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NGC 4214 final2

Size isn’t everything, in astronomy at least. Dwarf galaxy NGC 4214 may be small, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in content. It is packed with everything an astronomer could ask for, from hot young star-forming regions to old clusters with red supergiants.

Located around 10 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici the Hunting Dogs, the galaxy’s relative close proximity to us, combined with the wide variety of evolutionary stages among the stars, makes it an ideal laboratory to research what triggers star formation and evolution.

NGC 4214 contains a large amount of gas, some of which can be seen glowing red in the image, providing abundant material for star formation. The area with the most hydrogen gas hold the youngest clusters of stars (around 2 million years old), Like most of the features in the image, this area is visible due to ionization of the surrounding gas by the ultraviolet light of a young cluster of stars within.

Text from Astronomy.com

 

I was surprised to see PGC39145 (smudge at the 4 o'clock position) This galaxy is magnitude 15.7, never expected to get that from the home observatory. A further surprise is the number of tiny galaxies sprinkled like plankton across the image. A half-dozen or so are obvious, but zoom way in and a close inspection will reveal hundreds of faint flecks, galaxies more than 100 million light years away.

 

Made possible by the help and generosity of Larry Parker, head gaffer.

 

Vixen VCL200 @ 1278 F/L

QSI 683

Paramount MYT

Lum 13 hours

Red 2 hours

Grn 2 hours

Blu 2 hours

Ha 2 hours

 

Taken from Santa Rosa CA

April 2022 50% crop

Reprocessed December 2022

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Uploaded on December 30, 2022
Taken on April 25, 2022