C101
Galaxy in Pavo
About
Pavo holds NGC 6744, a weakly barred spiral of intermediate type, measured at about 23.6 million light-years although its redshift suggests farther. Among the largest spirals nearby and often compared to a twin of our own galaxy, it has a distorted companion, NGC 6744A.
Imaging tips
- At 15.7′ by 9.8′ it suits about 1,540 to 2,570 mm on APS-C, with the companion NGC 6744A nearby.
- Faint at 23.4 mag/arcsec², so plan many hours of broadband data; one deep image ran 15.5 hours.
- That image used luminance, RGB and a short Hα run, so Hα can add the star-forming regions across the arms.
- Best in June and July, but it never rises from 50°N or 35°N: a southern-hemisphere target.
Facts
- Size
- 15.7′ × 9.8′
- Magnitude
- 9.3
- Coordinates
- RA 19h 9.8m, Dec −63° 51′
- Framing, APS-C
- 1540–2570 mm
- Framing, full frame
- 2360–3940 mm
- Best months
- Jun, Jul
- Peak altitude
- never rises from 50°N, never rises from 35°N