of which are young ultra-luminous globular clusters containing up to a million hot blue stars each. Several hundreds of these exist near the core of the galaxy.
It is known that giant elliptical galaxies often contain a vast amount of globular clusters, for example the galaxy M87 in Virgo contains over 12,000 globulars. These are thought to have been acquired during past mergers with other galaxies which ultimately formed the elliptical galaxy itself. Still, the number of globulars around giant elliptical galaxies far exceeds the expected number that could be acquired from mergers alone. In this context it is therefore interesting that the collision currently happening in the Atoms for Peace galaxy seems to have triggered the creation of fresh young globular clusters, in addition to any ordinary globulars that would already have been orbiting the merging galaxies. The creation of new globulars during collisions could explain how giant ellipticals amass such a massive number of globulars over time.
This image likely represents the most distant globular clusters imaged with amateur equipment, being 220 million light years away. This is only possible due to the extremely high luminousity of these young globulars. To illustrate the luminousity of these clusters one can compare with globulars in our own Milky Way. The absolute magnitude M of an object can be calculated as follows, given its apparent magnitude m and luminosity distance DL in parsecs:
M = m - 5(log10(DL) - 1)
For very large distances, the cosmological redshift complicates the relation between absolute and apparent magnitude, but for the Atoms for Peace galaxy it is probably safe to ignore this given that 220 million light years is not a very large distance in cosmological terms.
The brightest of the globulars in this image is [WSL93]3, the bright knot immediately to the left of the galaxy core, with a magnitude of 17.86. This translates to an absolute magnitude of -16.28 as per the equation above. Omega Centauri, the largest known globular cluster of the Milky Way, has an absolute magnitude of -10.26 and from the logarithmic nature of the magnitude scale it thus follows that [WSL93]3 is therefore 256 times more luminous than our own Omega Centauri - a truly impressive sight if it was placed in our own galaxy.
Image details:
Date: 30th June, 19th/20th/27th July, 18th August, 12th/14th/18th September 2012
Exposure: LRGB: 635:91:103:91m, total 15hrs 20mins @ -30C
Telescope: 10" Serrurier Truss Newtonian f/5
Camera: QSI 683wsg with Lodestar guider
Filters: Astrodon LRGB E-Series Gen 2
Taken from my observatory in Auckland, New Zealand
Click here to see an inverted image.
Click here to see a larger crop of the galaxy itself.](http://www.rolfolsenastrophotography.com/Astrophotography/Galaxies/i-bc4NLQK/0/Ti/Atoms-for-Peace-LRGB-3234x2456-Ti.jpg "Rolf Olsen >
Atoms for Peace Galaxy (NGC 7252 / Arp 226)
This peculiar galaxy is the result of a merger between two separate disc galaxies which has now just entered the phase of settling down. The two original galaxy cores have recently merged leaving giant arcs and swirls of the collision still remaining in orbit around the now combined centre.
The resulting structure is known as the Atoms for Peace Galaxy, named for its resemblance to the traditional depiction of an atom, with electrons orbiting the central nucleus. The name was directly inspired by the famous Atoms for Peace speech given by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower before the United Nations in 1953.
This intriguing galaxy is located in Aquarius at a distance of 220 million light years. The outer loops and especially the long ejecta streams are very faint, but the core shines relatively brightly as a stellar point. The combined magnitude of the system is 12.7 within an area of approximately 1.9 x 1.6 arc minutes.
The galaxy is also known as Arp 226, the 226th entry in Arp’s list of peculiar galaxies.
Also visible in the background are numerous distant background galaxies.
Within the swirls of the collision are numerous bright knots some of which are young ultra-luminous globular clusters containing up to a million hot blue stars each. Several hundreds of these exist near the core of the galaxy.
It is known that giant elliptical galaxies often contain a vast amount of globular clusters, for example the galaxy M87 in Virgo contains over 12,000 globulars. These are thought to have been acquired during past mergers with other galaxies which ultimately formed the elliptical galaxy itself. Still, the number of globulars around giant elliptical galaxies far exceeds the expected number that could be acquired from mergers alone. In this context it is therefore interesting that the collision currently happening in the Atoms for Peace galaxy seems to have triggered the creation of fresh young globular clusters, in addition to any ordinary globulars that would already have been orbiting the merging galaxies. The creation of new globulars during collisions could explain how giant ellipticals amass such a massive number of globulars over time.
This image likely represents the most distant globular clusters imaged with amateur equipment, being 220 million light years away. This is only possible due to the extremely high luminousity of these young globulars. To illustrate the luminousity of these clusters one can compare with globulars in our own Milky Way. The absolute magnitude M of an object can be calculated as follows, given its apparent magnitude m and luminosity distance DL in parsecs:
M = m - 5(log10(DL) - 1)
For very large distances, the cosmological redshift complicates the relation between absolute and apparent magnitude, but for the Atoms for Peace galaxy it is probably safe to ignore this given that 220 million light years is not a very large distance in cosmological terms.
The brightest of the globulars in this image is [WSL93]3, the bright knot immediately to the left of the galaxy core, with a magnitude of 17.86. This translates to an absolute magnitude of -16.28 as per the equation above. Omega Centauri, the largest known globular cluster of the Milky Way, has an absolute magnitude of -10.26 and from the logarithmic nature of the magnitude scale it thus follows that [WSL93]3 is therefore 256 times more luminous than our own Omega Centauri - a truly impressive sight if it was placed in our own galaxy.
Image details:
Date: 30th June, 19th/20th/27th July, 18th August, 12th/14th/18th September 2012
Exposure: LRGB: 635:91:103:91m, total 15hrs 20mins @ -30C
Telescope: 10\" Serrurier Truss Newtonian f/5
Camera: QSI 683wsg with Lodestar guider
Filters: Astrodon LRGB E-Series Gen 2
Taken from my observatory in Auckland, New Zealand
Click here to see an inverted image.
Click here to see a larger crop of the galaxy itself.")
![Rolf Olsen >
Atoms for Peace Galaxy (NGC 7252 / Arp 226)
This peculiar galaxy is the result of a merger between two separate disc galaxies which has now just entered the phase of settling down. The two original galaxy cores have recently merged leaving giant arcs and swirls of the collision still remaining in orbit around the now combined centre.
The resulting structure is known as the Atoms for Peace Galaxy, named for its resemblance to the traditional depiction of an atom, with electrons orbiting the central nucleus. The name was directly inspired by the famous Atoms for Peace speech given by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower before the United Nations in 1953.
This intriguing galaxy is located in Aquarius at a distance of 220 million light years. The outer loops and especially the long ejecta streams are very faint, but the core shines relatively brightly as a stellar point. The combined magnitude of the system is 12.7 within an area of approximately 1.9 x 1.6 arc minutes.
The galaxy is also known as Arp 226, the 226th entry in Arp’s list of peculiar galaxies.
Also visible in the background are numerous distant background galaxies.
Within the swirls of the collision are numerous bright knots some of which are young ultra-luminous globular clusters containing up to a million hot blue stars each. Several hundreds of these exist near the core of the galaxy.
It is known that giant elliptical galaxies often contain a vast amount of globular clusters, for example the galaxy M87 in Virgo contains over 12,000 globulars. These are thought to have been acquired during past mergers with other galaxies which ultimately formed the elliptical galaxy itself. Still, the number of globulars around giant elliptical galaxies far exceeds the expected number that could be acquired from mergers alone. In this context it is therefore interesting that the collision currently happening in the Atoms for Peace galaxy seems to have triggered the creation of fresh young globular clusters, in addition to any ordinary globulars that would already have been orbiting the merging galaxies. The creation of new globulars during collisions could explain how giant ellipticals amass such a massive number of globulars over time.
This image likely represents the most distant globular clusters imaged with amateur equipment, being 220 million light years away. This is only possible due to the extremely high luminousity of these young globulars. To illustrate the luminousity of these clusters one can compare with globulars in our own Milky Way. The absolute magnitude M of an object can be calculated as follows, given its apparent magnitude m and luminosity distance DL in parsecs:
M = m - 5(log10(DL) - 1)
For very large distances, the cosmological redshift complicates the relation between absolute and apparent magnitude, but for the Atoms for Peace galaxy it is probably safe to ignore this given that 220 million light years is not a very large distance in cosmological terms.
The brightest of the globulars in this image is [WSL93]3, the bright knot immediately to the left of the galaxy core, with a magnitude of 17.86. This translates to an absolute magnitude of -16.28 as per the equation above. Omega Centauri, the largest known globular cluster of the Milky Way, has an absolute magnitude of -10.26 and from the logarithmic nature of the magnitude scale it thus follows that [WSL93]3 is therefore 256 times more luminous than our own Omega Centauri - a truly impressive sight if it was placed in our own galaxy.
Image details:
Date: 30th June, 19th/20th/27th July, 18th August, 12th/14th/18th September 2012
Exposure: LRGB: 635:91:103:91m, total 15hrs 20mins @ -30C
Telescope: 10" Serrurier Truss Newtonian f/5
Camera: QSI 683wsg with Lodestar guider
Filters: Astrodon LRGB E-Series Gen 2
Taken from my observatory in Auckland, New Zealand
Click here to see an inverted image.
Click here to see a wider view of the area.](http://www.rolfolsenastrophotography.com/Astrophotography/Galaxies/i-7wJBtSs/1/Ti/Atoms-for-Peace-LRGB-crop-1477x1477-Ti.jpg "Rolf Olsen >
Atoms for Peace Galaxy (NGC 7252 / Arp 226)
This peculiar galaxy is the result of a merger between two separate disc galaxies which has now just entered the phase of settling down. The two original galaxy cores have recently merged leaving giant arcs and swirls of the collision still remaining in orbit around the now combined centre.
The resulting structure is known as the Atoms for Peace Galaxy, named for its resemblance to the traditional depiction of an atom, with electrons orbiting the central nucleus. The name was directly inspired by the famous Atoms for Peace speech given by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower before the United Nations in 1953.
This intriguing galaxy is located in Aquarius at a distance of 220 million light years. The outer loops and especially the long ejecta streams are very faint, but the core shines relatively brightly as a stellar point. The combined magnitude of the system is 12.7 within an area of approximately 1.9 x 1.6 arc minutes.
The galaxy is also known as Arp 226, the 226th entry in Arp’s list of peculiar galaxies.
Also visible in the background are numerous distant background galaxies.
Within the swirls of the collision are numerous bright knots some of which are young ultra-luminous globular clusters containing up to a million hot blue stars each. Several hundreds of these exist near the core of the galaxy.
It is known that giant elliptical galaxies often contain a vast amount of globular clusters, for example the galaxy M87 in Virgo contains over 12,000 globulars. These are thought to have been acquired during past mergers with other galaxies which ultimately formed the elliptical galaxy itself. Still, the number of globulars around giant elliptical galaxies far exceeds the expected number that could be acquired from mergers alone. In this context it is therefore interesting that the collision currently happening in the Atoms for Peace galaxy seems to have triggered the creation of fresh young globular clusters, in addition to any ordinary globulars that would already have been orbiting the merging galaxies. The creation of new globulars during collisions could explain how giant ellipticals amass such a massive number of globulars over time.
This image likely represents the most distant globular clusters imaged with amateur equipment, being 220 million light years away. This is only possible due to the extremely high luminousity of these young globulars. To illustrate the luminousity of these clusters one can compare with globulars in our own Milky Way. The absolute magnitude M of an object can be calculated as follows, given its apparent magnitude m and luminosity distance DL in parsecs:
M = m - 5(log10(DL) - 1)
For very large distances, the cosmological redshift complicates the relation between absolute and apparent magnitude, but for the Atoms for Peace galaxy it is probably safe to ignore this given that 220 million light years is not a very large distance in cosmological terms.
The brightest of the globulars in this image is [WSL93]3, the bright knot immediately to the left of the galaxy core, with a magnitude of 17.86. This translates to an absolute magnitude of -16.28 as per the equation above. Omega Centauri, the largest known globular cluster of the Milky Way, has an absolute magnitude of -10.26 and from the logarithmic nature of the magnitude scale it thus follows that [WSL93]3 is therefore 256 times more luminous than our own Omega Centauri - a truly impressive sight if it was placed in our own galaxy.
Image details:
Date: 30th June, 19th/20th/27th July, 18th August, 12th/14th/18th September 2012
Exposure: LRGB: 635:91:103:91m, total 15hrs 20mins @ -30C
Telescope: 10\" Serrurier Truss Newtonian f/5
Camera: QSI 683wsg with Lodestar guider
Filters: Astrodon LRGB E-Series Gen 2
Taken from my observatory in Auckland, New Zealand
Click here to see an inverted image.
Click here to see a wider view of the area.")
![Rolf Olsen >
Atoms for Peace Galaxy (NGC 7252 / Arp 226)
This peculiar galaxy is the result of a merger between two separate disc galaxies which has now just entered the phase of settling down. The two original galaxy cores have recently merged leaving giant arcs and swirls of the collision still remaining in orbit around the now combined centre.
The resulting structure is known as the Atoms for Peace Galaxy, named for its resemblance to the traditional depiction of an atom, with electrons orbiting the central nucleus. The name was directly inspired by the famous Atoms for Peace speech given by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower before the United Nations in 1953.
This intriguing galaxy is located in Aquarius at a distance of 220 million light years. The outer loops and especially the long ejecta streams are very faint, but the core shines relatively brightly as a stellar point. The combined magnitude of the system is 12.7 within an area of approximately 1.9 x 1.6 arc minutes.
The galaxy is also known as Arp 226, the 226th entry in Arp’s list of peculiar galaxies.
Also visible in the background are numerous distant background galaxies.
Within the swirls of the collision are numerous bright knots some of which are young ultra-luminous globular clusters containing up to a million hot blue stars each. Several hundreds of these exist near the core of the galaxy.
It is known that giant elliptical galaxies often contain a vast amount of globular clusters, for example the galaxy M87 in Virgo contains over 12,000 globulars. These are thought to have been acquired during past mergers with other galaxies which ultimately formed the elliptical galaxy itself. Still, the number of globulars around giant elliptical galaxies far exceeds the expected number that could be acquired from mergers alone. In this context it is therefore interesting that the collision currently happening in the Atoms for Peace galaxy seems to have triggered the creation of fresh young globular clusters, in addition to any ordinary globulars that would already have been orbiting the merging galaxies. The creation of new globulars during collisions could explain how giant ellipticals amass such a massive number of globulars over time.
This image likely represents the most distant globular clusters imaged with amateur equipment, being 220 million light years away. This is only possible due to the extremely high luminousity of these young globulars. To illustrate the luminousity of these clusters one can compare with globulars in our own Milky Way. The absolute magnitude M of an object can be calculated as follows, given its apparent magnitude m and luminosity distance DL in parsecs:
M = m - 5(log10(DL) - 1)
For very large distances, the cosmological redshift complicates the relation between absolute and apparent magnitude, but for the Atoms for Peace galaxy it is probably safe to ignore this given that 220 million light years is not a very large distance in cosmological terms.
The brightest of the globulars in this image is [WSL93]3, the bright knot immediately to the left of the galaxy core, with a magnitude of 17.86. This translates to an absolute magnitude of -16.28 as per the equation above. Omega Centauri, the largest known globular cluster of the Milky Way, has an absolute magnitude of -10.26 and from the logarithmic nature of the magnitude scale it thus follows that [WSL93]3 is therefore 256 times more luminous than our own Omega Centauri - a truly impressive sight if it was placed in our own galaxy.
Image details:
Date: 30th June, 19th/20th/27th July, 18th August, 12th/14th/18th September 2012
Exposure: LRGB: 635:91:103:91m, total 15hrs 20mins @ -30C
Telescope: 10" Serrurier Truss Newtonian f/5
Camera: QSI 683wsg with Lodestar guider
Filters: Astrodon LRGB E-Series Gen 2
Taken from my observatory in Auckland, New Zealand
Click here to see a larger colour crop of the galaxy itself.
Click here to see a colour image of the same area.](http://www.rolfolsenastrophotography.com/Astrophotography/Galaxies/i-4DM7qWR/0/Ti/Atoms-for-Peace-LRGB-Inverted-3234x2456-Ti.jpg "Rolf Olsen >
Atoms for Peace Galaxy (NGC 7252 / Arp 226)
This peculiar galaxy is the result of a merger between two separate disc galaxies which has now just entered the phase of settling down. The two original galaxy cores have recently merged leaving giant arcs and swirls of the collision still remaining in orbit around the now combined centre.
The resulting structure is known as the Atoms for Peace Galaxy, named for its resemblance to the traditional depiction of an atom, with electrons orbiting the central nucleus. The name was directly inspired by the famous Atoms for Peace speech given by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower before the United Nations in 1953.
This intriguing galaxy is located in Aquarius at a distance of 220 million light years. The outer loops and especially the long ejecta streams are very faint, but the core shines relatively brightly as a stellar point. The combined magnitude of the system is 12.7 within an area of approximately 1.9 x 1.6 arc minutes.
The galaxy is also known as Arp 226, the 226th entry in Arp’s list of peculiar galaxies.
Also visible in the background are numerous distant background galaxies.
Within the swirls of the collision are numerous bright knots some of which are young ultra-luminous globular clusters containing up to a million hot blue stars each. Several hundreds of these exist near the core of the galaxy.
It is known that giant elliptical galaxies often contain a vast amount of globular clusters, for example the galaxy M87 in Virgo contains over 12,000 globulars. These are thought to have been acquired during past mergers with other galaxies which ultimately formed the elliptical galaxy itself. Still, the number of globulars around giant elliptical galaxies far exceeds the expected number that could be acquired from mergers alone. In this context it is therefore interesting that the collision currently happening in the Atoms for Peace galaxy seems to have triggered the creation of fresh young globular clusters, in addition to any ordinary globulars that would already have been orbiting the merging galaxies. The creation of new globulars during collisions could explain how giant ellipticals amass such a massive number of globulars over time.
This image likely represents the most distant globular clusters imaged with amateur equipment, being 220 million light years away. This is only possible due to the extremely high luminousity of these young globulars. To illustrate the luminousity of these clusters one can compare with globulars in our own Milky Way. The absolute magnitude M of an object can be calculated as follows, given its apparent magnitude m and luminosity distance DL in parsecs:
M = m - 5(log10(DL) - 1)
For very large distances, the cosmological redshift complicates the relation between absolute and apparent magnitude, but for the Atoms for Peace galaxy it is probably safe to ignore this given that 220 million light years is not a very large distance in cosmological terms.
The brightest of the globulars in this image is [WSL93]3, the bright knot immediately to the left of the galaxy core, with a magnitude of 17.86. This translates to an absolute magnitude of -16.28 as per the equation above. Omega Centauri, the largest known globular cluster of the Milky Way, has an absolute magnitude of -10.26 and from the logarithmic nature of the magnitude scale it thus follows that [WSL93]3 is therefore 256 times more luminous than our own Omega Centauri - a truly impressive sight if it was placed in our own galaxy.
Image details:
Date: 30th June, 19th/20th/27th July, 18th August, 12th/14th/18th September 2012
Exposure: LRGB: 635:91:103:91m, total 15hrs 20mins @ -30C
Telescope: 10\" Serrurier Truss Newtonian f/5
Camera: QSI 683wsg with Lodestar guider
Filters: Astrodon LRGB E-Series Gen 2
Taken from my observatory in Auckland, New Zealand
Click here to see a larger colour crop of the galaxy itself.
Click here to see a colour image of the same area.")
![Rolf Olsen > The Sombrero Galaxy and a Swarm of Globular Clusters (annotated)
The Sombrero galaxy, or Messier 104, is a giant Sa type disk galaxy viewed from just above its equatorial plane and outlined by a prominent dark rim of obscuring dust. The central bulge is unusually bright and extended, and orbiting the galaxy is one of the largest known populations of globular clusters, containing up to 1900 members. In comparison our own Milky Way galaxy has only around 150-200 such clusters. Nearby prime examples of these are Omega Centauri, Messier 4 and NGC6752.
Highlighted in this image are 136 of the Sombrero's brightest globulars, ranging in V magnitudes from 17.5 to 22+. The names and magnitude details of these clusters are given below (from SIMBAD). Some of these globulars are very large and one is classified as a separate Ultra Compact Dwarf galaxy, SUCD1, the closest known example of such an object. It is not known how the Sombrero amassed such a large number of globular clusters. This is normally a more typical feature of large elliptical galaxies. For example up to 12,000 globular clusters are orbiting the giant elliptical galaxy Messier 87.
The Sombrero Galaxy also contains a supermassive black hole of one billion solar masses - one of the most massive black holes among nearby galaxies.
The galaxy lies some 30 million light years away in the direction of the constellation Virgo.
In the background numerous distant galaxies can be seen, many of then clumped together in groups. Also, what appears to be a faint dwarf galaxy of the Sombrero is visible near the middle of the bottom edge of the image (between globulars #82 and #99).
Image details:
Date: 19th April, 22nd and 24th May 2012
Exposure: LRGB: 210:17:17:17m, total 4hrs 21mins
Telescope: 10" Serrurier Truss Newtonian
Camera: QSI 683wsg with Lodestar guider
Filters: Astrodon LRGB E-Series Gen 2
Taken from my observatory in Auckland, New Zealand
List of all globular clusters visible in the image:
Type Name RA Dec MagB MagV MagR 1 GlCl [RZ2004] GCl 1154 12 40 37.04 -11 29 27.0 20.10 19.44 18.93 2 GlCl [RZ2004] GCl 1164 12 40 36.77 -11 30 25.8 21.02 20.46 20.03 3 GlCl [RZ2004] GCl 997 12 40 41.23 -11 34 33.0 19.95 19.18 18.64 4 GlCl [RZ2004] GCl 1045 12 40 39.82 -11 36 55.1 20.43 19.67 19.19 5 GlCl [RZ2004] GCl 1255 12 40 34.76 -11 38 10.2 20.54 19.81 19.30 6 GlCl [RZ2004] GCl 1430 12 40 29.82 -11 33 40.0 20.88 20.19 19.72 7 GlCl [RZ2004] GCl 1771 12 40 21.24 -11 36 31.9 21.57 20.82 20.31 8 GlCl? [BAZ97] 2-26 12 40 16.559 -11 33 18.62](http://www.rolfolsenastrophotography.com/Astrophotography/Galaxies/i-T7vx6nK/3/Ti/M104-and-136-globulars-LRGB-%28with-markers%29-Ti.jpg "Rolf Olsen > The Sombrero Galaxy and a Swarm of Globular Clusters (annotated)
The Sombrero galaxy, or Messier 104, is a giant Sa type disk galaxy viewed from just above its equatorial plane and outlined by a prominent dark rim of obscuring dust. The central bulge is unusually bright and extended, and orbiting the galaxy is one of the largest known populations of globular clusters, containing up to 1900 members. In comparison our own Milky Way galaxy has only around 150-200 such clusters. Nearby prime examples of these are Omega Centauri, Messier 4 and NGC6752.
Highlighted in this image are 136 of the Sombrero's brightest globulars, ranging in V magnitudes from 17.5 to 22+. The names and magnitude details of these clusters are given below (from SIMBAD). Some of these globulars are very large and one is classified as a separate Ultra Compact Dwarf galaxy, SUCD1, the closest known example of such an object. It is not known how the Sombrero amassed such a large number of globular clusters. This is normally a more typical feature of large elliptical galaxies. For example up to 12,000 globular clusters are orbiting the giant elliptical galaxy Messier 87.
The Sombrero Galaxy also contains a supermassive black hole of one billion solar masses - one of the most massive black holes among nearby galaxies.
The galaxy lies some 30 million light years away in the direction of the constellation Virgo.
In the background numerous distant galaxies can be seen, many of then clumped together in groups. Also, what appears to be a faint dwarf galaxy of the Sombrero is visible near the middle of the bottom edge of the image (between globulars #82 and #99).
Image details:
Date: 19th April, 22nd and 24th May 2012
Exposure: LRGB: 210:17:17:17m, total 4hrs 21mins
Telescope: 10\" Serrurier Truss Newtonian
Camera: QSI 683wsg with Lodestar guider
Filters: Astrodon LRGB E-Series Gen 2
Taken from my observatory in Auckland, New Zealand
List of all globular clusters visible in the image:
Type Name RA Dec MagB MagV MagR 1 GlCl [RZ2004] GCl 1154 12 40 37.04 -11 29 27.0 20.10 19.44 18.93 2 GlCl [RZ2004] GCl 1164 12 40 36.77 -11 30 25.8 21.02 20.46 20.03 3 GlCl [RZ2004] GCl 997 12 40 41.23 -11 34 33.0 19.95 19.18 18.64 4 GlCl [RZ2004] GCl 1045 12 40 39.82 -11 36 55.1 20.43 19.67 19.19 5 GlCl [RZ2004] GCl 1255 12 40 34.76 -11 38 10.2 20.54 19.81 19.30 6 GlCl [RZ2004] GCl 1430 12 40 29.82 -11 33 40.0 20.88 20.19 19.72 7 GlCl [RZ2004] GCl 1771 12 40 21.24 -11 36 31.9 21.57 20.82 20.31 8 GlCl? [BAZ97] 2-26 12 40 16.559 -11 33 18.62")
The Cartwheel Galaxy (ESO 350-40)
The Cartwheel Galaxy is a distant galaxy located 400 million light years away in the southern constellation Sculptor. It features a unique ring structure, most likely as a result of a head-on collision 200 million years ago with a smaller intruder galaxy that passed though the very core of the larger galaxy. The density wave set in motion by the passage of the intruder is visible as intense starburst activity along the edge of a massive ring that is slowly making its way outwards from the centre, like a ripple on a pond.
The galaxy is part of a small group of four, with the other members being the smaller blue and yellow galaxies right next to the Cartwheel and another companion a little further north (down). The latter is believed to be the intruder galaxy. In fact, high resolution radio observations have identified a trail of neutral hydrogen gas between the Cartwheel and the intruder, strongly suggesting that this is indeed the culprit now fleeing the scene.
Images from the Hubble Space Telescope show the bright knots in the ring to be giant clusters of super luminous young blue stars. These bright stars will live and die in a few million years, well before the density wave has moved on, and new stars will continue to be born of the same recycled matter in this chaotic setting of intense starburst activity and cataclysmic supernovae brought about by a cosmic encounter 200 million years ago.
Eventually the wave will dissipate and fade out into the outer regions of the galaxy where the gas and dust is too thin for new stars to be born. Looking like the spokes of a giant wheel, faint spiral arms can already be seen beginning to form again after the collision. The galaxy will probably take on the form of a normal spiral again in the future.
Looming in the background of the image are large numbers and groupings of faint distant galaxies, visibly clumping together and forming the large scale superstructure of the Universe. Many of these lie in the neighbourhood of the Sculptor Wall, a gigantic structure of galaxy clusters that stretches outwards for more than a billion light years.
Image details:
Date: 22nd September and 9th/10th/11th October 2012
Exposure: LRGB: 630:70:65:65m, total 13hrs 50mins @ -30C
Telescope: 10" Serrurier Truss Newtonian f/5
Camera: QSI 683wsg with Lodestar guider
Filters: Astrodon LRGB E-Series Gen 2
Taken from my observatory in Auckland, New Zealand
The Cartwheel Galaxy (ESO 350-40)
The Cartwheel Galaxy is a distant galaxy located 400 million light years away in the southern constellation Sculptor. It features a unique ring structure, most likely as a result of a head-on collision 200 million years ago with a smaller intruder galaxy that passed though the very core of the larger galaxy. The density wave set in motion by the passage of the intruder is visible as intense starburst activity along the edge of a massive ring that is slowly making its way outwards from the centre, like a ripple on a pond.
The galaxy is part of a small group of four, with the other members being the smaller blue and yellow galaxies right next to the Cartwheel and another companion a little further north (down). The latter is believed to be the intruder galaxy. In fact, high resolution radio observations have identified a trail of neutral hydrogen gas between the Cartwheel and the intruder, strongly suggesting that this is indeed the culprit now fleeing the scene.
Images from the Hubble Space Telescope show the bright knots in the ring to be giant clusters of super luminous young blue stars. These bright stars will live and die in a few million years, well before the density wave has moved on, and new stars will continue to be born of the same recycled matter in this chaotic setting of intense starburst activity and cataclysmic supernovae brought about by a cosmic encounter 200 million years ago.
Eventually the wave will dissipate and fade out into the outer regions of the galaxy where the gas and dust is too thin for new stars to be born. Looking like the spokes of a giant wheel, faint spiral arms can already be seen beginning to form again after the collision. The galaxy will probably take on the form of a normal spiral again in the future.
Looming in the background of the image are large numbers and groupings of faint distant galaxies, visibly clumping together and forming the large scale superstructure of the Universe. Many of these lie in the neighbourhood of the Sculptor Wall, a gigantic structure of galaxy clusters that stretches outwards for more than a billion light years.
Image details:
Date: 22nd September and 9th/10th/11th October 2012
Exposure: LRGB: 630:70:65:65m, total 13hrs 50mins @ -30C
Telescope: 10" Serrurier Truss Newtonian f/5
Camera: QSI 683wsg with Lodestar guider
Filters: Astrodon LRGB E-Series Gen 2
Taken from my observatory in Auckland, New Zealand
