Tuesday, November 26, 2024

The Fiddlehead Galaxy (all night)

NGC 772, the magnitude 10.3 Fiddlehead Galaxy in Aries, is an overlooked gem. This unbarred spiral, located 112 million light-years away, is brighter than some Messier galaxies, twice as large as our Milky Way, and features a prominent arm that arcs to the west. The galaxy is inclined by 30\F8 from edge- on. Its bright, compact core will be visible in smaller telescopes as a hazy star, but a larger aperture telescope will reveal the smooth oval of its innermost set of arms, which are aligned NW-SE. Use averted vision and/or a larger telescope may show the galaxy's fainter outer arms covering 4.75 by 3.8 arc-minutes. The large single arm that forms the fiddlehead shape will be visible as an arc of uneven brightness curving much of the way around the core and then across the halo towards the northwest.

(Data courtesy of Starry Night)
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* Origin: CJ's Place, Orange City FL > cjsplace.thruhere.net (21:2/156)