SMALL MAGELLANIC CLOUD & FRIENDS

NEIGHBOUR GALAXY IN TUCANA

 (Image Centred at: ra: 0:58.2/ dec -72:50)

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CLICK IN THE IMAGE FOR HIGHER AND CLOSE UP VERSION

November 2010, Mercedes Observatory Buenos Aires, Argentina

Collaboration with Juan Jose Destefani

DATA

TYPE: Irregular Galaxy

Visual brightness: 2.3

Apparent Diameter: 280 x 160 arc minutes

DISTANCE: 210.000 lights years

IMAGE INFORMATION

SCOPE: Carl Zeiss Jenna 135 f3.5 lens stopped down at 5.6

CAMERA: QSI 583 WS at -15C

MOUNT: NEQ6

GUIDING: Orion ED 80 f7.5 - AstroArt 3.0 - Control Interface 3.72 plug in

FILTERS: Astronomik LHaRGB

SKY CONDITIONS: rural skies - transparency and seeing good  / windy session

EXPOSURES: LHaRGB (25,20,20,20,20)

PROCESSING: Calibration (Sigma Median) done in Images Plus. No darks no flats no bias used. Color Combination in Images Plus. Photoshop CS2

OBJECT DESCRIPTION AND IMAGE SESSION

The SMC is an irregular galaxy type. It might be distorted by the gravitational forces of our Milky Way and the LMC. Interesting to see a variety of extra galactic objects like nebulae and star clusters which can be reached through amateurs telescopes. At the right Globular Cluster NGC 104 separated by only 90 arc minutes (apparent distance), NGC 362 is up and shines at magnitude 6.8 with 14 arc minutes size.

Despite its high magnitude the cloud is not visible through binoculars from my backyard in Martinez (30 km north Buenos Aires). I can glimpse NGC 104 but no single feature of the galaxy. However in clears skies is a joy for the naked eye.

The SMC and LMC were certainly known through ages by the southerners. It became known to the world when Fernando de Magallanes went on his journey around the world in 1519.