I discovered a galaxy - really! :-)

[strongmanmike]

Well, it isn’t every day that you discover something in astronomy, let alone a galaxy!

As part of a professional team lead by Aaron J. Romanowsky and David Martinez-Delgardo, this is my first involvement in a scientific discovery and my first scientific paper too. The paper was accepted for publication in the Monthly Notices of The Royal Astronomical Society just today, 21 Dec and I am pretty excited. The paper has been in the review process for a while and under embargo until now but Subaru will do a press release, there will be a story in New Scientist shortly and it will be published by Oxford University Press soon.

The galaxy, in this case a Dwarf Spheroidal, was first discovered in a deep image I captured of NGC 253 using my Orion Optics UK AG12 a 12" F3.8 corrected Newtonian. This was then subsequently followed up by deep exposures by the CHART 32 team with their 32" F7 corrected Cassegrain telescope at Cerro Tololo and then finally the Suprime-Cam on the 8m Subaru telescope was used, in sub arc sec seeing, to resolve stars and confirm the discovery and galaxy classification.

So to discover something so faint and so close to such a well researched galaxy like NGC 253 is extra special and the new galaxy is called NGC 253-dw2.

The last line of the abstract is very encouraging too: "We also note the continued efficacy of small telescopes for making big discoveries"

Anyway, if you are interested you can read the abstract and then download the paper (top right corner of the page under DOWNLOAD) here:

Satellite accretion in action: a tidally disrupting dwarf spheroidal around the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 253 (http://arxiv.org/abs/1512.03815)

And you can see my deep discovery image here: NGC 253-dw2 (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/162148414/original) (Surface brightness = 26.2 mag/squ arc sec)

Article about the discovery at IFN Science HERE (http://www.iflscience.com/space/nearby-galaxy-discovered-backyard-telescope)

Pretty Cool huh? :)

Mike

[Joshua Bunn]

Mike, that is very cool! good on ya and congratulations :thumbsup:

[raymo]

Let me be the first to congratulate you. Oops, I see I'm second.
raymo

[Ross G]

Hello Mike,

I have been away for a while so what a great story to find on my return to IIS.

Congratulations!........well deserved.

Ross.

[Atmos]

That's freaking awesome Mike! Just a pity that they don't let you name it.
What would you have called it?

[CapturingTheNight]

That's awesome Mike. Congratulations!

[ZeroID]

Oh WOW !!! to the MAX !! :eyepop:
Well done Mike, I don't know how you managed to keep quiet on this for so long !! EXcellent work, congratulations !! :thumbsup:

[sheeny]

a.k.a. Sidonmeda!

Congratulations Mike! Very cool indeed.:thumbsup:

Al.

[CJ]

Sub zero I reckon!

[astro_nutt]

Congratulations on your discovery, truly awesome!

[Ryderscope]

Fantastic Mike and well done. A great achievement and continuing confirmation of the contributions that amateurs can make to genuine science.

[h0ughy]

well done Mike - congratulations on snagging this one

[Somnium]

Well done Mike, that is fantastic. I am interested to know how you figured out that it was a previously undiscovered Galaxy

[PeterM]

Congratulations Mike. Always great to read when the hobby we love so much pays you back in ways never imagined.

[rustigsmed]

Bam!
Congratulations Mike - that is truly awesome!

[graham.hobart]

excellent!:thumbsup:

[astroron]

Bloody Brilliant Mike, Wow :eyepop:
I am in awe.
Congratulations
Lets see anyone "Sidonio" that one. ;)
Cheers:thumbsup:

[iborg]

My congrats also.

Lucky it was published before Toloba's group got in.

Have fun

Philip

[andyc]

That's fantastic Mike! Congratulations on the discovery and the paper :thumbsup:

[Ric]

Congrats Mike

Definitely a feather in your cap for that one.

I hope that fire at Wallaroo the other day wasn't near your Obs.

[OICURMT]

Just read the paper...

It's a great read and a good contribution to the scientific community. The fact that they suggest using small scopes to find more faint satellites and streams in the context of resolving "tensions" in the standard model speak to the importance of your contribution.

Best lines in the paper are (paraphrased):





Which fully support the quote…



Congrats Mike on a great win for yourself and making "amateur's" look like professionals.

OIC!

[Renato1]

Remarkable!
I really like it. Congratulations.
Regards,
Renato

[peter_4059]

Congratulations Mike.

[strongmanmike]

Thanks all for the nice feedback, not quite a double impact on Jupiter ala Bird :eyepop: ....but as I said, things like this don't happen every day for us amateurs :D

Ric, yes the fire was within 2km of my observatory but was contained and extinguished. It is an on going concern for me given the area I am in. I try and keep the long grass mowed very low for at least 15m all around the observatory and the rest is up to insurance, which I have plenty of.

I agree with your highlighted points OIC.

There was some discussion on what to name this galaxy for the press release... so will have to wait and see :)

Thanks again everyone :thumbsup:

Mike

[alocky]

This is an inspirational achievement! Although in principle, Mike has proved that an 'amateur' system is capable of advancing science, just as the BOSS guys are doing, I'm pretty sure that amount of hard work and perseverance that goes into something like this has been considerably understated!
Congratulations again. You just reminded me why I bother!
Cheers,
Andrew.

[rogerg]

That is absolutely awesome Mike!! So much better than discovering a minor planet or comet :) Wow, what a career achievement! ... and shows what is still possible if only we try.

Great story to take as a talk to highschool students and the like.

:thumbsup:

[DavidU]

Awesome work there Mike !!! Congrats

[glenc]

Wow. Congratulations Mike.

[Rob_K]

Fantastic Mike, congratulations! :thumbsup:

Cheers -

[RB]

How cool is THAT !!!
Congratulations mate, well done !

RB

:thumbsup: :cheers:

[gary]

Great stuff Mike!

So browsing the paper, it seems remarkable that Sand et. al, who they
reference, missed it when they discovered what they dubbed Scl-MM-Dw1
in 2014.

See http://arxiv.org/abs/1406.6687

Given they were presumably looking hard for dwarf galaxies outside of
the Local Group to try and solve the "missing satellite problem (http://arxiv.org/pdf/1406.6687v1.pdf)" it seems
to say a lot about how tenuous and difficult to spot they are given
the current observed discrepancy of their numbers is out by a factor
of "> 100".

It's obviously not called Cold Dark Matter for nothing.

So with this precedent it sounds like a wonderful challenge for imagining enthusiasts.

Once again, well done! :thumbsup:

[RickS]

Congrats, Mike! Lucky you were using the PL16803 and not that little Sony sensor :lol:

Cheers,
Rick.

[wavelandscott]

Congratulations! Exciting news indeed.

[Shiraz]

super good work Mike. hearty congratulations.

[DJT]

Congrats on the find, a great result!

[DiscoDuck]

Congratulations, Mike!!

:party2:

[strongmanmike]

Thanks again guys glad you find it at least a little bit cool :)

My thoughts exactly Rick :lol:

Gary, I agree, not sure what is going on there, perhaps the entire area they were hoping to cover around the galaxy wasn't finished or it didn't quite stretch to my little baby...and they just missed NGC 253-dw2..?:shrug:

Mike

[ASTRO-GEM]

As a Newby this sounds Absolutely Amazing! :bowdown::xmas::jump: Good On YOU Mike!!!

[strongmanmike]

He he Thanks Terri but you see once you have had your ugly mug on a Weet Bix cereal packet, twice!...meah, this is small fry :lol: (kidding) :D

Mike

[Slawomir]

Awesome news Mike, truly happy for you :party2:

So now you own a galaxy, huh? ;)

[JZ]

Hi Mike,
What an awesome achievement!!!
Your work is truly inspirational to newbies like me!

What did you think when you first noticed it?

As they say most discoveries are announced with a "that's funny" rather than a "eureka"!

Congratulations! :thumbsup:
Ross...

[Dennis]

That’s fantastic news Mike, congratulations, well done and well deserved.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Cheers

Dennis

[marc4darkskies]

Yup! Pretty darn cool Mike!! Kudos!!

[Mark_Heli]

Congratulations Mike. All of your work is outstanding.

Cheers,
Mark

[barx1963]

Mike
Congratulations. That must be the biggest thrill. And knowing that the discovery is actually significant and improves mankinds knowledge of the universe is really exciting.

Cheers

Malcolm

[Retrograde]

Congratulations Mike an amazing achievement!

[strongmanmike]

Thanks again guys :)

I noticed it in my original data when I stretched it and actually thought hmm? wonder if that's been catalogued and just assumed must be :shrug:...I didn't think it was undiscovered, it was the professional guys who spotted it and wanted to follow it up so contacted me and we went from there :thumbsup: of course I immediately started thinking doh! I knew it, I knew it! :lol:

Now all I need is for Subaru to do the same follow up with my NGC 1232 jet (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/153087957/original):D

Mike

[lazjen]

That's pretty cool - I was wondering how it came about.

Great work. :thumbsup:

[xelasnave]

That is a wonderful discovery Mike.
You just keep adding to your list of inspirational achievements.
Now get back to work there is still much to be done.
Congratulations well done.

best wishes Alex

[middy]

Congratulations. That is awesome Mike. :2thumbs:
They can call it what they like but to everyone on IceInSpace it will always be the Strongman galaxy. :P

[Bassnut]

Thats fantastic Mike, love it. Much kudos indeed!.

[andyc]

So how many Weet Bix does a strong astronomer chow down to get such great deep images? ;)

[DarkArts]

Nice story, but I feel a bit ripped off.

Given your discovery originated a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, your tale should have been conveyed over at least seven episodes ... :P

Seriously, though, that's pretty amazing. You discovered a whole galaxy! Kewl!

[Nortilus]

Thats great...i love galaxy info and this is just tops for an amateur to find something the pros havent with back yard gear...love it

[Suzy]

Hi Mike :hi:,
Many congratulations, you are a true inspiration for us amateurs.
Oh boy what a ride, I'm so thrilled for you.

[traveller]

Well done Mike congrats!
Bo

[netwolf]

Congrats Mike a truly an inspiring effort. I second the motion to name it Strongman Galaxy.

[strongmanmike]

Thanks heaps again everyone, not sure what the release headline will be but Strongman Galaxy is probably not likely :lol:. (besides I am a pudgy middle-aged wimp now anyway)

Andy, I seldom eat Weet-Bix, even when I was competing I wasn't a huge fan and I used to get asked that frequently by audiences and commentators etc too, I used to just tell fibs and say "oh usually a dozen"...kept the sponsors happy ;). I do however drink beer, coffee and Whisky (usually in that order) throughout most imaging sessions :P

Mike

[strongmanmike]

By the way, the measured surface brightness of this little sucker is just 26.2 mag/squ arc sec!..so that's pretty faint and probably why it went unrecognised for so long?

Mike

[beren]

Congrats Mike :thumbsup:

[AussieTrooper]

There's not many sciences where joe blow can still make a discovery these days.
Thankfully, astronomy is one of them.

Well done and keep up the good work.:thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Beren and Ben

Yes, nice when some bloke (no, not David Malin :lol:) can collect some data form a darkish sky...and discover a galaxy...pretty amazing really, I just got lucky :)

Mike

[RB]

Yeah, but he told you where to look, didn't he?
C'mon, fess up.

:poke:

[strongmanmike]

:lol: Merry Christmas O Philos Mou :cheers:

[RB]

You too buddy.

:cheers:

[RobF]

WTG big guy. Very Impressive find. :)

[strongmanmike]

Yeah, cheers Rob, I usually only see imaginary animals and such in nebulae, so to see an actual undiscovered galaxy in my image was a nice change :lol:

Mike

[stevous67]

Well done Mike, very, very cool indeed!

Steve :cheers:

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Steve :thumbsup: doing an interview about it tomorrow even...so its started.....next comes an agent, the boozey pool parties then the cocaine..ah sigh.... :sadeyes: :rofl:

Mike

[aarong]

Wow! Great work and thanks for sharing.

[niharika]

Fantastic work Mike :) and well done.

[N1]

A strong performance (sorry couldn't resist)!

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Cheers guys :thumbsup:

Just did a phone interview with I F'n Love Science :D

Mike

[strongmanmike]

Here is the IFL Science article (http://www.iflscience.com/space/nearby-galaxy-discovered-backyard-telescope), a nice summary :)

Happy New year...may you year be full of Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies :P

Mike

[Merlin66]

Mike,
I'd like to add my congratulations!
Well done.
It reinforces once again that smaller amateur telescopes can do useful scientific work - IF we are diligent in checking all our images and data...
Unfortunately I'm pretty sure over the years that many "discoveries" have slipped though the hands of the amateur who didn't take the time (or care) to check what he/she had recorded.

[pfitzgerald]

Well done Mike - an absolutely 'stellar' effort - and a great article to boot.

Paul

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Ken and Paul.

Ken, I noticed the galaxy in my stretched data at the time and remember thinking, I wonder if that is a small galaxy at NGC 253's distance or a large background galaxy...buuuut just assumed someone already knew...:)

Mike

[astronobob]

Well That is just Super Grouse Mike, What a Thrill - what a Find
Your the man !!!
Congratts & well done champ :cool2:

[Octane]

Just got back from a week of 4WD and camping, (first day back at work, ugh!) to see this great news.

Congratulations. :)

H

[strongmanmike]

Cheers boys :)...something a bit out of left field I guess and nothing ground breaking but pretty cool non the less.

...and first day back for me to H :rolleyes:

Mike

[barx1963]

Mike
I think "nothing groundbreaking" is being a little modest!! This discovery tells us about how galaxies form. Galaxies are the engine rooms of star formation and the recycling of heavy elements. If there were no galaxies we wouldn't be here. You have contributed to our knowledge of how we came to be.

Malcolm

PS first day back here also

[strongmanmike]

Ha ha, thanks Mal, I guess you're right. I just meant this is something that could happen to any of us really, we merrily snap away at the sky for hours and hours, month after month, year after year and maybe, just maybe, there is something new in amongst that data that hasn't been noticed before...aaaand I just got lucky :)

Still not quuuuite in the witnessing an impact on Jupiter league though :eyepop: ala A.Wesley :lol:

Mike

[ZeroID]

In my books a Galaxy outweighs a Jupiter anytime :thumbsup:

Although both just show what amateurs can do for science, just proves the point again !! :D

[RB]

I suppose that's true Brent.

:lol:

[rustigsmed]

:lol::lol:

[Regulus]

Congratulations Mike, what an absolutely incredible return on your time and skills. And it's nice to have the Subaru image to be able to get a good look at it.
Very pleased for you.
Trevor

[Kal]

Very cool Mike, very cool indeed!

:bowdown:

[LightningNZ]

Geez, you go away of Christmas and look what you miss!

Congratulations Mike. This is really is brilliant work. It also fills me with hope since I'm currently photographing (well not right now, it's daytime) from the same area, and have been offered use of land that's even darker out past Yass.

Please keep dazzling us with your amazing work.
-Cam

[AstralTraveller]

Ditto to all the positive comments.

There are various ways to access the quality and worth of a paper. The first is where you are able to publish it. The Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) ranks scientific journals as A*, A, B, C. You really don't want to be publishing in a 'C' journal. MNRAS Letter doesn't have an entry in the rankings but MNRAS is an 'A' journal, so that is very good. (The paper will certainly be seen by your target audience.) Then you look at the citation rate. If a paper sinks without trace it wasn't much chop (or no one recognises you genius ;)). If however every man and his dog cites it then you have a real 'hit'. Knowing that will take a year or two. Given you have a 'first' and not just 'another' I think there will be interest in the paper.

BTW if you want to get cited there appear to be three successful approaches.



Publish an amazing discovery that everyone wants to talk about. (very difficult)
Publish a load of twaddle that everyone jumps on to give you a kicking. (harder than it sounds - and hard on the ego)
Come up with a new instrumental or analytical technique that everyone wants to use. (also very difficult but the citations continue for years)

[strongmanmike]

Thanks so much again guys for finding this interesting and for the kind feedback :thumbsup:

Here is the just released Canberra Times piece (http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/former-strongman-michael-sidonio-discovers-new-galaxy-20160105-gm04iz.html) on the discovery :P

The coolest thing was that the reporter interviewed Prof Brian Schmidt about the discovery, via phone, from inside my observatory! :D

Mike

[Somnium]

one for the scrap book

[iceman]

That's great news, Mike! Hearty congrats from me too!

Well deserved for your years of dedication to the art and science of astronomy/astrophotgraphy :)

[Jay-qu]

Haven't been around here in a little while, but I saw you made the top stories on theage: http://www.theage.com.au/act-news/former-strongman-michael-sidonio-discovers-new-galaxy-20160105-gm04iz.html

Congratulations :)

[AndrewJ]

Gday Mike

Just saw it printed in todays Melb Age as well.
Just for a moment, ( based on the story alongside it ),
i thought you had become a Bikie strongman :lol:

Andrew

[Bassnut]

Was also in the Syd morning Hearld today and just now an interview on ABC radio(702). Your going a bit viral Mike :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Thanks everyone, it's going crazy, been a busy day so far with phone interviews including the US, with more scheduled for tomorrow and next week even, including live TV :eyepop:

Sheeesh...it was just a smudge :shrug: :lol:

Mike

[RB]

BTW Mike, WHO Magazine called, they wanted to know your Star Sign. :shrug:

:lol:

[strongmanmike]

Orion of course (The Hunter)...you see, the Sun made it through one little corner of the constellation that year :D

[Somnium]

Today, someone at work said to me "did you hear that some guy found a galaxy"! so Mike, you are being talked about, a household name soon :)

they also asked if you got to name the galaxy. i did tell them that the IAU are not that cool.

If you could name it, what would you call it ?

[strongmanmike]

Cool to hear :thumbsup:

Yes, I have been saying there are some 200 Billion galaxies in the universe so eventually finding a unique name becomes very difficult...especially once we get down to a dwarf galaxy of Mag 26 :lol:

I've always liked Kevin - the name originally intended for Jesus until one of the wise men bumped his head on the door to the manger :P

Mike

[Somnium]

:thumbsup:

[alan meehan]

Mike super find ,well done and your shot of ngc253 is a beauty
AL

[alpal]

It's in the Canberra Times:

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/former-strongman-michael-sidonio-discovers-new-galaxy-20160105-gm04iz.html


congratulations.

cheers
Allan

[colinmlegg]

Congrats Mike... you just popped up on our local ABC.. all the way over here in Perth :) I thought.. hey I know that guy! Haven't been on IIS for awhile so missed the original announcement!

[Paddy]

Congratulations Mike! Great to see you in today's Age.

[Suzy]

Hi Mike, I've just posted this on our facebook page along with the Canberra Times article, so if you're on fb, it'd be great if you could please stop by the page and give a comment to your supporters on the thread, thanks :).
https://www.facebook.com/iceinspace/

[Renato]

Congratulations Mike, great job!

[jjjnettie]

:cool::cool::cool::cool::cool::cool ::cool::cool:
Yeah, that's pretty damn cool Mike.
Congratulations. :)

[pfitzgerald]

The article was in yesterday's Age as well - way to go Mike!

:2thumbs::bowdown:

Paul

[strongmanmike]

Thanks again guys, it's all going a bit viral :lol:

Pssst :scared3:...watch Sunrise on Prime, Wed morning 13 Jan, going live from Terroux observatory :D

Mike

[gary]

Hi Mike,

The Canberra Times article and video interview was a really nice piece! :thumbsup:

Thanks for the tip-off on the Sunrise program. We'll be sure to set
the recorder for the morning of the 13th.

Best Regards

Gary

[cometcatcher]

Holy cow Mike that's awesome! Congratulations!

[iceman]

Your image is now IOTW (http://www.iceinspace.com.au).

[Rod771]

Far out Mike!!!!! Congrats on the discovery. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Ha! cool Mike :)

[anthony.tony]

Amazing - Tony.

[anthony.tony]

Just out of Interest what is The R.A. & Dec. of the Object - Reguard's Tony

[strongmanmike]

Hi Tony

RA: 00:50:18
Dec: -24:44:26

Cheers

Mike

[Quark]

This is brilliant news Mike, congratulations on the discovery and publication of the paper. To make a significant contribution to the Science of astronomy is just great and I applaud you for this work, very well done Sir.

More and more professionals are seeing the value of amateur data each year, the number of collaborations continue to grow as do the number of peer reviewed papers in the major Scientific Journals that feature amateur authors & co-authors.

Regards
Trevor

[strongmanmike]

Confirmed and scheduled for 8:10am, live from Terroux Observatory with David Koch and Edwina Bartholomew

Now to try and not make a fool of myself... after what looks like may be an imaging all-nighter before the crew arrives :eyepop:...dedicated see? :P :screwy:

EDIT: Ok they have pushed it to Thursday morning now :rolleyes:

EDIT2: Back to Tomorrow morning again (Wed) 8:30am..sheesh!

Mike

[John K]

Mike,

Just adding to the list of people offering congrats! Well done mate. Excellent in promoting amateur astronomy as well, and could not have happen to a better ambassador of our hobby.

Cheers,

John K.

[Irish stargazer]

Fantastic achievement Mike. Very well done:thumbsup:

[anthony.tony]

Thank's for the Dec and RA. -reguard's Tony.

[strongmanmike]

Cheers John and Tony :thumbsup:



Nice words John, wow, glad you think so :)

Mike

[Hans Tucker]

Yep..Just watching Mike's interview on Sunrise.

[h0ughy]

great interview mike, tardis and all including your dark secret LOL

[OICURMT]

https://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunrise/video/watch/30558447/australian-man-discovers-brand-new-galaxy/#page1


"I discovered a galaxy, what have you done?"

-- Michael Sidonio

[croweater]

I dicovered a galaxy, what have you done? That's a classic! Good one Strongman. Cheers, Richard.

[Somnium]

well done Mike

[dimithri86]

Congrats. I saw the interview on TV, very entertaining. Keep up the good work.

Dimithri.

[barx1963]

All good Mike. Though Kochie was a bit rough describing your obs as "makeshift" though!!

Malcolm

[strongmanmike]

Ha ha thanks guys!

I have done a few interviews and TV shows before, so I know these sort of things never go quite according to plan. I didn't know the content of the intro piece they had put together and it covered most of the stuff I was going to say in the interview, so I just winged the questions and had a bit of fun...a mate did actually recommend I get a T-Shirt made up especially for the Sunrise interview with "I discovered a galaxy...what have you done?" printed on it :lol:...so when the opportunity arose I just said it for a laugh :D

All a good bit of fun :P

Mike

[RobC]

Congratulations on the discovery and what a great interview. Thought Kochie was going to offer you a job.

Cheers

Rob

[jenchris]

Saw you on TV abc news.
Apparently your astrodome is just a makeshift setup!!!
Next time you see the journalist poke him in the eye.

[AndrewJ]

Maybe he should have washed it, and planted a few petunias?????
After all, if it looks good, it must be better, right ?????

Andrew

[anthony.tony]

You getting plenty of Good Rap on Facebook . Congratulations -- Tony

[Hans Tucker]

I thought Kochie comment that Mike's observatory looked like a TARDIS was a bit cringe worthy until later in the story there was a segment showing Mike inside the observatory...then I realised....(Mike + AG12 + NJP)Sirius 2.3 = Time And Relative Dimension In Space

[RobF]

Was late for work waiting for this to come on, so good to watch it tonight.
Well handled Mike - I wouldn't be able to keep up with those practiced media personalities - would be figuring out decent answers 30mins afterwards probably. Great job. :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Cheers again guys :)



I really should have washed it for national televison Andrew...but I decided the rustic look was more me :P



Yes it is a bit tight in there at times Hans, luckily I am actually reasonably flexible for a lump :P

[ZeroID]

Mike, you just so gotta get that T-Shirt made up !!! :P
Good interview despite the slightly disparaging descriptions of your setup.

[thomqos]

Very well done Mike!

My dad brought me the article that was in The Age...

[dreamstation]

Saw the repeat of the Sunrise interview this morning while I was getting ready for work. Well done mate - you've achieved something that very few people will ever do. You must be stoked. :)

[strongmanmike]

Yes, ya never know, maybe I will Brent, just for a laugh :lol:





Cheers Russell and James :thumbsup:

[xstream]

Hey Big Fella, congrats on the find. Bet your chest grew out even bigger! :lol:

It will be my shout for single malt next time we catch up. :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Cheers John, I'm getting me-self a bottle of this (https://www.jimmurphy.com.au/product/lark-cask-strength-500ml) for SPSP this year :D hic! tried it on the P&O Aria last month (surprisingly) and it was sensational :thumbsup:

Mike

[bigjoe]

In Awe of what you have achieved.

Keep it up were all going to follow this.

bigjoe

[gaa_ian]

That's awesome Mike. Certainly a first in my time involved in amateur astronomy. Although this really shows your work is certainly "professional" Well done mate !

[xstream]

Ooh nice! You won't be dissappointed in it :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Oh I know, I tasted it and thought, wow, bit like an Ardbeg Uigeadail, a veritable explosion of complexity and punch...but from Tasmania :)

Ok sorry, better not turn this into a whisky thread :lol:

Mike

[Matt Wastell]

Just read this Mike - awesome stuff - pumped for you & the team.

[SkyViking]

Mike, that's just fantastic, congratulations! I have been away from IIS for a while (been busy moving house) and it was great to come back and then see this.
Just watched your live interview and it was brilliant and very entertaining. Well done! :D

[I.C.D]

Well done Mike keep up the good work ian .c
:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thum bsup:

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Matt Rolf and Ian :thumbsup: it's been and is continuing to be a ride, the paper was published in the Oxford Journals (http://mnrasl.oxfordjournals.org/content/457/1/L103.abstract) yesterday, a bit earlier than the team expected :thumbsup: Subaru should do a press release soon too.

Mike

[gaa_ian]

I have posted this up in the shop window for all to see Mike.
This is inspiring for many a budding Astrophotographer !

[strongmanmike]

Ha ha, great stuff Ian :)....hope business is booming in Cairns :thumbsup:
BTW, I had the beeeest Seafood Linguini at the Boat Shed (had a plate for two, all to myself :P) on the waterfront there.

Mike

[Finite]

What a stunning discovery, congratulations on bagging this object Strongmanmike! :thumbsup: You are indeed one of the exalted. I've just seen this, and must go and find your interview.

[cybereye]

Mike,

So this is what you've been up to while I've been absent from IIS... Congratulations on the discovery, truly amazing and incredibly inspirational!! :astron:

Cheers,
Mario

[strongmanmike]

Thanks so much guys :thumbsup: I'm still getting contacted from all over the World over this, even people in the street have recognised me here in Canberra :lol: I hate to think what it would be like if it was truly something ground breaking! :eyepop:

Mike

[PeterM]

Mike this IS ground breaking imho.
You deserve all the recognition and accolades for this, you have done what very few have done and you have done it in the hobby you are passionate about. Using your own vast imaging skills, your dedication, your own time your own funding. There is rarely a monetary reward so enjoy.
I and no doubt all at IIS are very proud of your accomplishment.
Sh#@ I even got to say to my grandkids when watching you with Kochie, I know him, I know him - you that is not Kochie!
Peter

[strongmanmike]

Ah ha ha, thanks Peter :), it has been lots of fun I guess :thumbsup: I was drinking in the pub in our building a couple of weeks ago now and this random woman came up to me and said "my friends and I were just wondering...are you the galaxy man?" I laughed and said, well I guess I am :lol:

Mike

[cybereye]

Samsung been around to see you yet?

[strongmanmike]

Funnily enough I even have one myself :P

Mike

[PeterM]

I'm just waiting on The Galaxy 5.1.2.8 Supernova model....

[strongmanmike]

Only just realised the official Subaru Telescope press release came out on Feb 8 :doh:...I must have been looking in the wrong place :rolleyes:

It is probably the best short science summary of the discovery of the many that have come out about this :)

Galactic Space Oddity Discovered (http://subarutelescope.org/Pressrelease/2016/02/08/index.html)

Mike

[PeterM]

Brilliant! What a great read Mike.
Thanks for posting.

Peter

[DJT]

Great to see the outcome of the investigation of the "smudge"

[astroron]

Splendid read Mike,Well done mate.:thumbsup:
Cheers.

[astroron]

Mike, So where is NGC 253-dw1 then?
How far is it away from your find Mike and also is it visible in your type of imaging equipment. :question:
Cheers:thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Ha ha..that's a good bloody question Ron...never thought to confirm :question:..I'll get back to you

Mike

[astroron]

I await with baited breath Mike. ;)
It's good to know someone with connections:D
Cheers:thumbsup:

[trader10]

Wow ! That's so cool ! Nice work Mike !!! Congrats !

[astroron]

Still waiting.;) :lol:
Cheers:thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

I did ask the team leader and I haven't heard back...? I'll chase that up again for you :)

Mike

[David Fitz-Henr]

Just caught up with all this Mike - terrific stuff!! Well done mate! Amazing that an amateur can discover a galaxy with all the professional equipment / surveys that are around to compete with! :thumbsup:

[graham.hobart]

[HTML]I did ask the team leader and I haven't heard back...? I'll chase that up again for you "

Ha Mike- was up there last Thursday could have knocked on the door of the Subaru for you!!!!:D
Graham

[astroron]

:thumbsup::)

[strongmanmike]

Thanks so much Dave! It has been a whirlwind ride for sure :lol:...I have been imaging the sky since 1982 so maaate it was just a matter of time..eventually everyone can discover a galaxy with enough sky time :D

Mike

[strongmanmike]

Ha ha yeah! Man soooooooo jealous of you man!! Did you see the dark sky??

[madbadgalaxyman]

Hi Mike,

Your very own galaxy......most impressive! Can I take out a lease on it?

But seriously now, the up-and-coming field of "near-field cosmology" tries to characterize the contents of local universe, accurately, so as to try to trace back evolutionary events to the era of Galaxy Formation.

Thus there is a lot of interest in characterizing small and ultra-low surface brightness objects like this, in the nearby groups of galaxies. Thus, surveys of the local galaxy groups such as Sculptor, Centaurus (M83+NGC5128), M81 group, etc., keep on turning up more and more of these little galaxies.

Small dwarf galaxies may not seem much...... just a smattering of widely-spaced stars.... but the lower the galaxy luminosity, the higher is the fraction of dark matter in a galaxy;
so tiny ultra-low surface brightness galaxies have to be a virtual "cannonball" in terms of their total (mainly dark) mass, so as to gravitationally hold together that smattering of stars.

The work of Ken Freeman and John Kormendy in fact shows that if we go to sufficiently low galaxy luminosity, there may be "exclusively dark matter" galaxies which have formed no, or virtually no, stars.

So what you are actually chasing when you discover ultra-low surface brightness dwarf galaxies like this one is "dark galaxies" made up of either all dark matter, or nearly all dark matter.

Cheers
Bad galaxy man

[madbadgalaxyman]

Here is a plot of the mean surface brightness of a galaxy vs. its absolute magnitude (its luminosity) for the known galaxies within 10 Mpc;

197169

It is screamingly obvious that mean surface brightness gets ever lower, with progressively decreased galaxy luminosity.

In other words, the fainter the galaxy, the more scattered and less significant are its stars;
yet gravity still holds together the stars of these least-luminous and "powder puff like" galaxies. Hence the idea that the least luminous galaxies have the most insubstantial amount of stars, but instead are totally dominated by dark matter.

At the very lowest Galaxy Luminosity in this plot, perhaps we will find the fabled and often predicted "dark galaxies"......so keep imaging deeper, Mike!

[strongmanmike]

Got an Answer for you Ron! :thumbsup:

It's called Scl-MM-Dw1 and is at

R.A. (h:m:s) 00:47:34.93 ± 2''
Decl. (d:m:s) −26:23:19.7 ± 2''

Paper is HERE (http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2041-8205/793/1/L7/meta;jsessionid=57C18E548443D640B41 857D6083D2C4F.c1)

They used the 6.5m Magellan telescope, so......I win! :P :lol:

Mike

[astroron]

Great stuff Mike :thumbsup:
And thanks :thanx:
I won't bother looking with the 16" then :P:rofl::rofl::rofl:
Cheers:thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Yeah Gary Kopff noted it in his reply (#31) to my original post but I didn't recognise it as the No.1 of my No.2 at that stage but our paper's author Aaron Romanowsky has confirmed it is indeed our dw1 :)

With a surface brightness similar to my little baby of 26mag/squ arc sec, you'd essentially....have Buckley's mate :astron:

Mike

[astroron]

Yes I missed Gary's post as well,thanks for the reminder. :)
Now go and take a picture of #1 to complement your #2. ;)
Cheers:thumbsup: