NGC 2442 The Meathook Galaxy

[strongmanmike]

Well, I honestly thought I would never bother imaging this galaxy, I always thought it a little boring and for some reason I didn't like its shape..? :shrug:...true, go figure :screwy:

Anyway, I am glad I decided to shoot it because as is often the case once you start to get data down it starts to grow on you, then when processing starts you get used to it and then you start to think..what was I thinking? :lol:

I was lucky to get good seeing for most of one of the three nights and the other two were at least average but I was also plagued by high wafting cloud at times the same night as the good seeing and given the presence of some faint Milky Way Cirrus dust in the field, well, passing high Earth cloud is not ideal huh? and then the last quarter Moon rose to really illuminate the scene :rolleyes: always something... :mad2: But after culling the worst frames the Cirrus is quite evident in the end result and I didn't push it too hard in an attempt to keep it subtle (which it actually is in reality) :)

The other thing was working the right colour and as is often the case colour palettes for this galaxy vary across the net...my RGB suggested the AAO (http://ftp.aao.gov.au/images/captions/aat098.html) version was about right so I went with it :)

At only 5.3' X 4.75' in size NGC 2442 is actually smaller than I thought but in the end I was happy with the result and taking the gamble with the weather and flexing off work Thursday and Friday to complete the project paid dividends :)

The Meathook Galaxy (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/162566740/original) (close up)

The Full Frame (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/162564938/original) Complete with Milky Way Cirrus and many smaller galactic friends.

Milky Way Cirrus Dust (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/162721732/original) (Aggressively stretched luminance)

Comparing with a beautiful high resolution result (http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/162721784/original) by Volker Wendell using the CHART32 CTIO 32" Cassegrain in sub arc sec seeing at Cerro Tololo, helps to identify features and details in my lower resolution data, even distant background galaxies that can be seen "through" NGC 2442 can be identified!

Cheers

Mike

[Atmos]

Very nicely resolved meat hook :) Can even spot what appears to be some faint purple patches in there! Almost begging for some deep Ha to bring them out hehe

Also some nice not so faint fuzzies :)

[Somnium]

looks like those few nights of good seeing and clear skies have yielded good results ! well done

[astronobob]

Interesting stuff Mike, , the shape is indeed intriguing, kind of out-of-balance in a way, and a lot of light coming from the lower left arm bend which is in all images here - fascinating !
A Very nice resulting image on your part for this target, colour looks very similar to the reference image :thumbsup:
Great pick up on the Cirrus dust & distant galaxies too, some great dtail in them aswell !
Top show ! !

[Geoff45]

I went through exactly the same thoughts before I imaged this one. This is a really nice picture Mike. Lots of sharp detail and good colours. Nice that you caught the dust--it's pretty faint.
Geoff

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Colin, yes I thought about doing some Ha but was happy with how the HII regions were captured in the RGB so didn't bother :thumbsup:



I recon so too Aidan, hey I was just happy to out under (mostly) clear skies drinking Beer over a 4 day weekend - heaven :lol:



Thanks very much Casey Jones (see attached :P) glad you enjoyed the view mate, I always like galaxy fields with a bit of everything in'em too :thumbsup:



Cheers Geoff, I was quite happy with results too and as I said, glad I decided to hit it :thumbsup:

Mike

[Andy01]

Great work Mike - fascinating seeing the comparison with the professional 32" version too - guess there's no substitute for aperture.
Thanks for sharing!

[strongmanmike]

Oh yeah aaaand sub arc sec seeing and great image scale :) The Chart32 scope is producing just about the highest res wide field (by pro standards) work of anyone in the world either pro or amateur.

Mike

[RickS]

It's a very weird little galaxy, Mike, and that's a great result. Nice detail and colour. The IFN is a bit of a bonus.

Cheers,
Rick.

[Placidus]

Amazing detail in the dust lanes, especially razor sharp colour detail, and also in the nucleus. Lovely.

[topheart]

Awesome capture Mike.
Great work!
Cheers,
Tim

[PRejto]

A really nice capture Mike. Great detail for sure.

This poor galaxy has a name that just sets up a bias. "Meathook" really doesn't conjure up something "beautiful" and then there is our human bias for preferring symmetry.... Maybe we could come up with a nicer name? To me it looks a bit like a jeweled pendant, or a swimming prawn.

Peter

[multiweb]

Looks great! :thumbsup: Really nice details in the arms. Love the wider field with all the various galaxy shapes and color. Pretty deep too.

[Stevec35]

That's a nice sharp meat hook Mike. You've got really nice detail in the surrounding galaxies too.

Cheers

Steve

[rustigsmed]

nice one Mike very cool structure and colour plus an interesting array of background galaxies - did you spot any uncatalogued dwarfs? I see you have been working the faint stuff here!!

Rusty

[strongmanmike]

Thanks Rick, am glad I have a fast scope that can go pretty deep pretty quick, I just don't have the patience to go beyond 20hrs, heck I haven't even reached that with the AG12 yet, 17.5hrs is my best so far...I generally get bored after 3 or 4 nights on one object :zzz2: :lol:



Thanks Mike and Trish, glad you like it :thumbsup:



Thanks Timmy, how's the new camera going by the way? Did you end up selling the big ProLine?



He he yeah maybe...but in the end really it should be called The Rhino Galaxy :D (see attached)



Thanks Marc, yeah a good galaxy field is hard to beat



Thanks Steve, I recall you did this galaxy with your old 12.5" RC and STL11000..?



Cheers Rusty, well who knows ;).. hey one of those smaller irregular fuzz balls near the main galaxy might be associated with NGC 2442 but the tell tail tidal elongation isn't seen :question:...personally though, I love the small galaxy at the middle right edge of the full frame with the faint Donald Trump comb over arm to its right :P

Mike

[topheart]

Yes indeed Mikey !!
The new camera and AO and attachments / filters etc are somewhere between Sydney and Cairns at the moment - should arrive in the next day or so, then I can sort it all out with the new mount and cart it out to Savannah Skies and then the fun begins putting it all into operation. The wet season is still hanging around at this stage, but should be gone soon and I have three weeks off work in a few weeks, so it should line up all OK hopefully. It might take a while to tweak it all and start producing data....

Yes, I sold the PL16803, CFW5-7 and Filters. They have gone to a guy overseas with the best modern large imaging scope collection I have heard of in a long time.

I have kept one of the two PL16803s - that one will keep on working behind the BRC250. However I sold the other PL as I really wanted to return to AO guiding as I have used that previously behind the 0.5m diameter 4.7m focal length scope and loved it.

All the best.
Cheers,
Tim

[strongmanmike]

Wow all sounds exciting Tim, you have some nice gear that's for sure...definitely looking you up when next in Cairns...just to drool :jawdrop: :lol:

I have a PL16803 & CFW-5-7 with full set of LRGBHaOIIISII's sitting in my cupboard...juuust waiting for a long FL scope.....one day..one day :sadeyes:

Mike

[Atmos]

Or you could do some super wide fields with a PL16803 and short focal length :P

[topheart]

Hey Mike,
If I ever take a trip down your way, I gonna rummage around in your cupboards and drool.

Yep, you are welcome to sit back and share a beer and a sunset out at Savannah Skies with me anytime - life just doesn't get better than that!
Cheers,
Tim

[strongmanmike]

Yes, weeell ...the thought had crossed my mind mate ;)



Hey of course and my building even has a fantastic brewery in it with 23 odd beers and ciders on tap all brewed on site :D...and I would love to visit Savanah skies, looks like a devine location.

Mike

[graham.hobart]

Very meaty Mike!
Good one (again!):thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Yeah I had to steak a lot on this image, cut a few frames and I chopped the flats. Hopefully I didn't butcher the result....

:D

[Slawomir]

A beautiful image Mike, as always. The central part of this galaxy is particularly intriguing.

[h0ughy]

your a class act Mike, i love your work and results and this is just another wonderful image. I am in awe of all of the deep sky guys here

[DJT]

Awesome image, Mike. It looks quite 3D in terms of depth so nicely done.:thumbsup:

[andyc]

Very nice Mike! Another fine image to enjoy

[Shiraz]

your image is great Mike :thumbsup:, interesting to wonder how the galaxy got so distorted.

wouldn't it be nice to have some real sub arcsec seeing - just once...

[marc4darkskies]

Pleasing colours and nice detail Mike - another very cool image! :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Suavi, overall a unique looking galaxy really



Well thanks a lot Dave :thumbsup:



Cheers Dave, yes the arching Rhino horn arm and the obvious twist into the central bar does induce a slight 3D look huh?



Glad to hear Andy :)



Maaaate I would be like a kid in a lolly shop Ray :family:



He he, cheers Marcus, I actually thought you'd find it a tad too colourful, hence why I linked to the old oracle's image ;)

Mike

[E_ri_k]

Really nice Mike :) it is a bit of a strange shape hey, looks kinda cool though. Very colourful, well done!

[strongmanmike]

Thnaks Erik, yeah I always kinda screwed my nose up at the thought of imaging this baby...buuut hey, I quite like it now :D

Mike

[astronobob]

Always enjoy squizzin different areas of the sky !

Re: Casey J, , He is one legend from times of Old :thumbsup: Master Caboose Controller, but a sad ending tho, way too early for him :(

[strongmanmike]

Me too and I used to love Casey when I was boy, Disney made him famous too if I remember correctly?

Mike

[gregbradley]

Just back from a holiday. Great image Mike.

Greg.

[strongmanmike]

Ah haaa, well, welcome back Greg :thumbsup: where you go?

Mike

[alpal]

Hi Mike,
great photo.
I've been in NZ for a week & it's good to see your image & the others posted while I was away.

cheers
Allan

[gregbradley]

Sth Pacific cruise, New Caledonia, Fiji, Vanuatu. Interestingly the seeing at night in the middle of the ocean didn't seem that good (a lot of star twinkle on most nights and still some at its best). Perhaps the low level winds cause that. I would have thought the seeing would be good due to the laminar flow. But there's more to it than that.


Greg.

[marco]

Lovely image as usual Mike, deep and colorful as standard for you :thumbsup:
I am a bit less enthusiastic about the sharpening of the core and dark bands details, it is a bit too much IMHO, reducing the naturalness of the galaxy. It is perhaps splitting hairs of course on a great shot.
Ciao
Marco

[strongmanmike]

Ciao Marco! Thanks for the feedback :) In fact I have already done another version a few days ago that brightened up the core a bit and this one looks a little more natural too but I hadn't got around to updating my web site. However, I was quite happy with the core and dust lane details though :question: ...but I understand what you are driving at :thumbsup:

Cheers

Mike

[Bassnut]

Excellent Mike, youve managed to seperate core features, nebulosity and star processing well, sharp where required.

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Fred, all the things I was trying to do :thumbsup:

Mike

[rustigsmed]

how about using a large barlow on the newt?:question:

[strongmanmike]

Yes definitely considered that and the ASA 1.8X Barlow-corrector would be good but it only corrects about a 30mm image circle, I would prefer to have the whole 52mm of the 16803 field corrected...buut ya never know, I would still have a larger real FOV than currently supplied by the H694 at native FL at least and only a small drop in image scale
... hmm :question:

Mike

[rustigsmed]

http://www.astro-physics.com/index.htm?products/accessories/baader/ffc
focal position may be an issue :question:

[strongmanmike]

Ah yes, that's also a possibility...just worried about the amount of extension it might cause, a PL16803+CFW-5-7+MMOAG and Lodestar hanging too far out form the Newt tube would be a flexure nightmare :question:

Mike

[deeplook]

Hi Michael!

Thats a really nice image! The galaxy is a beauty, but its also really interesting whats going on in the background!

Markus

[strongmanmike]

Thanks Markus, the backgrounds in galaxy images are often just as interesting or sometimes even more interesting than the main subject :)

Mike

[Ross G]

An amazing looking galaxy photo Mike!

So sharp with great detail.

I love the colours and composition.

Ross.

[strongmanmike]

Cheers Ross :thumbsup:..sorry I used to screw my nose up at this galaxy :shrug: :screwy:

Mike