Imaging telescopes or lenses: Borg 90FL
Imaging cameras: ZWO ASI 183MM Pro
Mounts: Celestron AVX Mount
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Agena Astro 50mm f/3.9 Guidescope
Guiding cameras: ASI224MC
Software: Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight · IDEIKI AstroPhotography Tool (APT) · Stark Labs Nebulosity 4.2 · Digital Photo Professional · Annie's Astro Actions V7 · Noel Carboni's Astro Tools for PhotoShop Noel Carboni Actions · PHD2 Guiding
Filters: L · R · G
Dates:April 1, 2019
Frames:
B: 16x120" (gain: 100.00) -15C bin 2x2
G: 15x120" (gain: 100.00) -15C bin 2x2
L: 29x120" (gain: 100.00) -15C bin 2x2
R: 17x120" (gain: 100.00) -15C bin 2x2
Integration: 2.6 hours
Darks: ~25
Flats: ~30
Flat darks: ~30
Avg. Moon age: 26.01 days
Avg. Moon phase: 13.39%
Bortle Dark-Sky Scale: 4.00
Mean SQM: 21.20
Mean FWHM: 3.50
Astrometry.net job: 2623261
RA center: 12h 1' 49"
DEC center: -18° 52' 44"
Pixel scale: 0.901 arcsec/pixel
Orientation: 184.514 degrees
Field radius: 0.541 degrees
Resolution: 3600x2400
Data source: Traveller
The Antennae Galaxies, NGC 4038/NGC 4039, (PGC 37967 / 37969, Caldwell 60/61) are a pair of interacting galaxies in the constellation Corvus. They are currently going through a starburst phase, in which the collision of clouds of gas and dust, with entangled magnetic fields, causes rapid star formation. They were discovered by William Herschel in 1785.
I am a little surprised that Sir Patrick Moore gave up two of his 110 Caldwell numbers for this object. I really think this close pair could have been assigned just one Caldwell number, and he could of used the other number for objects like NGC 2903 or the Tiger's Eye galaxy, NGC 2841, especially since I think these objects are easier to see in an amateur telescope than the antennae galaxies.
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