SMC_2012-10-08

Galaxies - SMC

R.A.: 00h 52m 44.8s
Dec.: -72° 49' 43"
Mag.: 2.7

The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is a dwarf galaxy. It has a diameter of about 7,000 light-years and contains several hundred million stars.[5] It has a total mass of approximately 7 billion times the mass of our Sun. Some speculate that the SMC was once a barred spiral galaxy that was disrupted by the Milky Way to become somewhat irregular. It contains a central bar structure. At a distance of about 200,000 light-years, it is one of the Milky Way's nearest neighbors. It is also one of the most distant objects that can be seen with the naked eye. With a mean declination of approximately -73 degrees, it can only be viewed from the Southern Hemisphere and the lower latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. It is located in the constellation of Tucana and appears as a hazy, light patch in the night sky about 3 degrees across.

© Wikipedia

SMC - Small Magellanic Cloud

Date: 08.10.2012, 09.10.2012 and 10.10.2012
Ambient conditions: 23°C, transparency 5/5, seeing 5/5
Location: Crisopolis, Brazil

Equipment:
Telescope: FSQ-106EDX f/5
Mount: ASA DDM60
Camera: SXVF-M25C
Guiding: No guiding
Filters: IDAS LPS

Acquisition:
Software: Maxim DL 5
FOV, Image scale: 153 x 101 arcmin, 3.03 arcs/pixel
Sub-exposures: 3 h 5 m (37 x 5 min) light frames
Calibration: Flats and Bias

Processing:
Maxim DL 5: Calibration, SDMask stacking
Images Plus 3.75: DDP
CS5: Curves, color enhancement with Gabany's method, Unsharp mask on galaxy structure

Comments:
This was the first time we shot the Magellanic clouds. Being a part of everyone's life in the Southern Hemisphere, we were somehow proud to have the opportunity to make this picture.

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Information

Filename: galaxies/smc_2012-10-08_full.jpg
Filesize: 7704675 Kb
Download limit: unlimited

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