Antlia Galaxy Cluster (Abell S0636) - Extreme Deep Field - 152 Hours
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Antlia Cluster (Abell S0636) Extreme Deep Field: Comparison with DSS and GALEX fields
In the top left corner is my Antlia Cluster (Abell S0636) Extreme Deep Field image and at top right is a highly stretched image from the STScI Digitized Sky Survey which shows merely a hint of a few of the large scale structures. In particular the vertical filament from the Antlia Supernova Remnant and the comet-like Intracluster Light tail from the NGC3258 group near the top left corner.
In the bottom left is the same field from GALEX All-Sky Imaging Survey in Ultraviolet light. Here the sumernova remnant is the only prominent large scale structure and the older elliptical galaxies are greatly diminished. Only a few of the bluest galaxies are prominent in the GALEX field, a hint of their vigorous star forming activity.
At bottom right is a stretched greyscale version of my image, showing the true extent of the Intracluster Light and Integrated Flux Nebula across the field.
The limiting magnitude of the image is around 25.00. Given that my earlier 120 hour exposure of Centaurus A reached magnitude 25.45 one might have expected a slightly higher limit this time, but the Antlia Cluster is only 19 degrees from the Galactic plane and thus looking in this direction is subject to higher absorption. It is also evident from the image that we are looking though a complex distribution of Integrated Flux Nebula which in effect act as light pollution in this context. However the presence of these dim clouds draped across the field of view is also hauntingly beautiful and is certainly one of the highlights of the image.
