NGC 1512 Spiral Galaxy in Horologium

NGC 1512 is a barred spiral galaxy approximately 38 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Horologium. It is a member of the Dorado Group. Its appearance is faint but extended with a single distorted arm winding around the galaxy. The galaxy spans 70 000 light years, nearly as much as our own Milky Way galaxy.

The galaxy's core is unique for its stunning 2400 light year wide circle of infant star clusters, called a 'circumnuclear' starburst ring. Starbursts are episodes of vigorous formation of new stars and are found in a variety of galaxy Environments. NGC 1512 is interacting with the close elliptical  companion galaxy NGC 1510, visible in some distortions of the spiral arms.

Find some images of this galaxy taken with the Hubble Space Telescope here

Image data:
LHaRGB (480-200-120-120-140 min) total 17,7 h, north is up, seeing 0.8-1.4 arc-sec
80cm f/7 Astrooptik Keller cassegrain, FLI PL 16803, Baader Filters, Prompt 7 CTIO Chile

Processing: Johannes Schedler

Find the image in 25/70% size below

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Find a close-up image of the galaxy in 50/100 % size below

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Last modified on Sunday, 06 December 2015 13:22

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