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Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Volans (Vol)  ·  Contains:  NGC 2434  ·  NGC 2442

Image of the day 03/28/2018

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    NGC 2442 The Meathook Galaxy, Terry Robison
    NGC 2442 The Meathook Galaxy
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    NGC 2442 The Meathook Galaxy

    Image of the day 03/28/2018

    Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
      NGC 2442 The Meathook Galaxy, Terry Robison
      NGC 2442 The Meathook Galaxy
      Powered byPixInsight

      NGC 2442 The Meathook Galaxy

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      Description

      56 million light years away, in the constellation of Volans, there is a dramatic lopsided intermediate spiral galaxy known as the Meathook Galaxy. Its asymmetric shape has one arm tightly folded in, while the other is dotted with star forming regions that extend far out from its galactic nucleus. These regions are trailing off to the left on the lower arm, and have a slightly pink and reddish colours.

      The galaxy itself is around 110,000 light years across and is moving away from us at 1466 kilometres per second. I have always enjoyed looking at interesting shaped galaxies as usually have an interesting history. In this instance, around 200 million years ago, there may have been a gravitational interaction with the fuzzy galaxy to the lower right, AM 0738-692. If you look carefully, there is a fairly easy to spot almost edge background galaxy, around the two o’clock position.

      Within inner region of NGC 2442, there is a background galaxy just popping through. I had to resort to some Hubble images to verify, and there it was. That is so cool to be able to see a galaxy through a closer galaxy. To locate it, draw a line from the core, moving outwards toward the 4:30 clock position, and there is what looks like a horizontal line perpendicular to the line you have just drawn out. It is very subtle. Another feature to help locate it, look at the ends of a forked brownish structure that connects back to the core of the galaxy. There are quite a few dim, far off galaxies throughout the frame.

      Exposure Details

      16 Blue Binned 2X2 – 450 Sec each

      17 Green Binned 2X2 – 450 Sec each

      19 Red Binned 2X2 – 450 Sec each

      19 Lum Binned 1X2 – 900 Sec each

      14 Ha Binned 1x1 – 1200 Sec

      Instruments Used:

      10 Inch RCOS fl 9.1

      Astro Physics AP-900 Mount

      SBIG STL 11000m

      FLI Filter Wheel

      Astrodon Lum, Red, Green, Blue Filters

      Baader Planetarium H-alpha 7nm Narrowband-Filter

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      NGC 2442 The Meathook Galaxy, Terry Robison

      In these public groups

      Astronomical Society of Victoria (ASV)
      Objects of the South - negative declination only
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