PGC 2248 - Cartwheel Galaxy
© Velimir Popov & Emil Ivanov 2014
Size: 2000 px
 

PGC 2248 is a very unusual galaxy in the constellation of Sculptor. Called "Cartwheel Galaxy", it's the brightest example of a "ring-type" galaxy. These galaxies have undergone a burst of star formation in their outer regions, giving them appearence of a ring. In the case of PGC 2248, it is believed that one or both of the two faint galaxies just to the lower right (PGC 2252 and PGC 2249), have passed through the Cartwheel, triggering the burst of star formation. The distance to PGC 2248 is estimated to be 500 Mly. Below is a higly magnified crop with annotated mousover:

Image details:

Annotation
Center of field RA 00:37:41(h:m:s)
Center of field DE -33:43:39 (deg:m:s)
Size 1.33 x 1.14 (deg)
Pixel scale: 1.03 (arcsec/pixel)
Orientation: Up is -0.905 degrees E of N
Charts and image details obtained from Astrometry.net
Optic(s): ASA 12" f 3,6 Astrograph (ASA)
Mount: ASA DDM85
Camera: FLI MicroLine 8300 CCD camera
Filters: Luminance, Red, Green, Blue, Astrodon filters
Dates/Times: 29, 30 August 2014
Location: Namibia-TIVOLI ASTROFARM, S 23° 27' 40,9" / E 18° 01' 02,2"
Exp. Details: L:6x10min,R:4x10min, G:4x10min, B:4x10min,, Bin1,
  Total Exposure Time -180 min
More details: Dark and flat frames reduction,
Processing: PixInsight / PS
 
Copyright: Velimir Popov and Emil Ivanov 2014. All Rights Reserved
 
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