Antennae Galaxies

The Antennae Galaxies are a pair of interacting galaxies with beautiful long tails. The effects of the two galaxies merging have triggered intense star formation which is visible as the pink regions in the galaxies.

Back to Antenna Site to capture some Antennae Galaxies! I got as much luminance as I could from the dark site and capture the RGB at home. Antennae is pretty low in the sky here in Phoenix – it barely gets above 40 degrees – making getting enough images on of this target fairly difficult. There are only a few hours of the night where it is viable to image, and even then, the FWHM is less than ideal.

Gear

Telescope	Orion Optics UK ODK12
Mount	10Micron GM1000HPS
Imaging Camera	QHY163M
Guide Camera	QHY5III178
Filter Wheel	QHYCFW2
Filters	Baader L, R, G, B 36mm unmounted
Focuser	FT3015B-A

Shot Details

Automation Software	TBA
Image Processing	PixInsight
Guiding	None
L	60 x 120sec at -10°C
R	73 x 120sec at -10°C
G	75 x 120sec at -10°C
B	86 x 120sec at -10°C
Total Integration	4.9 hours
Gain	120
Offset	70
Ambient	15°C, 25°C
Moon	<5% for luminance, ~50% for RGB
Bortle	1 and 6/7
Location	Salome, AZ; Phoenix, AZ