Fornax Dwarf in perspective

[marco]

Dear all, below is the link to last addition to my galleries:

The Fornax Dwarf (http://www.glitteringlights.com/Images/Galaxies/i-CrGHQTn)

The Fornax Dwarf Spheroidal is an elliptical dwarf galaxy in the constellation Fornax that was discovered in 1938 by Harlow Shapley from South Africa, shortly after he discovered the Sculptor dwarf, which image I posted a while ago (http://www.glitteringlights.com/Images/Galaxies/i-Fk8GMn5/A). The galaxy is a satellite of the Milky Way and contains six globular clusters; the largest, NGC 1049, was discovered before the galaxy itself.

Like the Sculptor dwarf, this galaxy has an extremely low surface brightness yet covers a large area of sky. To put things in the right perspective I created a comparison image with both the Fornax and Sculptor dwarfs along an image of the full moon reduced to the same scale. I believe this will surprise more than somebody..

Sculptor and Fornax dwarfs in perspective (http://www.glitteringlights.com/Images/Galaxies/i-2WbZPsh/A)

Hope you will like this image a bit out the bitten path. LRGB collecting about 10 hours of light..

Clear skies
Marco

[jase]

Nicely done Marco. You've brought out the subtle bean shaped structure very well. Not an easy target with its low surface brightness. I recall imaging this target many years ago with the FSQ. There is a bucket load of integrated flux neb in the area which adds a pleasing dimension. I like the comparison image too.

[RickS]

Very cool, Marco, and the size comparison certainly surprised me!

Cheers,
Rick.

[Placidus]

Marco, both images are spectacular. I can see that they require a large field and long exposure. Thanks for the explanation about their very high mass to light ratio. I understand that helps distinguish them from a large globular cluster, which would contain negligible dark matter.

[strongmanmike]

Great deep work Marco and interesting presentation, you've managed to make what could easily be a rather boring subject, truly shine :thumbsup:

Mike

[gregbradley]

Great work Marco.

Greg.

[Rex]

Another great image Marco. Well done mate.

[Paul Haese]

Awesome field Marco, good colour and heaps of little galaxies to check out in the surrounding field. That is cool you also captured the globs with it. It adds perspective to the size of the galaxy.

[Geoff45]

Great stuff Marco. Lots of pinpoint stars in those galaxies and very interesting to see all those globs.
Geoff

[Tony_]

Great images Marco!

Apparently this is one of the few dwarf galaxies that has GCs. Doesn't look like an easy target - low surface brightness.

The Sculptor dwarf reminds me of a globular cluster. NGC 5139 is thought by some to be the core of a dwarf galaxy.

Tony.

[marco]

Thanks Jase for the appreciation, in fact target is not so easy due to the low surface brightness even if it is quite manageable..



Thanks Rick :)



Thanks Mike, my understanding is the same as yours about the dark matter contained even if I am not an expert on this..



Thanks Mike, in fact these galaxies are not at all spectacular even if they are charming since so much different from the majority of other galaxies around..



Thanks Greg!



Thanks Rex



Thanks Paul, happy you liked it!



Thanks Geoff :)



Thanks Tony, interesting addendum the note about NGC5139, I didn't know that..

Clear skies
Marco

[topheart]

Very nice image. I love the off the beaten track choice of target.

Very well done!

Thanks!
Tim

[marco]

Thanks you Tim! I love too out-of-the-bitten-track targets :)

Clear skies
Marco