Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Pegasus (Peg)  ·  Contains:  NGC 7497
NGC7497 - Through the Integrated Flux Nebula, Jason Guenzel
NGC7497 - Through the Integrated Flux Nebula
Powered byPixInsight

NGC7497 - Through the Integrated Flux Nebula

NGC7497 - Through the Integrated Flux Nebula, Jason Guenzel
NGC7497 - Through the Integrated Flux Nebula
Powered byPixInsight

NGC7497 - Through the Integrated Flux Nebula

Equipment

Loading...

Acquisition details

Loading...

Description

NGC7497 is a barred spiral galaxy that is viewed nearly edge on from our vantage point. It is about 60 million light years distant in the constellation of Pegasus and appears only 4 arc-minutes wide. The central bar of aging yellow/orange stars gives way to tightly wrapped arms that are littered with pink hydrogen alpha regions and the vibrant blue of young hot stars. While it is an attractive target, it is not an a particularly unique galaxy and is probably most notable for what it lies behind.

The foreground veil of dust is the Integrated Flux Nebula (IFN) of the Milky Way. These galactic cirrus clouds of dust and gas float just outside the plane of the Milky Way and happen to be in our line of sight when looking out toward this galaxy. The IFN is fairly pervasive but exceedingly faint, even to capture photographically. It is only lit by the combined reflected light of Milky Way stars illuminating it from the inside. This particular area of IFN is assumed to be between 400 and 1000 light years away.

Lately, I seem to have a knack for picking targets that are extraordinarily tough from a moderately light polluted backyard (orange zone). The only hope for pulling these dim structures out of the muck is added integration time. I put 15 hours of Luminance data into this one. I could have soaked in 2-3x that amount and still have wanted more. All things considered, I'm pleased with what I was able to fish out. Though they don't get the attention, there are background galaxies galore in this image.

Enjoy!

Comments