Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Haese
This is an image I have been collecting for several months. To be honest I am unimpressed with how it looks. The composition is ok but it just lacks any punch in my opinion.
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Hi Paul,
The lack of detail in the galaxies is intrinsic, rather than a reflection of your imaging and processing technique!
The galaxies in this cluster are nearly all S0s and Ellipticals, which makes them more compact than spirals (and therefore harder to image) , and the lack of ongoing OB star formation in nearly all of the cluster galaxies makes it a certainty that any intrinsic detail in the galaxies is going to be extremely low contrast. Indeed, even with giant telescopes, these galaxies for the most part show only very-subtle & very-low-contrast internal details, and nearly all of the cluster galaxies have few or no blue knots (= the signature of current star formation)
This situation is in marked contrast to that found in the Virgo Cluster, where star formation is still vigorous, at least in some parts of the cluster. But even in the Virgo Cluster, there is a growing population of galaxies that are deficient in star formation and interstellar gas, due to the ongoing effects of the cluster environment.
Best regards
Robert
In some ways, imaging of ellipticals and S0 galaxies is a different ballgame from imaging spirals;
there actually is evident detail in some of these "bland looking" galaxies, but the detail consists exclusively of very slight changes & gradients in the surface brightness over the face of a galaxy. And as I said there is a need for higher angular res., as these galaxies can be very compact.