This is the second of the images I did from Wiruna last weekend.
This wonderful curved galaxy chain is seldom imaged, usually being overlooked for the nearby and more famous Grus Quartet.
This image frames the 9 brightest members of the group but there are quite a few more galaxies in there plus hundreds of faint distant backgroud galaxies fill the field too.
The largest and brightest member of the group is the elliptical IC 1459 at 4.9' X 3.5' and mag 11 while the beautifully intricate and almost face on spiral IC 7418 is smaller at 3.75' X 2.6' and shining more faintly at mag 12.
If you have broadband, have a good swim around the full size full res image because amongst the many tiny distant galaxies in the field there are at least half a dozen faint oval shapped galaxies of various sizes in the background that appear to be dwarf galaxies and look to be associated with the main cluster..?
NB there are a couple of internal reflections caused by the optical system that you may notice, the most notable is upper right corner. I get these sometimes, depending on the field and location of any out of field stars, not exactly sure what is causing them....?
40% sized image (1.5meg):
http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike20...94112/original
100% full frame, full resolution image (12meg):
http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike20...94231/original
Hope you enjoy
Mike