NGC 5364, NGC 5363, NGC 5356, NGC 5360 in the constellation Virgo

[TR]

This frame contains many galaxies. If you look to the right side of the frame, you can see several galaxies that are barely visible. Many of the things that look like smudges are galaxies. Seeing so many groups of galaxies in one photo is so cool. But the showcase would be the Grand Design Galaxy, NGC 5364 located in the top left-hand side of the image. Grand design galaxies are characterised by their prominent, well-defined arms, which circle outwards from a clear core. NGC 5364 is 54.5[2] million light years away.

The galaxy directly below (thin in an up-down orientation) is NGC 5360. It is a 13.7 mag Hubble -type SB0/a lenticular galaxy estimated to be 51 million light years away.

The large glowing galaxy located near the top and centre (just below that bright blue star TYC 315-332-1) is NGC 5363. This is a lenticular galaxy that is estimated to be 65 million light years away.

Moving from the centre of the frame towards 4:30 o’clock postion is NGC 5356. It is a barred spiral galaxy with a 13.0 magnitude brightness and an apparent size 2.9' × 0.8' arc min. It is oriented at a 45-degree angle in this presentation.

There always seem to be a lot of satellites in that part of the sky. I included a quick pick of the trails in the lum.

Instruments:
Telescope: 10" Ritchey-Chrétien RCOS
Camera: SBIG STL-11000 Mono
Mount: Astro-Physics AP-900
Focal Length: 2310.00 mm
Pixel size: 9.00 um
Resolution: 0.82 arcsec/pix

Exposure Details:
Red 26X450 Bin2
Green 16X450 Bin2
Blue 16X450 Bin2
Lum 81X900

Total Exposure: 27.5 Hours

Thanks for looking…

Default Flickr link and resolution:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/97807083@N00/52990870443/in/dateposted/

Link to a larger version
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52990870443_0e4f8dd0b6_o.jpg

[alpal]

Wow Terry -
that's a real cracker of an image.
Well done.
It was worth all the time you put into it.


cheers
Allan

[marc4darkskies]

That's an excellent image Terry! :thumbsup::thumbsup: Well worth the effort you put in. Definitely has wow factor!

[markas]

Very fine image:thumbsup::thumbsup: The many distant galaxies are a bonus too!
Mark

[TR]

Thanks Allan


Cheers Marc, it's been a while since processing, I have been working through a few images. I guess we can get lucky with framing at times.


Thanks markas - I think that is my favourite part of the image. Seeing the small details poking out of the background is always cool.

[strongmanmike]

Nice collection of galaxies Terry, like I said to Geoff, who doesn't like a menagerie of galaxies :thumbsup:

Mike

[TR]

Cheers Mike, Love spotting galaxies... :astron:

[Dave882]

Excellent capture that’s lovely! I especially love the oh so subtle detail in NGC 5363- wow just fantastic!

[Joshua Bunn]

Wonderfull work Terry, I thought you said you were a Bit rusty on your processing, I don't see any of that here... :)

[gregbradley]

That's a terrific framing of some very beautiful galaxies.

Superb processing as well.

Greg.

[TR]

Thanks Greg - lucky framing :) Guide stars are hard to come by.


G'day Josh. Thanks. It's been a while, and trying to remember what to do is challenging. I wish my memory did its job a little better.



Thanks Dave. I think the target really helped in this case. Thank you for the encouraging comments guys.