Leo Triplet of spiral galaxies
An attractive grouping of 3 spiral galaxies in Leo about 35 million LY away. Comprising:
L to R
NGC 3628 “the Hamburger galaxy” - Edge on spiral with prominent dust lane.
Messier 65 spiral galaxy mostly old stars with little dust or gas except where it may have interacted with the other 2. 1 supernova detected.
Messier 66 barred spiral with 5 supernovae detected consistent with excess young Star formation probably due to interaction with the other 2.
I’d hoped to get at least 25 subs but it got hazy with bloated/blooming stars. Would like to spend another night on this target.
480/80mm f/6 Altair Starwave triplet refractor.
Altair Planostar 1.0 x FF with 2 inch IDAS LPS D1 filter
Astro-modified Canon 80D at ISO400; 11 x 5 minute subs (55 mins total integration).
NEQ6 pro mount with Rowan belt drives -2 star align.
Mini-PC NUC with WiFi extender
Mount WiFi control with ASCOM/AstroPhotography Tool
Camera WiFi control with Backyard EOS
Camera sensor temperature (external battery): 17-19c
53 dark frames from dark library (temperature selected; 17-19c)
90 flat frames (electroluminescent panel @ 1/40s)
90 bias frames
Post processed in PixInsight 1.8.6 and Photoshop CC 2019.
Polar Alignment:
QHY Polemaster alignment -
Error measured by PHD2= 0.2 arc minute.
RA drift +2.13 arcsec/min
Dec drift -0.05 arcsec/min
Guiding:
PHD2 guiding with ZWO ASI290mm/Altair Starwave 206/50mm guider. Partially Dithered.
RA RMS error 0.93 arcsec, peak error 3.32 arcsec
Dec RMS error 0.78 arcsec, peak error -4.08 arcsec
Astrometry:
Center (RA, hms):11h 19m 25.873s
Center (Dec, dms):+13° 14' 40.454"
Size:74.2 x 59.7 arcmin
Radius:0.794 deg
Pixel scale:1.48 arcsec/pixel
Orientation:Up is 93.3 degrees E of N
Leo Triplet of spiral galaxies
An attractive grouping of 3 spiral galaxies in Leo about 35 million LY away. Comprising:
L to R
NGC 3628 “the Hamburger galaxy” - Edge on spiral with prominent dust lane.
Messier 65 spiral galaxy mostly old stars with little dust or gas except where it may have interacted with the other 2. 1 supernova detected.
Messier 66 barred spiral with 5 supernovae detected consistent with excess young Star formation probably due to interaction with the other 2.
I’d hoped to get at least 25 subs but it got hazy with bloated/blooming stars. Would like to spend another night on this target.
480/80mm f/6 Altair Starwave triplet refractor.
Altair Planostar 1.0 x FF with 2 inch IDAS LPS D1 filter
Astro-modified Canon 80D at ISO400; 11 x 5 minute subs (55 mins total integration).
NEQ6 pro mount with Rowan belt drives -2 star align.
Mini-PC NUC with WiFi extender
Mount WiFi control with ASCOM/AstroPhotography Tool
Camera WiFi control with Backyard EOS
Camera sensor temperature (external battery): 17-19c
53 dark frames from dark library (temperature selected; 17-19c)
90 flat frames (electroluminescent panel @ 1/40s)
90 bias frames
Post processed in PixInsight 1.8.6 and Photoshop CC 2019.
Polar Alignment:
QHY Polemaster alignment -
Error measured by PHD2= 0.2 arc minute.
RA drift +2.13 arcsec/min
Dec drift -0.05 arcsec/min
Guiding:
PHD2 guiding with ZWO ASI290mm/Altair Starwave 206/50mm guider. Partially Dithered.
RA RMS error 0.93 arcsec, peak error 3.32 arcsec
Dec RMS error 0.78 arcsec, peak error -4.08 arcsec
Astrometry:
Center (RA, hms):11h 19m 25.873s
Center (Dec, dms):+13° 14' 40.454"
Size:74.2 x 59.7 arcmin
Radius:0.794 deg
Pixel scale:1.48 arcsec/pixel
Orientation:Up is 93.3 degrees E of N