Cropped from the full frame
The Devil’s Mask refers to a fascinating trio of interacting galaxies known as NGC 6769, NGC 6770, and NGC 6771 each about two
arc min in apparent size. This group is located in the southern constellation of Pavo, about 190 million light-years away from
us. These galaxies are named the Devil’s Mask due to the unique shape formed by their gravitational interactions. NGC 6769 and
NGC 6770 are spiral galaxies with distinct features: NGC 6769 has tightly wound spiral arms, while NGC 6770 has two major spiral
arms, one of which is relatively straight NGC 6771, on the other hand, has a boxy shape, which is quite rare among galaxies.
Orion Optics UK AG12 F3.8
Starlightxpress TRIUS PRO-694 Midi Combi PRO Blue Edition incl.CFW & OAG unit
FLI Atlas Focuser
LRGB = 250, 45, 45, 45min total 6.5hrs.
Astronomik Deep-Sky LRGB filters
-20C chip temp, flats used but no dark frames.
Focal length 1120mm
Image scale 0.84"/pix
Guide Camera: Starlightxpress Lodestar PRO
Comments
Data collected 7 & 9 August 2024,
Good to Acceptable seeing* only sub frames with FWHM < 1.9" were
used for the galaxies, all sub frames used for the rest of the frame.
*NB: No drizzle guide, upscaling, Blur Exterminator or other AI based sharpening, was used on this
data, this is the native 0.84"/pix image scale, using just traditional Richardson Lucy deconvolution.
Seeing (FWHM) quality at Eagleview:
Excellent: <1.6"
Good: 1.6" - 1.9"
Acceptable: 2.0" - 2.3"
Poor: >2.3"
Most common FWHM value: 1.7"
Taken from Eagleview Observatory:
https://pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/eagleview_observatory
Equipment setup:
https://pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/image/173097781/original
Some links to equipment used to take this image:
Sidereal Trading
https://www.siderealtrading.com.au/
StarlightXpress CCD Cameras and imaging equipment
http://www.sxccd.com/products
Finger Lakes Instrumentation CCD cameras:
http://www.flicamera.com/
Gerd Neumann and Astronomik filters:
http://www.astronomik.com/en/home
http://www.gerdneumann.net/
MSB Software & Astroart Camera control and Image processing software
http://www.msb-astroart.com/
