Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)  ·  Contains:  NGC 3718  ·  NGC 3729
NGC 3718 and NGC 3729, drblevy13
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NGC 3718 and NGC 3729

NGC 3718 and NGC 3729, drblevy13
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NGC 3718 and NGC 3729

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This represents a month of waiting for one more clear night to get enough data to process, and my latest foray into imaging at 2800mm unguided.

In the center of the field of view, we have NGC 3718, which is a lenticular spiral galaxy that is 52 million light-years away from Earth.  To put that into greater perspective, it means we are observing this galaxy as it looked when Australia and Antarctica were still connected during the Eocene epoch.

To the right of center, we have NGC 3729, which is a barred spiral galaxy that is 62 million light-years away from Earth.  This fun fact reminds us that even though the two galaxies appear in the same plane, they only appear this way because everything appears two-dimensional so far away from Earth.  Although they are captured in the same picture, the distance between NGC 3718 and HGC 3729 is 150,000 light years.  The scales here are really beyond comprehension.

Not to be outdone, the cluster of "small" galaxies above NGC 3718 is the Hickson 56 galaxy group, which are 425 million light-years away.

Hope you enjoy the picture, and these fun facts as much as I did learning about them!

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  • NGC 3718 and NGC 3729, drblevy13
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    NGC 3718 and NGC 3729, drblevy13
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NGC 3718 and NGC 3729, drblevy13