RA: 11h 32.6m Dec: +53º 04' Mag: 11.6 Size (ly):80,000 Distance (ly):42 million
RA: 11h 32.6m Dec: +53º 04' Mag: 11.6 Size (ly):80,000 Distance (ly):42 million
NGC 3718 and its companion galaxy NGC 3729 (top left) are located in Ursa Major. NGC 3718 is entry number 241 in the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies produced by Halton Arp in 1966. Another feature of NGC 3718 are the dust lanes that run through the center bulge stretching about 80,000 light years as seen from edge on. The curved filament structure stretching from the top and bottom are the galaxies arms that appear warped. This is likely caused by interaction between these two galaxies which are separated approximately 150,000 light years.
NGC 3718 is classified as a Seyfert type 1.9 galaxy that has an active galactic nucleus (AGN). Also seen below in the background is a group of 5 galaxies known as Hickson 56 and also cataloged as Arp number 322. These are estimated to be about 400 million light years distant. Listing from left to right are Hickson A,B,C,D &E. Strong interaction can be seen between B,C & D.
| Location & Date |
Backyard, Abbott Observatory - March 30 & April 1, 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-2000XM w/CFW8, AO8 Astrodon Tru Balance LRGB Filters CCD temp -15°C |
| Exposure Times | (L) 24 X 10, (R) 6x10, (G) 6x10,(B) 6x10 Minutes, Bin 1x1 |
| Other Information |
Image acquisition/focus/guiding/dither - CCD Autopilot4 w/CCDSoft/TheSky6/PinPoint |
| Image Processing |
* Images Plus 3.75a- Calibration, Grading, Normalize, Alignment, Min Max Average Combine, Mild DDP * Adobe CS4 - L+RGB combine, Levels, Curves, Sharpening, Cropping, NR, JPEG conversion |
