The Antennae are a pair of faint (mag 11.0, SB 13.7) galaxies (NGC 4038, 4039) heavily interacting galaxies on the Corvus-Crater border.
Big One Here
Luminance: 12 hrs. RGB: 4 hrs each. FLI PL16803 at -30C, on 20 inch PlaneWave CDK. As usual, all robotics and all acquisition and processing software designed and built in-house.
The luminance data are from this new moon. The RGB data are about 50% this month, and 50% from a couple years ago, using the Aspen CG16803M. We were blessed this time with still, dark sky and occasionally very good seeing, so we've not used any of the old luminance data.
The two extremely long and largely amorphous tidal tails evoke the head of a moth, hence the common name. For the wise, we know that they are really Go Gadget Arms. The pattern of bright blue star-forming regions within the colliding pair is most unusual, with no hint of the original spiral structure remaining.
The background shows countless very distant galaxies, with a group of orange-red ellipticals toward ten o'clock, and at least two quite separate distant colliding pairs, each with their own mouse-like tidal tails, about half way out toward 6:30 or 7:00.
Best,
Mike and Trish