RA: 00h 40m Dec: +40º 44' Mag: 6.4, Size: 1200x2400(ly), Distance: 2.5-3 million(ly)
RA: 00h 40m Dec: +40º 44' Mag: 6.4, Size: 1200x2400(ly), Distance: 2.5-3 million(ly)
NGC 206 in a cluster of hot blue stars with a mass of approximately 200,000 Suns located in the outer arm of the Andromeda galaxy and is one of the largest star forming regions in the local group of galaxies. This star cloud is easily seen in the arm when viewing through a telescope. The estimated age of this cluster is 20 million years and its appearance is similar to Messier 24 in Sagittarius within our own Milky Way but much larger. The center of NGC 260 is believed to be where two arms are intersecting thereby creating the dense material leading to the large star formations. Seen throughout this image are red pockets of star forming regions.
| Location & Date |
Backyard, Abbott Observatory - Nov. 21, 2009 Temperature - Low 40's F |
| Telescope | Deep Sky Instruments RC10C , F/7.3 on a Losmandy G11 Gemini, Prime Focus, Image scale 0.82 arcsec/pixel |
| Camera |
SBIG ST-2000XCM color camera, AO8 CCD temp -15°C |
| Exposure Times | 25 x 15 Minutes, Bin 1x1 |
| Other Information |
Image planning - CCD Navigator Image acquisition/focus/guiding/dither - CCD Autopilot4 w/CCDSoft/TheSky6/PinPoint |
| Image Processing |
* Images Plus 3.75- Calibration, Normalize, Alignment, Min Max Avg Combine, Deconvolution, Mild DDP * Adobe CS4 - Levels, Curves, Sharpening, Cropping, NR, JPEG conversion |
