NGC 6384

SPIRAL GALAXY IN OPHIUCHUS

 (Image Centred at ra 17h:32m / dec - 07:04)

Processed in April 2016 - Camping La Porteña, San Antonio de Areco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

DATA

Type: Open cluster associated with nebulosity 

Visual brightness: 10.4

Apparent diameter: 6.2 x 4.1 arc minutes

Distance: 80 million light years

IMAGE INFORMATION

TELESCOPE: 8" Orion Optics UK Mirror with Televue Paracorr (1150 mm focal length)

CAMERA: QSI 583 WS

FILTERS: Baader LRGB

SKY CONDITIONS: rural skies,

EXPOSURES: LRGB (40,30,30,30)

OBJECT DESCRIPTION AND IMAGE SESSION

NGC 6384 is a weakly barred spiral galaxy located in the northern area of the constellation of Ophiuchus. From the Earth perspective, it is not so far of the center plane of our Milky Way, and that is the reason we can see a considerable amount of stars in the background which belongs to our home galaxy  In apparent size, it is the bigger galaxy of the mentioned constellation. At a distance of 80 million light years, NGC 6384 spans across 150.000 light years. The bright core is elongated from SSW-NNE, and it is dominated by yellowish starlight, giving a nice contrast with the younger bluish and relative faint spiral arms.