An Owl, A Surfboard and Dozens of Distant Galaxies (George Simon)

Celestial hemisphere: Northern · Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa) · Contains: M 108 · M 97 · NGC 3556 · NGC 3587 · NGC 3594 · Owl Nebula

An Owl, A Surfboard and Dozens of Distant Galaxies, George Simon

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An Owl, A Surfboard and Dozens of Distant Galaxies

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An Owl, A Surfboard and Dozens of Distant Galaxies

As I was processing this image, I was reminded that widefield images shot during galaxy season can serve as stratified time capsules of our universe. This image contains objects at three distinct tiers of distance from us; hence, the image captures three distinct periods of the past in our local universe.

The foreground of the image is occupied by the Owl Nebula (M97). As we look at this planetary nebula, we are gazing about 2,000 years into the past.

The middle ground of the image is occupied by the Surfboard Galaxy (M108). This barred spiral galaxy is a member of the Ursa Major Cluster. We are seeing it as it looked about 46 million years ago.

Scattered around the background of the image are dozens of dim galaxies. These vary in distance from us, but the galaxy just above and to the right of the Owl is typical. This galaxy is PGC 34279. When we look at it, we are looking 485 million years into the past.

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Status	Basic success
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Astrometry.net job	7190053
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An Owl, A Surfboard and Dozens of Distant Galaxies

An Owl, A Surfboard and Dozens of Distant Galaxies

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An Owl, A Surfboard and Dozens of Distant Galaxies

An Owl, A Surfboard and Dozens of Distant Galaxies

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