H-NGC908
Galaxy in Cetus
About
A starburst spiral galaxy in Cetus, lying near 56 million light-years out (other sources say up to 65 million) with a length of roughly 75,000 light-years. Its arms are uneven, hinting at a past encounter with a galaxy that is no longer visible. William Herschel found it in 1786.
Imaging tips
- Only about 6′ × 3′, so it is too small to frame: use a long focal length and a fine pixel scale.
- Faint at 22 mag/arcsec², so plan many hours of broadband data; one imager shot LRGB with luminance weighted 100:80:80:80, but gave no total time.
- Young clusters and star-forming knots sit in its three arms; it leads a group that also holds IC 223, NGC 899 and NGC 907, none of them confirmed in the same frame.
- Low for northern observers: it stays below 19° altitude from 50°N, best around October and November.
Facts
- Size
- 6′ × 3′
- Magnitude
- 10.2
- Coordinates
- RA 2h 23.1m, Dec −21° 14′
- Framing, APS-C
- longer than 4000 mm
- Framing, full frame
- longer than 4000 mm
- Best months
- Oct, Nov
- Peak altitude
- 19° from 50°N, 34° from 35°N