Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Draco (Dra)  ·  Contains:  NGC 5976  ·  NGC 5981  ·  NGC 5982  ·  NGC 5985
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The Draco Group (NGC 5981, NGC 5982, and NGC 5985) in Draco, Mark Wetzel
The Draco Group (NGC 5981, NGC 5982, and NGC 5985) in Draco
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The Draco Group (NGC 5981, NGC 5982, and NGC 5985) in Draco

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
The Draco Group (NGC 5981, NGC 5982, and NGC 5985) in Draco, Mark Wetzel
The Draco Group (NGC 5981, NGC 5982, and NGC 5985) in Draco
Powered byPixInsight

The Draco Group (NGC 5981, NGC 5982, and NGC 5985) in Draco

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Description

Casitas de Gila, Gila, NM, April 3 - 7, 2024

Description:

This is a galaxy trio called The Draco Group.  It is a trio of galaxies in the constellation Draco.  They are about 100 million light years from Earth and are comprised of two barred spiral galaxies: NGC 5985 is shown face on (type SBb) and the NGC 5981is edge on (type SB).  NGC 5982 is the third member of the trio in the center.  It is an elliptical galaxy, type E3.  It is about 100,000 light years across.  It was discovered by William Herschel on May 25, 1788. (Astronomy Magazine, 2011)

Imaging details:

Celestron 9.25” Edge HD SCT with 0.7x Focal Reducer (FL = 1650mm at f/7)
Celestron Off-axis Guider with ZWO ASI 174 mini guide camera
Losmandy G11 mount with Gemini 2 controller
ZWO ASI 2600MM Pro cooled monochrome camera (-10C)
36mm Chroma filters: Luminance, Red, Green and Blue

Software:    Sequence Generator Pro, ASTAP plate solving, PHD2 guiding, 
    Losmandy Gemini ASCOM mount control and web client interface,
    SharpCap Pro for polar alignment with a Polemaster camera,
    PixInsight 1.8.9-2,
    Photoshop 2024

Luminance    2 min x 139 subframes (278 min), Gain 100, Offset 64, 1x1 binning
Red                4 min x 32 subframes (128 min), Gain 100, Offset 64, 1x1 binning
Green            4 min x 32 subframes (128 min), Gain 100, Offset 64, 1x1 binning
Blue               4 min x 33 subframes (132 min), Gain 100, Offset 64, 1x1 binning

Total integration time: 11.1 hours

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The Draco Group (NGC 5981, NGC 5982, and NGC 5985) in Draco, Mark Wetzel