The Devil's Mask in Pavo

[strongmanmike]

Ok kokay, here's a galaxy :) in fact three, all having a little dance :cool:

At 160 Million Ltyrs, the two spirals NGC 6769 and 6770 are very small galaxies on the sky, each measuring only about 2' in size so it was a real test of the resolution of the new system. The seeing varied across the 4+ hrs of Lum but at times it was actually pretty good too, so hallelujah :prey2: .

The Devils Mask (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/151629696/original)

Here are just his EYES (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/151632873/original)

To help identify the little details better, here is a Comparison with 8m VLT image (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/151632557/original) :P

Some super faint star streams linking the galaxies can be seen HERE (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/151640463/original)

Hope you like :D

Mike

[cybereye]

Wow, you have more detail within the galaxies than the VLT - fantastic! :thumbsup:

Mario

[PRejto]

Mike! Another great image from your super setup. Of course it's the way that you use your kit that is so impressive...

Peter

[astroron]

Well done Mike,nice image.
Brendon Downs (Thunderchildobs) found his first supernova in Ngc6769 about 10 years ago.
I observe this group quite a lot when it is favourable in our sky.
I must admit I have never heard this group called the devils eyes before:question:
Cheers:thumbsup:

[DJT]

Great image, I like indeed.

Seriously impressed with the comparisons as well.

:thumbsup:

[Larryp]

Top image, Mike!

[Derek Klepp]

Top pics.Have you done M74 with the SN yet?

[atalas]

Wonderful work Mike!

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Mario, yes, I was very happy to see the detail coming down, with OAG, small pixels and no bloody wind :windy: not to mention no darks or flats, I'm in heaven :D



Thanks Peter..it isn't that hard really :thumbsup:



Cheers Ron, I saw the reference to Devils Mask in the press release for that VLT image :thumbsup:



Thnaks David, yes my comparisons raise the ire of some but meah, it's just good to see what I am actually picking up, provides some reference I guess :)



Cheers Larry



No, only just found out about it actually but food for thought...



Thanks Big Louie :thumbsup:

[Octane]

That's beautiful, Mike.

What a stunning object.

Digging the faint background fuzzies, too.

H

[alpal]

Top work Mike.
It looks in some ways better than the VLT.

[astroron]

Thanks Mike, I suppose when you have 8.2 meter telescopes to play with, you can name almost anything you like ;):lol:
Cheers:thumbsup:

[RobF]

Great work Mike. You have to be happy with the resolution. 0.84 arcsec/px I gather - looking forward to the future exploits of this rig.

[ChrisM]

Nice work Mike. Not one I've seen before, and your galaxy detail compares well with the VLT pic.
Chris

[Bassnut]

Excellent. I tempted to have a go too now.

[multiweb]

Really clear close up. Tiny indeed. Great details and colours. :thumbsup:

[jase]

Like I do. :D

Great work, Mike. Your seeing must have been fantastic as the resolution can be likened to that of a 24" scope, a la Capella Observatory. Incredible detail. At the fast light gathering focal ratio you are operating at, is there a reason why you didn't pick up the 'bridge' between NGC6769 and NGC6771? Actually there is an even fainter arc reaching back around to NGC6770 too but suspect that would be more of a challenge requiring uber data, and finally darks and flats :lol: ;). Its present in the AAO plate if you want to take a squiz. Good to see something new. A breeze of fresh air. Well done.

[strongmanmike]

Thnaks H, yes seeing background galaxies always makes an image I recon :thumbsup:



Yeah..? Cool :)



Wonder what would happen if they imaged the Rosette :question: :lol:



Hi Rob, yes very happy so far and I am looking forward to every clear night now, even if windy :lol:



Cheers Chris and yes it isn't imaged much at all, surprising really.



Glad you liked it Fred :thumbsup:



Thanks Marc



Thanks Jase :thumbsup: Regarding the faint arcs and bridges, I can see the bridge between NGC 6769 and 6771 in the colour shot :shrug: (actually it connects all 3 galaxies) but the much fainter and longer arc between NGC 6771 and NGC 6770 requires some stretching and contrast enhancement (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/151640463/original) ;) :thumbsup:

[E_ri_k]

Awesome Mike, that's a great image! Does look like a twisted up mask, I like it:) That's a pretty faint set of galaxies right?

Erik

[Shiraz]

well yeah, that's actually pretty darn good.
the promise of the 694 systems was that they should be able to produce a good image of a faint fuzzy in one night - looks like they can do it very nicely with a dark site. Regards ray

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Erik :thumbsup:

They are each around Mag 12.5 so not super bright but not faint either.

Mike

[astroron]

Observed them last night :D
Cheers:thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

You got it :thumbsup: 12" at F3.8 helps too of course ;)

You will recall me always complaining about the rubbish seeing when I was imaging with the AG12 from Newcastle :question: hence why I never imaged a galaxy from there :sadeyes: Then the bloody wind from here at Wallaroo :lol:... I (and I imagine some on lookers), thought at times that maybe I had purchased a bit of a lemon :scared: ..well while I was always pretty confident of the causes and always put it down to the bad seeing and then the wind, I too was starting to doubt it at times....well, not any more!! as they say, location, location, location :party: he he he. This scope really is the imagers holy grail, with a big chip it can deliver wide expansive views AND then with small pixels it can also hammer resolution in close ups...perhaps I am finally truly happy :thumbsup:

Mike

[Shiraz]

the other thing your scope can do is planetary imaging - 300mm aperture is OK for that as well. all you need is a biggish Barlow and one of the new planet cams and away you go. :D

having a lot of trouble with sky transparency down here - during the day, the bits between the clouds look like pale blue milk, so reflected skyglow from Adelaide etc. is pretty bad at night - you have a nice dark site there I guess?

[strongmanmike]

Yes, considered having a go at Planets but keep baulking at resetting everything. Once I have a system working I'm a bit loathed to change it around for a while.

Where I am is at 610m and just under 10km, as the crow flies, from the edge of suburban Canberra but that's good enough to render it a pretty good sky and be close enough to shop and drive to work etc :thumbsup:

Mike

[Rod771]

Sensational image , wow!

It definitely holds its own against the VLT image :eyepop:

Very well done :thumbsup:

[marc4darkskies]

Beautiful Mike! Very impressive detail!

Cheers, Marcus

[cosmophoton]

Wonderful image Mike! The level of detail is impressive. The VLT people will apply for observing time in your telescope!
Cheers,
Luiz

[RickS]

A great first galaxy target and an impeccable image, Mike! Very quick for a group of fairly dim galaxies, too. Great work :thumbsup:

Cheers,
Rick.

[David Fitz-Henr]

That is superb Mike; lovely colour and detail!

[strongmanmike]

Thanks guys glad you all liked it :thumbsup:. The new gear and this image has me excited about the next session now :jump2:

Mike

[Paul Haese]

Cool object, but it looks pretty low which makes the result pretty darn good. How far above the horizon was it for you? I am not sure I can get this in my current obs.

What does the full fame look like Mike? Would like to see it at full res or close to it.

[marco]

FANTASTIC image Mike, you are really producing great images with the new camera :clap::clap::clap:
Please keep sending them :)

Cheers
Marco

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Marco, yes the SX camera, OAG and Loadstar are pretty good to use on this scope :thumbsup:

Mike

[strongmanmike]

No it's actually very high in the sky, it's in Pavo mate ;).

Mike

[madbadgalaxyman]

Hi Mike,

as usual, the depth and resolution of your image is very good, which is why I am interested in your image, insofar as investigating what is going on in NGC 6771......this galaxy is - in its way - much more interesting and unusual than the two mildly distorted face-on spirals!

This edge-on S0 galaxy has an unusual bulge;
this is a "giant boxy/x-shaped bulge", and some modelling indicates that these giant boxy or x-shaped bulges may be the product of galaxy mergers. (some people call them "peanut shaped bulges"). There are plenty of these bulges in some clusters of galaxies, but their origin and nature is not fully understood!!

To save a lot of explanation, I discuss the various types of bulges in the "Observation Reports" forum thread called "AGCS 805 observed".....

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=77826&highlight=NGC+6771+boxy

In this thread, you can find pictures and isophotes of several galaxies which have very big and very rectangular bulges that sometimes simultaneously look X-shaped.
NGC 6771 is an excellent example of this morphology, a type of structure that is relatively common in some high-galaxy-density environments like galaxy clusters.

It might be interesting to see what your high-contrast image of NGC 6771 looks like, enlarged significantly , and at various levels of contrast.

The complexity of structure in these giant boxy bulges is hinted at in this image of N6771 from star shadows observatory (reproduced at two different levels of contrast):

144953

144954

Best regards,
Robert

[Ross G]

I love galaxy photos Mike and this is a great one.

Great colours and detail and, as always, you are spot on with your composition.

Ross.

[Paul Haese]

Ah that is cool. I read the dec at -60 and thought it might be lower than 5367 I did last year that was pretty low at -40. I will check out the area. I see there is a globular in the same area and I can fit that in the same field of view.

[gregbradley]

Great work Mike. Good too see the new setup working so well.

Greg.

[Stevec35]

I'm late chiming in with this one Mike but that's one extremely impressive galaxy picture!

Cheers

Steve

[Leonardo70]

Great image Mike.

Congrats,
Leo

[madbadgalaxyman]

Further to my previous post about the unusual bulge of NGC 6771, here is an image of it from the Carnegie-Irvine Galaxy survey (http://cgs/obs.carnegiescience.edu/CGS/Home.html )

As you can see, the "bulge" (if that is what it is) is not what we usually think of as a normal bulge.....yet there are plenty of these seen in some clusters of galaxies.

The reason this looks so unfamiliar is that our "baseline truth" about how galaxies look comes from galaxy atlases like the Carnegie Atlas of Galaxies, the Hubble Atlas of Galaxies, and the De Vaucoleurs Atlas of Galaxies, all of which tend to emphasize the sorts of galaxies which occupy low-density environments.

In contrast, the spiral and S0 galaxies in the more dense galaxy clusters tend to have a "certain look about them" which is unfamiliar, relative to the morphologies you find in these galaxy atlases.

144983

Not as pretty as the spirals, but a lot more unusual!

[astronobob]

Your a good sport Mike, Galaxies ! Looking impressive as usual, considering, and sounds like something to look forward to with your next session :shrug: ;)

HavagoodN :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Thanks for looking guys, glad it looks good to you all :thumbsup:

As usual some great info there Robo :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Mike

[naskies]

Absolutely love it! :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Cool, nice to hear Dave :thumbsup:

Mike

[stardust steve]

wow looks great. I love those dust lanes rippin' through that galaxy on the left:thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Yeah cool aren't they.

I looked (ie with my eye at an eyepiece) at this trio through a mates 6" Celestron SCT last night from here actually...bloody tiny buggers :eyepop:

Mike