ELATE observatory - Velimir Popov

NGC 3718 (Arp 214) AGN LINER-type, SB0/Sa, NGC 3729 and Hickson Group 56 (Arp 322) in Ursa Major

LRGB combination - spikes added (Click for a larger view 1400 x 1400 px)

Details

NGC 3718 (Arp 214) AGN LINER-type, SB0/Sa, NGC 3729 and Hickson Group 56 (Arp 322) in Ursa Major

Discovered in 1789 by William Herschel

NGC 3718 is an interesting and unusual galaxy in Ursa Major with an apparent magnitude of 10.5. In this group the most striking is clearly NGC 3718, a warped spiral galaxy. NGC 3718's faint spiral arms look twisted and extended, its bright central region crossed by obscuring dust lanes. In 150 thousand light-years to the left is another large spiral galaxy, NGC 3729. The two are likely interacting gravitationally, accounting for the peculiar appearance of NGC 3718. While this galaxy pair lies about 52 million light-years away, the remarkable Hickson Group 56 (aka Arp 322) can also be seen clustered just below NGC 3718. Hickson Group 56 consists of five interacting galaxies and lies over 400 million light-years away.

Right Ascension	11 : 32.6 (h:m)
Declination	+53 : 04 (deg:m)
Distance	52 000 (kly)
Visual Brightness	10.5 (mag)
Apparent Dimension	8 x 4 (arc min)

Seeing:	Pickering 8 rating - Good to Excellent
Optic(s):	Celestron 11" Schmidt Cassegrain + TSSCKorr2" flattener @ f/8
Mount:	ASA DDM85 Premium
Camera:	ATIK 4000 - monochrome CCD – 2048 x 2048 px ; 16x16 mm; 7.4 µm x 7.4 µm
Filters:	Astronomics L, R, G, B set, SupaSlim TrueTechnology Computerized Filter Wheel
Dates/Times:	2012-04-24
Location:	Rozhen Observatory, BG, longitude: E 24 44' 18", latitude: N 41 41' 42"
Exposure Details:	L = 75 min, R = 60 min, G = 60 min, B = 60 min, (Bin 1), Subexposures = 15 min, Total Exposure Time - 255 min
More details:	Dark and flat frames reduction
Guiding:	All subexposures are unguided thanks to ASA DDM85 Premium mount
Processing:	PixInsight / PS

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