C67
Galaxy in Fornax
About
NGC 1097 is a barred spiral in Fornax, lying 45 million light-years out, with an active nucleus around a black hole of roughly 140 million solar masses. Four faint jets of stars reach out from the centre, thought to be debris from a dwarf galaxy it swallowed.
Imaging tips
- Only about 10′ by 6′ in a roughly 23′ frame at 2,290–3,810 mm on APS-C, so it is a compact target that rewards a long focal length.
- Faint for its size at 23 mag/arcsec², so plan many hours of broadband LRGB data.
- One published image used 23 hours over 17 nights through a 12.5-inch f/6.7 scope to bring out the tidal streams around the galaxy.
- Best in October and November; it stays below 10° altitude from 50°N, so a southern latitude helps.
Facts
- Size
- 10.6′ × 6.4′
- Magnitude
- 9.8
- Coordinates
- RA 2h 46.3m, Dec −30° 17′
- Framing, APS-C
- 2290–3810 mm
- Framing, full frame
- 3500–5840 mm
- Best months
- Oct, Nov
- Peak altitude
- 10° from 50°N, 25° from 35°N