This is my first "real" image taken from the new observatory at Terroux
At 17.5hrs total exposure, taken over 4 nights, it is also my longest exposure so far of any object taken with the AG12 and the first to pass the 1000min mark
Unfortunately some of the Luminance data was collected while a crescent to first 1/4 Moon was still up and the seeing varied considerably over the 4 nights but in the end I decided to use every single sub to make the image.
A rarely imaged galaxy, NGC 289 is listed in LEDA as quite small at 5.6' X 4.2' with the brightest inner reverse 'S' shaped area only about 3' in diameter. However, in a deep exposure with the 12" at F3.8 it is clearly revealed to be much bigger with the faintest decernable very low surface brightness outer spiral arms (~27mag/sq arc sec) spanning a whopping 14 arc min! So, at the published distance of some 75 Million light years this equates to an actual dimension for the galaxy of some 300 000 light years across...and that's huge
Well done Mike,
You've picked up those very faint arms &
there are also many fuzzies in the background.
After a Google search I could only find one pic that had more detail in the core
& was also in colour here: http://www.capella-observatory.com/I...ies/NGC289.htm
It's good you went for a hard target - it makes you a pioneer.
Nice Mike! I usually pride myself on knowledge of objects but I have to admit I haven't heard of this one. Maybe age is catching up.
Cheers
Steve
I saw an image of it earlier in the year and thought those faint outer arms will be a good feature to tackle with the AG12, so I'll get that when it comes around
Quote:
Originally Posted by michaellxv
That is fabulous Mike, I was only looking at this one the other night.
What is that on the outer arm at about 9 o'clock? It almost looks like another background galaxy but there is nothing marked on my charts.
Edit: Found it. PGC 708504
Glad you liked it Mike, yes a little galaxy it is
Quote:
Originally Posted by alpal
Well done Mike,
You've picked up those very faint arms &
there are also many fuzzies in the background.
After a Google search I could only find one pic that had more detail in the core
& was also in colour here: http://www.capella-observatory.com/I...ies/NGC289.htm
It's good you went for a hard target - it makes you a pioneer.
cheers
Allan
He he, yeah that's a 5m FL 16" in Namibia (edit 24") there's another sharp version taken with a 16" RC scope at Cerre Tololo (seeing is king!) but Hey, I was happy enough with the end result considering the very variable (and windy) conditions over the four nights (man does a dome help in the wind, struth )
Last edited by strongmanmike; 04-10-2014 at 12:07 PM.
Awesome image Mike and it must have been great out imaging again in the new observatory. Great detail for a faint fuzzy. I've never seen this one before either.
I'm speechless, no words can do your image justice! Well maybe one word... supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Cheers
Andy
Hey thanks Andy, really glad to hear you like it
Quote:
Originally Posted by atalas
Awesome Mike....spiral arm definition excellent...top work under crap conditions.
Thanks Louie, the conditions weren't all crap, in fact really only one of the 4 nights was truly crap so I collected some of the colour data then, on the first night after I did the meridian flip the seeing settled nicely and I got 90min of Lum that saw some really sharp subs, so I layered that back in to bring out the inner detail inside that 3' core area I had to use all the Lum data though to get the outer faint arms to show well..not ideal and as they were too faint to sharpen would really need much longer periods of good seeing to get that all good though
Cheers mate
Quote:
Originally Posted by RickS
You picked a great target for a long one, Mike, and did a fantastic job. Love it! Are you a convert or just dabbling with megadata
Cheers,
Rick.
Ahhhh yes... 17 hours with 12" at F3.8 is pretty useful but alas I think the highly lauded "mega" data level juuust keeps growing THANKS TO YOU
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregbradley
Awesome image Mike and it must have been great out imaging again in the new observatory. Great detail for a faint fuzzy. I've never seen this one before either.
That Namibia scope is 24 inch (60cm).
Greg.
Oh mate it is heaven out there and once the new visual scope is on site mate I will be in astronomers heaven
Yes, I see that Hypergraph is indeed a 24" there are two famous hypergarphs in Namibia the other one is a 16"
Quote:
Originally Posted by marc4darkskies
Gorgeous image of a tough target Mike!! Not often imaged either.
Also Like the Terroux nebula image
Cheers, Marcus
He he Oh well Hallelujah actually expected you to hate it due to the strong colours I opted for in the central area...you are soooo fussy
there's another sharp version taken with a 16" RC scope at Cerre Tololo (seeing is king!) but Hey, I was happy enough with the end result considering the very variable (and windy) conditions over the four nights (man does a dome help in the wind, struth 
all good though
THANKS TO YOU 
actually expected you to hate it due to the strong colours I opted for in the central area...you are soooo fussy 
