NGC 3077 in Ursa Major
NGC 3077 is a small but bright peculiar galaxy about 45′ east-southeast of the magnificient spiral galaxy M81 in Ursa Major, which has an equally dynamic companion, M82 (The Cigar Galaxy).
In the mid-nineteenth century, NGC 3077 was thought to be either an irregular lenticular (I0) galaxy or a peculiar mixed spiral lenticular galaxy (SAB0p). Today we know NGC 3077 is a nearby dwarf starburst galaxy with a true linear extent of 20’000 light-years at a distance of about 12.5 million light-years.
In this deep exposed image, many similarities to M82 become obvious. Specifically a couple of red jets near the center are clearly visable.
[description from O’Meara]
Details
Telescope:
RCOS 14.5″ f/8
Mount:
ASA DDM85
Camera:
Apogee U16M
Filters:
Astrodon Gen2
Exposure:
LRGB 780:220:200:180 min.
Location:
ROSA Remote Observatories Southern Alps
Author:
© Martin Rusterholz, Astrophotographer
Hello, my name is Martin Rusterholz. I’m a Swiss amateur astrophotographer living near Zurich, the biggest town in Switzerland. My interest in astronomy started when I was 16. At that time, I built my first Newtonian telescope and mount. I studied physics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) which was the only study including at least some aspects of astronomy and astrophysics.
“Looking at the nights sky is an experience touching everybody deeply inside, something common to all human beings independent to the language spoken by the individuals”.
Deep-sky astrophotography is my passion. 