NGC 7331
NGC 7331, also known as Caldwell 30, is an unbarred spiral galaxy about 40 million light-years away in the constellation Pegasus. NGC 7331 is the brightest galaxy in the field of a visual grouping known as the NGC 7331 Group of galaxies. The other members of the group, NGC 7335, 7336, 7337 and 7340, lie far in the background at distances of approximately 300–350 million light years. The galaxy appears similar in size and structure to the Milky Way, and is sometimes referred to as "the Milky Way's twin". However, they differ as unlike the Milky Way, the central bulge in NGC 7331 is rotating in the opposite direction to the rest of the disk.
September 26, 2024
Part two of first light with the new telescope. I’m really excited about the new scope as it has opened up a whole new world of more distant targets to chase, due to the longer focal length. This galaxy would have been nothing more that a small smudge on my RedCat, so I’m excited to be able to resolve more details of more distant targets! That said, this target clearly needs much more exposure time, as there’s quite a bit of noise within the galaxy itself. I went light with noise removal on the galaxy to try to preserve details, but it’s clear some more imaging time will be necessary to reduce the noise.
Technical Details
Imaging Telescope: Orion Optics IDEAL 8
Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro
Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro
Filter: Antlia Tri-band RGB Ultra Filter - 2” Mounted
Accessories: ZWO ASIAIR Plus, ZWO EAF
Software: PixInsight, Photoshop, NoiseXterminator, Starnet, BlurXterminator
Guiding Telescope: SVBony SV106 60mm Guide Scope
Guiding Camera: ZWO ASI174MM
Imaging Dates: Sep. 24, 2024
Frames (gain 101.0) f/4.9 -10c: 60x180” (3h)
Integration Time: 3h
Darks/Flats/Dark Flats: 30/30/30
Bortle Dark-Sky Scale: 5.00