Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Leo (Leo)
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Leo II dwarf galaxy, Joostie
Leo II dwarf galaxy
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Leo II dwarf galaxy

Link to TIFF/FITS: https://www.drogenberg.be
Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Leo II dwarf galaxy, Joostie
Leo II dwarf galaxy
Powered byPixInsight

Leo II dwarf galaxy

Link to TIFF/FITS: https://www.drogenberg.be

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Description

As this galaxy was unknown to me, I tried a lucky shot - and there it is! Leo I was the only dwarf galaxy I was aware of in the Leo constellation. On the Grandpre observation weekend, one of the observing challenges was Leo II. So I got a quick snapshot of it (only 90 minutes) to have an idea. It turns out well in the picture, clearly visible as a galaxy but also some of the brightest stars (around mag 20) of the galaxy itself are visible.

One tiny, edge-on galaxy peers through Leo II (left inside of Leo II). This is (ref:Skysafari catalogues) PGC5250798, a magnitude +21 galaxy -  distant at an incredible 6 billion lightyears, and even more incredible, receeding at an asthonishing speed of 109817 km per second. That is 36% of light speed.

Leo II itself is magnitude 11th, with dimensions 14.8′ x12.2′. It’s only 457 thousand light years away (four times the diameter of our own galaxy). It is also really small with a diameter of 1961 lightyears.

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Leo II dwarf galaxy, Joostie