NGC 5128 or Centaurus A is one of the closest radio galaxies to Earth at a distance of approximately 12 million light-years. It has a distinctive central dust lane and an active galactic nucleus containing a supermassive black hole creating a relativistic jet which emits in visual, radio and X-ray wavelengths. The inner and outer filaments of the optical jet are visible here as the red streaks between 2 and 3 o'clock. It is an unusual galaxy, possibly the result of a merger between an elliptical galaxy and a smaller spiral galaxy.
Scope: Planewave CDK17 @ f/6.8 = 2939mm FL
Mount: Paramount ME
Camera: SBIG STXL-11002/AOX
Filters: Astrodon LRGB gen II, 3nm NB
Image scale: 0.63 arcsec/pixel
Exposures: 15x1200s R, 15x1200s G, 15x1200s B, 22x1200s L, 11x1800s Ha (27.83 hours)
Processing: PixInsight 1.8.5
Fantastic data captured at Heaven's Mirror observatory by Martin Pugh, processed by yours truly.
A jolly good hamburger Rick. Nice capture of the optical jets.
* Edit: I've just looked at my own image of Centaurus A and there is no sign of the Ha jet and then realised of course that I only imaged in LRGB. We might just be going back in with the Ha filter to see what we can pick up. Thanks Rick.
Last edited by Ryderscope; 21-05-2018 at 08:42 PM.
Wow - that's one of the best I've ever seen.
The full resolution is amazing & those jets are so clear.
Nice to see an Ha filter used.
That should be an APOD.
Hi Rick,
That is an awesome image!! I love the detail and colour of everything, but especially the jet on the RHS.
Wow!!
Thanks, Tim!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cometcatcher
Awesome image! Nice jet!
Ta, Kevin.
Quote:
Originally Posted by multiweb
Superb shot!
PS: dithering + flat fielding should get rid of those two smears at 2 o'clock.
Thanks for the helpful advice, Marc. It's probably a Camembert stain
Quote:
Originally Posted by LewisM
I've never seen this galaxy before. Intriguing beastie...
Stack 'em up like cord-wood
Great rendition of it, and nice processing.
Ta, Lweis.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryderscope
A jolly good hamburger Rick. Nice capture of the optical jets.
* Edit: I've just looked at my own image of Centaurus A and there is no sign of the Ha jet and then realised of course that I only imaged in LRGB. We might just be going back in with the Ha filter to see what we can pick up. Thanks Rick.
Thanks, Rodney. You never know what you'll find with a few hours of NB!
Quote:
Originally Posted by alpal
Hi Rick,
Wow - that's one of the best I've ever seen.
The full resolution is amazing & those jets are so clear.
Nice to see an Ha filter used.
That should be an APOD.
Thanks very much, Allan.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Ward
What an impressive rendering of Cent A.
Wonderful stuff !
Thanks, Peter. I like this long FL stuff. Will have to put a big Alluna on my wishlist.
Quote:
Originally Posted by IanP
Perfect raw material + (PixInsight) "magic" skills = MAGIC RESULT
Very kind of you, Ian.
Quote:
Originally Posted by peter_4059
Remarkable image of the hamburger Rick. I don't remember seeing anything like this before. Thanks for the view.
Thanks, Peter!
Quote:
Originally Posted by h0ughy
well i might as well trash mine - oh so so good
Nah, Dave... so long as you're having fun and improving that's what matters
I also do not recall seeing the jet so clearly in any other image - and the scarce photons from the jet were captured with the old school “noisy n with apparently so-so QE” CCD
Great image Rick. I think that deserves two bottles of FG champagne.
Thanks, Rob
Quote:
Originally Posted by troypiggo
That's a gourmet burger
Ta, Troy. With all the trimmings!
Quote:
Originally Posted by billdan
Wow that's really good, never saw that jet so bright and detailed before.
Thanks, Bill.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slawomir
Outstanding image Rick
I also do not recall seeing the jet so clearly in any other image - and the scarce photons from the jet were captured with the old school “noisy n with apparently so-so QE” CCD
Thanks, Suavi. I probably should have mentioned that we binned x2 the Ha.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Placidus
A lovely, lovely, lovely image. More than just a little bit jealous!
Nicely done Rick. I've never realised that the jet was there. Definitely something to aim for. Good idea binning the Ha--you're not really after a lot of detail.