This was an interesting dataset to work with. The obvious elephant in the room is that honking bright star (16 Psc Mag 5.68) swamping the distant galaxies. How could I present this wonderful pair of interacting galaxies that would do them justice? First, suppressing that glow from that bright star. Next, I wanted to retain the context of the galaxy pair floating against the backdrop of tiny galaxies and stars. The frame looks so cool; I wanted to keep this. Ultimately, I kept most of the frame and created an overlay highlighting the galaxy pair and their interactions by performing a simple interpolation upscaling.
This dramatic encounter has left a H I bridge (stellar bridge) between the pair. NGC 7714 is located about 130 million light years away. It is the larger galaxy and has been stretched and distorted during its encounter with NGC 7715 (the lower, thin drawn-out galaxy). The most prominent feature is the golden-coloured ring-like structure. This comprises older intermediate-mass stars, very much like our own sun. Another feature to are the two bright blue tails, or horn-like structures. Bright blue areas in galaxies strongly suggest that ongoing star formation is happening in this region.
NCC 7715 is thought to have plunged through NGC 7714. The interaction between the pair likely started 150 million years ago and should continue for several hundred million years more. It may result in a single central galaxy.
I love how varied these interacting galaxies are.If you're interested in some more information, have a quick look at:
https://science.nasa.gov/ngc-7714-starburst-after-galaxy-collisionInstruments Used:- 10 Inch RCOS fl 9.1
- Astro Physics AP-900 Mount
- SBIG STL 11000m
- FLI Filter Wheel
- Astrodon Lum, Red, Green, Blue Filters
Exposure Details:- Lum 42X600 Bin1
- Red 7X450 Bin2
- Green 19X450 Bin2
- Blue 16X450 Bin2
Total Time: ~16 HoursThanks for looking
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