| Spiral Galaxy NGC 247 in Cetus |
Spiral Galaxy NGC 247 is also known as Caldwell 62, and along with NGC 253 is a member of the Sculptor Group of Galaxies. Lying 11 million
light years away in the constellation Cetus, this object is a challenge for northern observers, hovering at a declination of -21 degrees, grazing the trees
from my observatory. Notice the row of 4 background galaxies (PGC 2791,2794, 2796, & 2798), to the right of NGC 247, and the paired edge-on
galaxies (PGC 832996) in the left upper corner.
This image combined 68 minutes of red, 64 minutes green and 84 minutes of blue exposures, all binned 2x2. I binned my images because the seeing
worsens dramatically near the horizon and did not use LRGB because atmospheric dispersion would blur a clear luminance near the horizon, as I
discussed in my article "Shooting Low" in the July 2010 Sky & Telescope, and in my book Best Targets for Astrophotography. I sharpened a
synthetic luminance to bring out detail, using methods that I described in my October 2012 article "Targeting Hidden Gems" in Sky & Telescope, and
also described in greater detail in my book. A QSI-583wsg camera was used through a 12" Astro-physics Ricardi-Honders f/3.8 astrograph at the
Hidden Lake Observatory.
light years away in the constellation Cetus, this object is a challenge for northern observers, hovering at a declination of -21 degrees, grazing the trees
from my observatory. Notice the row of 4 background galaxies (PGC 2791,2794, 2796, & 2798), to the right of NGC 247, and the paired edge-on
galaxies (PGC 832996) in the left upper corner.
This image combined 68 minutes of red, 64 minutes green and 84 minutes of blue exposures, all binned 2x2. I binned my images because the seeing
worsens dramatically near the horizon and did not use LRGB because atmospheric dispersion would blur a clear luminance near the horizon, as I
discussed in my article "Shooting Low" in the July 2010 Sky & Telescope, and in my book Best Targets for Astrophotography. I sharpened a
synthetic luminance to bring out detail, using methods that I described in my October 2012 article "Targeting Hidden Gems" in Sky & Telescope, and
also described in greater detail in my book. A QSI-583wsg camera was used through a 12" Astro-physics Ricardi-Honders f/3.8 astrograph at the
Hidden Lake Observatory.
