Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)
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SDSS J1038+4849 ("A smiling lens"), 



    
        

            DetlefHartmann
SDSS J1038+4849 ("A smiling lens")
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SDSS J1038+4849 ("A smiling lens")

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
SDSS J1038+4849 ("A smiling lens"), 



    
        

            DetlefHartmann
SDSS J1038+4849 ("A smiling lens")
Powered byPixInsight

SDSS J1038+4849 ("A smiling lens")

Equipment

Imaging Telescopes Or Lenses
DIY 443/2048 Newtonian f4.6
Imaging Cameras
SBIG ST-10XME
Mounts
Sideres Sideres 85
Filters
SBIG CFW-9
Accessories
Baader RCC I, Rowe Coma Corrector (2956800) · SBIG AO-8
Software
Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight

Acquisition details

Dates:
March 19, 2015
Frames:
102×300(8h 30′) -30°C
Integration:
8h 30′
Avg. Moon age:
28.47 days
Avg. Moon phase:
1.27%
Bortle Dark-Sky Scale:
2.00
Mean SQM:
21.50
Mean FWHM:
2.30

Basic astrometry details

Astrometry.net job: 3250377

RA center: 10h38m43s.9

DEC center: +48°4901

Pixel scale: 0.342 arcsec/pixel

Orientation: 0.104 degrees

Field radius: 0.246 degrees

Resolution: 4282x2888

File size: 4.9 MB

Data source: Own remote observatory

Description

SDSS J1038+4849 technical data / Telescope: Newtonian (d=443mm, f=2048mm) / Location: Emberger Alm, Kaernten, Austria / Camera: SBIG ST-10XME with AO-8 and CFW-9 / Exposure: 8.5 hours (luminance 66x5 min. bin 1x1, red 10x5 min. bin 2x2, green 10x5 min. bin 2x2, blue 16x5 min. bin 2x2)

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SDSS J1038+4849 ("A smiling lens")

This image covers the surrounding of a strong gravitational lens. It was discovered by the Sloan Bright Arcs Survey (SBAS) in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The gravitational lens is named SDSS J1038+4849.

The two "Eye"-galaxies at the center of the image are SDSSCGB8842.3 and SDSSCGB8842.4, they are separated in the sky by only 9 arcseconds. Their distance to earth is 4.5 billion light years. The blue arcs are made of light from very distant galaxies at a distance of 7.6 billion light years. Their light is bent by gravitational lensing of the foreground galaxies.

The Hubble Space Telescope has imaged this system with WFPC2 and WFC3, the image potw1506a was released on 9 February 2015 ("A smiling lens").

The two insets left bottom show an enlargement of the center of the overall image (left) and for comparison the image potw1506a (right) taken with the Hubble Space Telescope (Credit: NASA & ESA). By comparing the two insets, one can reveal that the fuzzy dots in my overall picture are galaxies, not stars!

In the overall picture there are quantities of small background galaxies. I have counted these galaxies in 3 subsamples of the image and estimate that there are app. 6000 galaxies in the overall picture.

Comments

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SDSS J1038+4849 ("A smiling lens"), 



    
        

            DetlefHartmann