Small Magellanic Cloud Tidal Tail (with added dust)

[Atmos]

After Rho Oph started getting a bit low over night I figured I may as well image something until astronomical twilight (was still 4:15 am) so I pointed it at the SMC, refocused and went back to sleep.

Although my HEQ5 didn't track this very well, probably needed to change the balance as I think I had it east heavy instead of west. Didn't consider it at the time, not until about 15 minutes ago anyway.

So, no calibration frames yet but this is showing up something I didn't know existed. I've cropped the frame just to show SMC, 47 Tuc and the tidal tail.

28x120s @ F/2.8, has taken a need of 25% of resolution just to get something remotely round stellar wise :P Might have another crack at this tonight, hopefully properly balanced.

[url="http://www.astrobin.com/full/301645/0/?nc=user"]High Res Link[url]

[strongmanmike]

Getting that extension/tidal tail is indeed very cool Col :thumbsup:

Mike

[Atmos]

I didn't even know it existed, there is an APOD from 2010 that shows it beautifully.

[atalas]

Very Cool Colin:thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Oh yeah there is heaps (https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160725.html)around there for the faint hearted :D

[Andy01]

That's a pretty cool image Colin - and these wide field images will only get better as you do more with the new toy :)

[graham.hobart]

Very cool Col!:thumbsup:

[Atmos]

Thanks Louie :)



Going to aim a bit lower and see how far down that tidal tail goes :)



Going to hit it again at maybe 4am again. Going to mount it on the EQ6 tonight so hopefully it'll do a bit better than the HEQ5.



Thanks Graham :)

[Placidus]

That's amazing. I had no idea that the Magellanic Bridge was open to inspection by mortals.

The tail in your image seems to match up with that in the APOD.

Well done.
Mike

[SimmoW]

Thats Kewl Colin, like an umbilical cord...

[Stevec35]

That's very nice Colin. I can't recall noticing the tail before.

Cheers

Steve

[topheart]

Very interesting Colin!
Well done!
Cheers,
Tim

[Nocturn]

good one colin, so clear

[Atmos]

Well, took almost as long to calibrate, debayer, register and stack as it did to captured the subs. Sitting here registering Rho Oph and it's taking hours!

Anyway, this is the SMC, 47 Tuc with tidal tail and surrounding dust.

High Res Link (http://www.astrobin.com/full/301645/0/?nc=user)

[Andy01]

ooooooh, that's cool :cool3:

[gregbradley]

Nice work Collin. We take these common objects for granted and then someone posts something like this and it makes me realise there's more to see and know about these objects than is commonly regarded.

Greg.

[Placidus]

Wow! Uncalibrated the tidal tail looked plausible, probable, but now it looks absolutely professional. Top class. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[Atmos]

Some interesting things to do with smaller telescopes :P



I didn't even know the tidal tail existed until Friday morning after I'd finished my uncalibrated stack and went "Hmmm, looks like a tidal tail, maybe I should Google that." I knew there was a lot of dust in the area. Might need to borrow a Zeiss Otis 55mm and a Nikon D810 in a couple of months for a deep stack of both the LMC and SMC (pretty sure they'll fit in that FOV).



This morning I discovered that the filter UV/IR filter I'd been using the second night caused all kinds of problems so I'll have to go and reshoot this next new moon I think. Thinking I need a lot more exposure time, also want to see how the lens performs down as fast as F/2. Bit of testing to do before next new moon :P

[gregbradley]

Yeah I would take off any filters you would normally have on your camera lenses for astro work.

Otus 55 and D810 - sounds very high end. That could be very good.

Greg.

[Stefan Buda]

Good work Colin.

Perhaps you can use my image from last year as a reference for framing.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=146721

I've been waiting for someone to have a go at this area.

[marc4darkskies]

Very cool Colin! Nice work!

[RickS]

Great catch, Colin!

[Atmos]

I'd never considered filters being a cause of issues before, guess I'd never used a lens that was sharp enough hehe



I actually had this one in mind with regards to all of the dust in the surrounding area :) Didn't give the tidal tail much thought at the time though but you've clearly captured it as well :)

Think I'll have to have a go at a deep stack one night and see what pops up.




Thanks :)