NGC 891: Edge-on Spiral in Andromeda

Click on image for larger version.

This galaxy is perhaps the most beautiful example of a near-by spiral galaxy viewed edgewise. Note the small companion galaxies above and beneath the disk. This particular galaxy is of interest to astronomers that study the dynamics of material in the galactic plane of spiral galaxies. In this example, there are sprays of material (gas and dust) that are being accelerated perpendicular to the disk. This effect is not well-understood. Please see this medium resolution image first in order to appreciate the sky surrounding NGC 891.

Equipment

Meade 16in LX200 telescope operating at f/10
SBIG ST8E CCD camera with color filter wheel

L R G B color production was used to create this image.

Luminance = 60 minutes binned 1x1
 Red = 20 minutes binned 2x2
 Green = 20 minutes binned 2x2
 Blue = 40 minutes binned 2x2
  • One iteration of L-R deconvolution (sharpening) algorithm using CCDsharp was applied to the luminance image.

  • The AO unit was used for this image.
  • The times above apply to each of the frames for this mosaic. (2 frames)
  • The seeing was not great- but good enough to be to resolve some of the inner galactic structure.
  • Digital Developement (DDP) via Maxim/DL was also used in order to display the the very dim and very bright details of the image simultaneously.

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    Minimum credit line: Adam Block/NOAO/AURA/NSF

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    Updated: 10/11/2001