Observation by Kevin Gurney: Cosmic scales

Uploaded by

Kevin Gurney

Observer

Kevin Gurney

Observed

2017 Sep 30 - 00:30

Uploaded

2017 Oct 03 - 16:07

Objects

Arp 284

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Constellation

Pisces

Field centre

RA: 23^h36^m
Dec: +02°06'
Position angle: +176°52'

Field size

0°18' × 0°16'

Equipment

Celestron 8SE, OAG, 0.77 flat/reducer
Atik 460EX mono, SX guide cam
Skywatcher AZ-EQ6-GT
Pixinsight
Baader filters (L, R, G, B)

Exposure

15 Lum subs, 9 each of R,G,B al lbin 1x1, 5mins (3.5 hrs total)

Location

West Sheffield

Target name

Arp 284

Title

Cosmic scales

About this image

I became aware of this composition in a recent article in Sky and Telescope, and decided to try and capture it in my backyard. It shows a conjunction of objects at three different cosmic scales...

In the foreground is the star 16 Pisces; at magnitude 5.7 this is visible by the naked eye and overshadows everything in this deep sky image - processing it away selectively was a challenge! This star is a mere 100 light years away.

Nearby in the image are the two interacting galaxies, NGC 7714 and 7715, collectively know as Arp 284. The peculiar shapes are evidence of strong intergalactic forces. These galaxies are around 100 million light years away.

To the right and slightly below Arp 284 (see small label) is a small blueish 'star' that is actually a quasar (QSO B2333+019) 10 billion light years away! (z = 1.87).

The night was quite windy and so guiding was not as good as it might be; some more detail could be revealed on a better night perhaps.

Files associated with this observation

full_strech3annotate.jpg (352.7 kB)

Like this image

Mr Michael Alan Frost, Jeremy Shears, Graham Winstanley, David Basey, Nick Hewitt, Dawson, David Swan, Mike Olason, Peter Carson

Comments

Paul Anthony Brierley, 2017 Oct 08 - 16:04 UTC

Well done.

I read about this one in the October S&T and have it down on my bucket list.

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