Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Leo (Leo)  ·  Contains:  NGC 3185  ·  NGC 3187  ·  NGC 3189  ·  NGC 3190  ·  NGC 3193

Image of the day 01/18/2025

    Hickson 44 Galactic group: A close up and a wider field of view., Ashraf AbuSara
      Hickson 44 Galactic group: A close up and a wider field of view., Ashraf AbuSara

      Hickson 44 Galactic group: A close up and a wider field of view.

      Image of the day 01/18/2025

        Hickson 44 Galactic group: A close up and a wider field of view., Ashraf AbuSara
          Hickson 44 Galactic group: A close up and a wider field of view., Ashraf AbuSara

          Hickson 44 Galactic group: A close up and a wider field of view.

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          Description

          The purpose of my new remote setup has always been to image galaxies. I was a little bit skeptical of how much I could capture with a 5.1 inch refractor, as opposed to my 12.5 inch reflector. But these concerns have quickly dissipated after the stacking the first images from this setup. 

          First galactic target was Hickson 44,  a group of galaxies in the constellation Leo that are approximately 80 million light years away. The galaxies seem to be interacting gravitationally, which has led to tidal distortions, particularly visible in NGC 3187. Also seen are  the extended tidal tails from NGC 3190. 

          I do also suggest that you check out revision C. That is the full field of view without the crop. Many other tiny galaxies can bee seen. 

          Some peculiar features that caught my eye in the large field of view. This galaxy is designated as 2MASXI J1019015+211701 .

          https://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=2MASXI%20J1019015%2B211701&NbIdent=1&Radius=2&Radius.unit=arcmin&submit=submit+id

          It seems to feature a monstrously large jet that emanates from the center of the galaxy outward mostly in one direction, with a much smaller jet in the opposite direction. The size of the jet seems to be many times the size of the galaxy itself. I could not find any explanations or papers on this particular galaxy. Let me know in the comments if anyone finds more information about this or has an explanation for this finding. Looks to me like a monstrous blackhole at the center. 

          EmissionlineGalaxy.jpg

          In the larger field of view, you can see NGC 3177. It is tucked to the left of the image. This is clearly a beautiful face on spiral galaxy.  I didn't see much of on Astrobin so here it is:
          NGC3177.jpg

          CS!

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          Revisions

          • Final
            Hickson 44 Galactic group: A close up and a wider field of view., Ashraf AbuSara
            Original
            Hickson 44 Galactic group: A close up and a wider field of view., Ashraf AbuSara
            B
            Hickson 44 Galactic group: A close up and a wider field of view., Ashraf AbuSara
            C

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          Hickson 44 Galactic group: A close up and a wider field of view., Ashraf AbuSara