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Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)  ·  Contains:  NGC 3718  ·  NGC 3729
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NGC 3718, NGC 3729, and Hickson 56: Little targets, surprising detail, Rob Foster
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NGC 3718, NGC 3729, and Hickson 56: Little targets, surprising detail

Revision title: Cropped Version

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NGC 3718, NGC 3729, and Hickson 56: Little targets, surprising detail, Rob Foster
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NGC 3718, NGC 3729, and Hickson 56: Little targets, surprising detail

Revision title: Cropped Version

Equipment

Imaging Telescopes Or Lenses
Sky-Watcher Esprit 100ED
Imaging Cameras
Canon EOS 80D (modified)
Mounts
Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro
Accessories
Optec FocusLynx DirectSync SV · Pegasus Astro Ultimate Powerbox 2 · Sky-Watcher Flattener for Esprit 100 (20188)
Software
Adobe Photoshop · AstroSharp Ltd SharpCap · Bill Blanshan Star reduction methods · Green Swamp Software Green Swamp Server · Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight · ProDigital Software Astronomy Tools Actions Set · Russell Croman Astrophotography BlurXTerminator · Russell Croman Astrophotography NoiseXTerminator · Russell Croman Astrophotography StarXTerminator · Stefan Berg Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy (N.I.N.A. / NINA)
Guiding Telescopes Or Lenses
Sky-Watcher Evoguide 50ED
Guiding Cameras
ZWO ASI290MM Mini

Acquisition details

Dates:
March 1, 2023
Frames:
95×180″(4h 45′) ISO800
Integration:
4h 45′
Darks:
40
Flats:
25
Flat darks:
25
Bias:
50
Avg. Moon age:
9.34 days
Avg. Moon phase:
70.27%
Bortle Dark-Sky Scale:
7.00
Temperature:
2.00

RA center: 11h32m48s.760

DEC center: +53°04′18″.76

Pixel scale: 0.392 arcsec/pixel

Orientation: 21.162 degrees

Field radius: 0.392 degrees

WCS transformation: thin plate spline

More info:Open 

Find images in the same area

Resolution: 6024x3939

File size: 2.8 MB

Locations: Mason, OH, Mason, OH, United States

Data source: Backyard

Description

This data was obtained on a whim; I was done acquiring my primary target for the night, other secondary targets were below the horizon, and I turned to the NINA Atlas to "see what was out there" searching for galaxies above 30 degrees. Randomly picked NGC 3718 and never expected to see this level of detail in a little less than 5 hours of data.  Part of the Ursa Major cluster, NGC 3718 (also known as Arp 214) is a lenticular-shaped or highly disturbed spiral galaxy that is gravitationally influenced by its neighbor galaxy, NGC 3729. Bisected by a lane of dark dust, it reminded me of  NGC 5128 (Centaurus A), which is a target at Dec -43 that I will likely never directly image.   Immediately below NGC 3718 in this image is a cluster of 5 galaxies that comprise Hickson 56 (Arp 322).   However, that group is some 400 million light years from Earth, whereas NGC 2718 and NGC 3729 are 8 times closer at approximately 52 million light years. Version 1 is the nearly full-frame view, and version 2 cropped in to show more of the detail.  In the wide view far to the right,  PGC35202 (UGC 6446) can be seen as a faint spiral galaxy nearly 54 million light years from Earth.

Comments

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  • NGC 3718, NGC 3729, and Hickson 56: Little targets, surprising detail, Rob Foster
    Original
  • Final
    NGC 3718, NGC 3729, and Hickson 56: Little targets, surprising detail, Rob Foster
    B

B

Title: Cropped Version

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NGC 3718, NGC 3729, and Hickson 56: Little targets, surprising detail, Rob Foster

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DSLR and mirrorless astrophotography
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