Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Pisces (Psc)  ·  Contains:  NGC 660
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Polar Ring Galaxy NGC 660, George Simon
Polar Ring Galaxy NGC 660
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Polar Ring Galaxy NGC 660

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Polar Ring Galaxy NGC 660, George Simon
Polar Ring Galaxy NGC 660
Powered byPixInsight

Polar Ring Galaxy NGC 660

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Description

NGC 660 is a representative of the rare class of galaxies known as polar ring galaxies. Galaxies of this type are thought to be the result either of a perpendicular collision of two galaxies or of a close pass that tidally strips material from one, which then forms a ring around the other. The central portion of NGC 660 is a lenticular galaxy. As many as 5% of lenticulars might have polar rings at some point in their lifetimes.

NGC 660 was well positioned in my skies during this imaging session to provide me with the opportunity to acquire 3.5 hours of integration time. I was not sure that this would be sufficient time to allow me to pull its ring out of the background light pollution. I was pleasantly surprised to see how much of the ring I was able to resolve.

Comments

Revisions

  • Polar Ring Galaxy NGC 660, George Simon
    Original
  • Polar Ring Galaxy NGC 660, George Simon
    B
  • Polar Ring Galaxy NGC 660, George Simon
    C
  • Final
    Polar Ring Galaxy NGC 660, George Simon
    D

B

Description: A couple of minor, cosmetic tweaks.

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C

Description: One more small, cosmetic change.

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D

Description: I used a different algorithm in Nebulosity (Colors in Motion) to stack the calibrated subs, and it produced a sharper image, with tighter stars.

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Polar Ring Galaxy NGC 660, George Simon

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