The Flickr Edgeongalaxy Image Generatr

I went out to the local pond to try shooting a tracked panorama of the Milky Way. That failed, for technical reasons, but I did get a decent non-tracked frame of the Milky Way core with a portion of the pond in the foreground.

It looks like half of an edge-on galaxy of the type I used to photograph with telescopes. Of course, it is just that. We see our own Milky Way galaxy edge-on because Earth is in the plane of the galaxy, specifically in one of its spiral arms (called the Orion Arm). And this is a view looking toward the galaxy's center, which features the bright central "bulge" - just above the horizon in this image. Seems like if I just got on the other side of those trees I'd be able to see the entire edge-on disc of the galaxy ;).

This is a stack of 16 non-tracked images taken with a modified Canon 6D and Tamron 15-30mm lens at 15mm, f/2.8.O 1600, 25s, with dark frame calibration.

You are looking at a galaxy edge-on that is located 30 million light years away in the constellation Andromeda.

Consider our own Milky Way galaxy which is a huge disk of stars measuring 100,000 light years in diameter but only 1000 light years thick. So galaxies are quite thin relatively speaking.

A so-called edge-on view of a galaxy is like looking at the edge of a dinner plate and trying to see to the other side through the most dense portion. In the case of a galaxy this is mostly interstellar dust which is the dark linear region you see here. NGC 891, also referred to as the “silver sliver” galaxy, is very similar to our own Milky Way in size and luminosity.

The next time you see the Milky Way in a dark sky remember you are actually looking at it edge on also but this time you are on the inside looking out!

Image info:
Location: SkyPi Remote Observatory, Pie Town, NM US
Telescope: Officina Stellare RiDK 400
Mount: Paramount MEII
Camera: QHY600 M
Data: LRGB 3,5,4,4 hours respectively
Processing: Pixinsight

NGC 1055 APOD 3/15/24
apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240315.html

See prior upload for capture details and full res version

NGC 1055 is an edge-on spiral galaxy located in the constellation Cetus. The galaxy has a prominent nuclear bulge crossed by a wide knotty dark lane of dust and gas. The spiral arm structure appears to be elevated above the galaxy's plane and obscures the upper half of the bulge. Discovered on December 19, 1783 by William Herschel.
A rough distance estimate for NGC 1055 is 52 million light-years, with a diameter of about 115,800 light-years. NGC 1055 has extremely active star formation and is a bright infrared and radio source.
It is in a binary galaxy system with neighboring M77 (previously imaged) and there is about 7 million light years between them. Unfortunately I could not quite get both galaxies in the same image field!
Capture info:
Location: SkyPi Remote Observatory, Pie Town, NM US
Telescope: Officina Stellare RiDK 400mm
Camera: SBIG STX 16803
Mount: Paramount MEII
Data: LRGB 8,7,7,7
Processing: Pixinsight

70 x 180 Seconds OSC = 210 Minutes Exposure, ca. 3,5 Hrs
Camera = ASI 533MC Pro
Telescope = Celestron Edge HD 800 @ F7
Mount = HEQ5 Pro (Belt mod - CG-5 augmented)
Off Axis Guiding with ASI 290MM.
Image Captured with N.I.N.A.
Processing with Pixinsight, and PS.

NGC 891 (or Caldwell 23) is an edge-on spiral galaxy in the constellation Andromeda. It is about 32 million light years away. It is larger and has a higher star formation rate than our Milky Way Galaxy.

This was a long project from my backyard in Long Beach, CA. I took data in both January and December 2022 with a Celestron Edge HD 925 with 0.63x focal reducer for a focal length of 1530 mm. The camera was an Atik 414-EX with Optolong LGRB CCD filters. Preprocessing in Nebulosity; registration, stacking, channel combination, and initial processing in PixInsight; final touches in Photoshop (no Topaz Labs).

Exposures used from each filter are as follows.
L: 74 x 2 min
R: 36 x 3 min
G: 23 x 3 min
B: 31 x 3 min

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has allowed astronomers to view galaxies of all shapes and sizes from nearly every angle. When a galaxy is seen edge-on, the mesmerizing perspective reveals a dazzling slice of the universe. The “Little Sombrero,” also known as NGC 7814 or Caldwell 43, is one such galaxy.

Set against a speckled backdrop of more remote galaxies, the Little Sombrero features a bright central bulge, a thin disk full of dust, and a glowing halo of gas and stars that sprawls out into space. It is roughly 40 million light-years from Earth, 80,000 light-year-wide, and billions of years old.

The dusty spiral is named after the grander appearing Sombrero galaxy (hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2003/news-2003-28.html), which resembles a broad-brimmed Mexican hat. Also viewed from its edge, the Sombrero galaxy is located just 28 million light-years away and looks larger than the Little Sombrero. In reality, they are nearly the same size, but the Sombrero appears bigger because it is closer.

This image of the Little Sombrero is a combination of visible and infrared observations captured by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys in 2006. The observations were taken to assist astronomers in studying the galaxy’s stellar populations, and to help shed light on the evolution of this galaxy and others like it.

Credit: NASA, ESA, and R. de Jong (Leibniz-Institut fur Astrophysik Potsdam); Image processing: G. Kober (NASA Goddard/Catholic University of America)

Visit Hubble's Galaxies at www.nasa.gov/content/discoveries-hubbles-galaxies

Visit the Hubble Caldwell Catalog page at www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-s-caldwell-catalog

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Tendrils of dark dust can be seen threading across the heart of the spiral galaxy NGC 7172 in this image from the Hubble Space Telescope. The galaxy lies approximately 110 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Piscis Austrinus. The lane of dust threading its way across NGC 7172 — which is viewed side-on in this image — is obscuring the luminous heart of the galaxy, making NGC 7172 appear to be nothing more than a normal edge-on spiral galaxy.

When astronomers inspected NGC 7172 across the electromagnetic spectrum they quickly discovered that there was more to it than meets the eye: NGC 7172 is a Seyfert galaxy — a type of galaxy with an intensely luminous active galactic nucleus powered by matter accreting onto a supermassive black hole.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. J. Rosario, A. Barth
Acknowledgement: L. Shatz

For more information, visit: esahubble.org/images/potw2213a/

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NGC 253 is a starburst galaxy and the largest member of the Sculptor Group. It is located about 12 million light years away. This galaxy was explored in depth as part of ANGST (ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury, Dalcanton, et al, 2009). There are many open star clusters in the central region, including one that has a high number of Wolf-Rayet stars. Somehow, only one supernova (SN 1940E) has been observed in visible light in this galaxy. I think it's worth keeping an eye on.

This is a combination of 18 5 min RGB frames shot from dark skies during two previous imaging sessions, and 20 4 min H-alpha frames shot from my backyard on 2021-09-05. This was all done with a Celestron Edge HD 925 with a HyperStar to bring the focal length to 535 mm. RGB frames were taken with an Atik 314L+ color CCD, and H-alpha frames were taken with an Atik 414EX mono with Atik H-alpha filter. Preprocessing in Nebulosity; frames were registered and stacked in PixInsight, then channels were combined and initial processing done; final touches in Photoshop.

M77 (NGC 1068, at the bottom left) is a galaxy with an active nucleus. The supermassive black hole at its center is actively feeding. This, and other characteristics, make it a Seyfert galaxy. NGC 1055 (at the top right) is another spiral galaxy seen edge-on with a thick dust lane across its equator. NGC 1072 is the small spiral at the far left edge of the picture.

This was shot entirely from my light polluted backyard in Long Beach, CA. It is a combination of 17 5 minute RGB subframes from an Atik 314L+ with a light pollution filter and 16 5 minute H-alpha subframes from an Atik 414-EX. All shot with a Celestron Edge HD 925 at f/2.3 with Hyperstar. Preprocessing in Nebulosity, most processing in PixInsight, and a fight with some pretty bad gradients in Photoshop.

I will revisit this and take more data to try to smooth that diffuse cloud around M77.

The blue and orange stars of the faint galaxy named NGC 2188 sparkle in this image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Although NGC 2188 appears at first glance to consist solely of a narrow band of stars, it is classified by astronomers as a barred-spiral galaxy. It appears this way from our viewpoint on Earth because the center and spiral arms of the galaxy are tilted away from us, with only the very narrow outer edge of the galaxy’s disc visible. Astronomers liken this to turning a dinner plate in your hands so you see only its outer edge.

The true shape of the galaxy was identified by studying the distribution of the stars in the inner central bulge and outer disc and by observing the stars’ colors.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Tully

For more information, visit: www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw2035a/

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NGC4244 / C26 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici that we view from an edge-on perspective. This image was captured over a couple of clear nights during a period of travel restrictions from within Seattle city limits.

Telescope: Celestron EdgeHD 8" @ f/7
Camera: QSI 683wsg
Mount: Astro-Physics Mach 1
Integration: 42 mins (28 x 90 sec) each of RGB
Binning: 2x2
Processing Software: PixInsight + Photoshop

In celebration of the 27th anniversary of the launch of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope on April 24, 1990, astronomers used the legendary telescope to take a portrait of a stunning pair of spiral galaxies. This starry pair offers a glimpse of what our Milky Way Galaxy would look like to an outside observer.

The edge-on galaxy is called NGC 4302, and the tilted galaxy is NGC 4298. These galaxies look quite different because we see them angled at different positions on the sky. They are actually very similar in terms of their structure and contents.

Two colorful spiral galaxies share Hubble’s field of view in this striking double portrait. Both are approximately 55 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. The edge-on member of this duo is named NGC 4302. Dust in its disk is silhouetted against rich lanes of stars. Absorption by dust makes the galaxy appear darker and redder than its companion. A large blue patch toward the bottom of the galaxy appears to be a giant region of recent star formation.

The second member of the pair is galaxy NGC 4298. In NGC 4298, the telltale, pinwheel-like spiral structure is visible, but it’s not as prominent as in other spiral galaxies.

This image was released in April 2017 to mark Hubble’s 27th year in orbit.

For more information, visit: hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2017/news-2017-14.html

Hubble also took an infrared view of this pair, which shows considerably more stars: hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/2017/14/4020-Image.html

Credit: NASA, ESA, and M. Mutchler (STScI)

NGC 4565
Credit: DECaLS/SDSS, Giuseppe Donatiello

NGC 4565 is an edge-on spiral galaxy about 42 million light-years away in Coma Berenices and one of the brightest member galaxies of the Coma I Group.
It has at least two satellite galaxies visible in this image.


Acknowledgment
Data from DECam Legacy Survey (g, r, z filters) obtained at the Blanco Telescope, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, NSF’s NOIRLab.
Acknowledgments: Degacy Surveys / D. Lang (Perimeter Institute)

Hubble has allowed astronomers to view galaxies of all shapes and sizes from nearly every angle. When a galaxy is seen edge-on, the mesmerizing perspective reveals a dazzling slice of the universe. Caldwell 43, also known as the “Little Sombrero,” is one such galaxy.

Set against a speckled backdrop of more remote galaxies, Caldwell 43 features a bright central bulge, a thin disk full of dust, and a glowing halo of gas and stars that sprawls out into space.

The Little Sombrero was discovered by British astronomer William Herschel in 1784. The dusty spiral gets its nickname from the Sombrero galaxy (M104), which resembles a broad-rimmed Mexican hat and was discovered by the French astronomer Pierre Méchain just a few years earlier in 1781. Also viewed from its edge, the Sombrero galaxy is located just 28 million light-years away and looks larger than the Little Sombrero. In reality, they are nearly the same size. The Sombrero appears bigger because it is closer. With a magnitude of 10.5, the Little Sombrero is tougher to spot because it is farther away, at a distance of 40 million light-years from Earth.

Also known as NGC 7814, the roughly 80,000-light-year-wide galaxy is billions of years old. Observers equipped with a telescope at least 7 inches in diameter will have the best luck spotting the galaxy, which resides in the constellation Pegasus. The dim, elongated galaxy is bright enough to be seen in moderately light-polluted skies. In the Northern Hemisphere, the autumn months provide the best opportunity to view Caldwell 43. In the Southern Hemisphere, look for it in the springtime.

This image of Caldwell 43 is a combination of visible and infrared observations captured by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys in 2006. The observations were taken to assist astronomers in studying the galaxy’s stellar populations, and to help shed light on the evolution of this galaxy and others like it.

For more information about Hubble’s observations of Caldwell 43, see:

www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1505a/

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA; Acknowledgment: Josh Barrington

For Hubble's Caldwell catalog website and information on how to find these objects in the night sky, visit:

www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-s-caldwell-catalog

This spear of stars and dust, imaged in visible and infrared light with the Advanced Camera for Surveys, is a zoomed-in view of one side of Caldwell 38. The galaxy’s core lies toward the lower right, beyond the edge of this image.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

For Hubble's Caldwell catalog website and information on how to find these objects in the night sky, visit:

www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-s-caldwell-catalog

Caldwell 38 is nicknamed the Needle galaxy, because in most telescopes it looks as thin and sharp as a pin. It is a spiral galaxy, but because it is seen almost perfectly edge-on, its spiral structure is concealed. This Hubble image, taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, provides a detailed look near the galaxy’s core, which is largely obscured by thick ribbons of dust in the spiral arms.

These observations were taken to search for large groupings of old stars, known as globular clusters, in Caldwell 38. Seeing the Needle galaxy edge-on provides an excellent opportunity to explore globular star clusters. While most of a spiral galaxy’s stars lie within a relatively flat plane, globular clusters tend to be sparsely distributed all around the galaxy, surrounding it like a diffuse shell. When seen face-on, a galaxy’s globular clusters easily get lost in the mix; when a galaxy is seen edge-on, however, these clusters stand out.

By conducting a survey of globular clusters in several edge-on spiral galaxies, scientists have been able to study how these clusters form and evolve. Their results seem to indicate that globular clusters form with a very low metal content, but then their metallicity grows over time through subsequent mergers with other globular clusters.

The Needle galaxy was discovered by astronomer William Herschel in 1785 and is also cataloged as NGC 4565. It is about 40 million light-years away toward the constellation Coma Berenices. The galaxy is best viewed in the spring from the Northern Hemisphere (autumn from the Southern Hemisphere), and with a magnitude of 9.6 it is fairly easy to spot even with a small telescope. With larger telescopes, a prominent dark lane can be seen crossing the galaxy’s core.

For more information about Hubble’s observations of Caldwell 38, see:

www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1228a/

Credits: NASA, ESA, and K. Ashman (University of Missouri); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

For Hubble's Caldwell catalog website and information on how to find these objects in the night sky, visit:

www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-s-caldwell-catalog

This stream of stars embedded in cosmic clouds is part of Caldwell 32, also cataloged as NGC 4631 and commonly called the Whale galaxy. Our edge-on view of this galaxy masks the spiral arms that extend outward into space, each overflowing with sparkling stars. The “belly” of the whale (on the left side of the image) is the galactic center, which is lit up by stars bursting into life along with gas that has been heated from supernova explosions. This bright light silhouettes bands of dense, darker material that lie between us and the Whale galaxy’s bright core.

In the Whale galaxy’s “tail” (on the right side of the image) there is less dust but still areas of bright blue star formation, driven by interactions with neighboring galaxies. As gas and dust from different galaxies meet in space, denser areas are created, which gravity compacts into new stars. This Hubble image, taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys, shows an area that is about 140,000 light-years across. Hubble’s observations provide the opportunity to explore this galaxy in visible and near-infrared light, which, combined with X-ray observations from other telescopes, allow scientists to develop a more complete picture of ongoing galactic processes.

Similar in size to the Milky Way, the Whale galaxy is a located about 25 million light-years away in the Canes Venatici constellation. It is one of the many Caldwell objects discovered by astronomer William Herschel. It has a magnitude of 9.2, requiring large binoculars or a telescope to see it. As one of the brighter Caldwell galaxies, it is a favorite among observers. Late spring skies in the Northern Hemisphere (or autumn in the Southern Hemisphere) will provide an optimal view of the Whale galaxy.

For more information about Hubble’s observations of Caldwell 32, see:

www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1146a/

Credit: NASA & ESA

For Hubble's Caldwell catalog website and information on how to find these objects in the night sky, visit:

www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-s-caldwell-catalog

This image, taken with Hubble’s Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer in 1998, showcases the center of Caldwell 23 (NGC 891).

Credit: Torsten Boeker, Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), and NASA

For Hubble's Caldwell catalog website and information on how to find these objects in the night sky, visit:

www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-s-caldwell-catalog

If we could travel across space and time to see our own galaxy from the outside looking in, it would probably look a lot like Caldwell 23. This spiral galaxy, also cataloged as NGC 891, is about 35 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Andromeda. Sir Patrick Moore, creator of the Caldwell catalog, once said the full galaxy looks like “two fried eggs clapped back to back.” In this Hubble image, taken in visible and infrared light using the Advanced Camera for Surveys, the “yolk” portion of the galaxy is out of the picture beyond the lower left corner. A few foreground stars from the Milky Way shine brightly, while more-distant galaxies can be seen in the lower right corner of the image.

Astronomers used Hubble’s observations of Caldwell 23 to learn more about the structure and evolution of spiral galaxies. One of their findings helped identify the source of Caldwell 23’s galactic “halo.” The halo surrounds the galaxy and primarily contains old stars, some of which are grouped together in large, sphere-shaped collections called globular clusters. The source of this halo material has been unclear, since theoretically it could either originate in the galaxy or be gravitationally pulled in from the area surrounding the galaxy. Scientists using Hubble found that Caldwell 23’s halo is similar in composition to other material in the galaxy, which suggests that the halo material was expelled from within the galaxy.

This Hubble image shows wispy tendrils of dust and gas branching off from the plane of the galaxy into the halo. Astronomers believe these structures formed as material was ejected outward by supernovae or intense star formation activity. When massive stars light up at birth or explode at death, they produce powerful winds that can blow dust and gas over hundreds of light-years of space.

Caldwell 23 was discovered by astronomer William Herschel in October 1784. The galaxy has a magnitude of 10, so use a telescope to see it, away from any sources of light pollution. Under ideal conditions you can make out the galaxy’s central dark lane. Autumn night skies in the Northern Hemisphere will provide the best view. In the Southern Hemisphere, look for Caldwell 23 in the springtime.

For more information about Hubble’s observations of Caldwell 23, see:

www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1220a/

hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/1999/news-1999-10.html

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA; Acknowledgment: Nick Rose

For Hubble's Caldwell catalog website and information on how to find these objects in the night sky, visit:

www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-s-caldwell-catalog