9/5/2010

 

NGC 7331 is a beautiful spiral galaxy approximately 12 Mpc distant, and gives its name to a collection of galaxies in the area (the "NGC 7331 Group").  NGC 7331 supposedly appears somewhat like the Milky Way would appear if viewed from a similar distance, star-forming regions and all.  Several of its companion galaxies float "above" (in this view), in a distinctive trapezoidal pattern.

Arp 319, or HCG 92, inhabits the lower left corner in this view.  This little collection is also known as "Stephan's Quintet", although there are a few more than five galaxies visible in this image.  This group is estimated to be about 86 Mpc distant, or a little more than seven times the distance of NGC 7331.

 

Tierra Del Sol, CA

 

Optics - Takahashi TOA-130
Mount - Takahashi EM-200
Camera - QSI 583

 

50 min Lum, 33 min ea RGB

 

ImagesPlus Camera Control v4.0

Image Processing Software:

 

AIP4Win, GIMP