NGC 7342 and NGC 7345 are part of a compact group of galaxies near the edge of the constellation Pegasus, not far from the Deer Lick group and Stephan’s Quintet. NGC 7342 is the cool SBa barred spiral at the right side of the field, and NGC 7345 is the edge-on galaxy just above it. To the left of them is a group of galaxies with PGC or UGC designations. This group of galaxies has the SIMBAD ID of MLCG1409, but otherwise does not carry a catchy name like its neighbors. For additional information about some of the cluster members and designations, I will refer you to Rick Johnson’s image and write-up on mantrapskies.com, rather than repeating the information here.
https://images.mantrapskies.com/catalog/OTHER/WBL685-NGC7342-NGC7345/index.htmAccording to TheSkyX, NGC 7342 is of 14th magnitude and measures 1.3’ x 1.3’, while NGC 7345 is also of 14th magnitude and measures 1.2’ x 0.2’. None of the galaxies in this field are really easy targets, even for a larger telescope. What is interesting about this image is that I actually acquired it with my 100 mm APO, rather than my C11 EdgeHD. These galaxies appeared in the upper right corner of a widefield shot of the Deer Lick group from last August-September, but I cropped the image down to better frame NGC 7331 and Stephan’s Quintet and lost these small galaxies in the process. This corner of the image required slightly different processing for optimal results, so I saved it for a rainy day, and here it is.
I used Starnet++ v2 here to remove the stars so I could shrink them down to a reasonable size without affecting the galaxies. This kind of processing is tricky, as galaxies can be removed along with the stars, but a little dedication and an hour of processing time go a long way.
This image has given me some hope that I might be able to shoot smaller galaxies with the Esprit 100ED refractor and take advantage of its large field of view and pleasing star colors. My C11 EdgeHD easily beats it for light-gathering power, but the field of view is tiny and there are usually color aberrations on the brighter stars that are difficult to patch up during processing. My spring imaging plans are therefore to shoot a few multi-galaxy images with the Esprit 100ED and the QHY268M for a change of pace.
Dates:
Aug. 3, 2021 ·
Aug. 14, 2021 ·
Sept. 3, 2021Frames:
Astrodon LRGB 1.25" E series: 74x120" (2h 28') (gain: 56.00) -10C bin 1x1
Baader Planetarium LRGB 36mm: 48x120" (1h 36') (gain: 56.00) -10C bin 1x1
Baader Planetarium LRGB 36mm: 67x180" (3h 21') (gain: 56.00) -10C bin 1x1
Integration:7h 25'
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