5 replies to this topic

[mgCatskills]

Last night was the MHAA monthly meeting, and a friend showed me an image he'd captured of NGC 660.  It's very wild looking galaxy with what looks like the galactic center on one plane, and with a ring of stars, which in most galaxies is co-planar, circling the center on a decided angle, not quite perpendicular (polar) plane.  Here's a wikipedia image.

 

NGC 660 is quite visible now, and for the next few months, in Pisces. I feel like it's a little late to add another item to the October Challenge list which is 18 objects already, but it's a target I'll be pursuing at my earliest opportunity.

 

Turns out there's a classification of galaxies called "Polar Ring Galaxies" I'd never heard of.  Possibly the most famous of these is Arp 336, the Helix Galaxy. Arp classifies it as a "Miscellaneous Galaxy", so I had no idea it was "Polar Ring".  My very old (for me) capture of it doesn't show the polar ring at all.  If you look at the reference image in the Atlas, it's quite subtle.  So I'll be returning to it to see if I can image the ring

 

Here's a list in Wikipedia of Polar Ring galaxies.  I'm not sure how many besides Arp 336 and NGC 660 are feasible for us to observe from the Northern Hemisphere, but I'm intrigued and will try to see what I can see. 

 

If you have EAA (or even AP) images of NGC 660, Arp 336 or others that show the polar rings, can you post them here? (Of course links only for AP images).

 

Just thought I'd throw it out... would be fun if we got a little rump group of Polar Ring enthusiasts going.

Edited by mgCatskills, 18 September 2024 - 07:46 AM.

[Oyaji]

Funny you should mention that.  NGC660 is my most recent object, but my two hours time on target at a dark site during the last new moon wasn't nearly enough to resolve any details in the rings.  

 

Still, since you asked, there's the pic:  https://flickr.com/p...157708237944024

Edited by Oyaji, 18 September 2024 - 08:14 AM.

[Clouzot]

Great topic Mickael! Incidentally, I was looking for some PRGs in my archives these days, so here's what I found so far (43°N latitude here, so there's a bit more than Arp 336 and NGC 660 in our northern skies!)

 

Arp 214 (NGC 3718)

C9 Hyperstar, ASI294MM bin1, May 09, 2021, Bortle 5-6, 20x30s

 

NGC 660

C6 f/8, ASI294MM bin2, Nov 06, 2021, Bortle 4, 10x120s

 

NGC 4753

This one is a candidate PRG so formally not classified as such - yet. Nice "dust garland".

C9.25 f/6-something, ASI294MM bin2, April 08, 2021, Bortle 8-9, 49x8s

 

There's also Centaurus A that is doable if you're south of 35°N (so, not for me, alas. I stacked it when it was 2° above the horizon, and it was a tragedy).

[KTAZ]

Hopefully, NGC 600 will be my first target with my new RC10 Truss! I hope to have it in operation within the next 2 weeks.

[roelb]

click to enlarge

 

NGC 660 Sp.G. In Psc 6 SE Bortle 7 ZWO ASI533MM Pro 60 X 10 S = 10 min 13 11 2022T22 27 09 CROP

 

NGC 2685 Arp 336 Helix G Evo 8 Bortle 4 ZWO ASI533MC Pro 10 X 30 S = 5 min 15 4 2020T00 01 27

CROP

 

NGC 3718 Arp 214 Evo 8 Bortle 4 ZWO ASI533MC Pro 34 X 20 0s = 11.3 min 22 03 2022T21 29 01

 

[MarMax]

EDITED to say if these are not polar-ring in the context of this topic then I'd be happy to delete this. I don't want to get too far off base from the OP's intent.

 

Here is an old image of Centarus A (NGC 5128, C77) from Darwin, CA in May 2022 with the 160mm refractor. Looking back it's not too bad considering I really did not know what I was doing yet. I did have a good location and equipment working in my favor.

 

NGC 5128 (Centarus A, C77), [ 8" / 6' ], Link to Large

 

 

 

EDITED to say I'll need to go back to my notes from this trip for the SQM-L, but it was likely in the 21.90+ range. There was one night in Darwin I measured 22.00 and that surprised me. For those with SQM-L meters they do the tick-tick-tick thing while calculating the number and the darker the more ticks. At home I get one tick and then a number. For that 22.00 it seemed to tick forever.

 

And I just found NGG 4753 from the same trip and same night.

 

NGC 4753, [ 8" / 10.6' ], Link to Large

 

 

More details with images in the Gallery. Looking at the Wiki list NGC 4650A is in some great company but this will have to wait until next Spring and it's only 15 degrees Alt from my location.

Edited by MarMax, 19 September 2024 - 05:45 PM.