hcg68

HCG68 (Hickson Compact Group), a cluster of 5 galaxies approximately 112million light years away from Earth, in the constellation of Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs). Composed of the 5 galaxies NGC5353, 5354, 5350, 5355 and 5358, the galaxies consist of both spiral and lenticular types. The large galaxy to the left of the group is NGC5371, a slightly closer member of the galaxy grouping known as The Big Lick Group, which includes HCG68. It lies around 100million light years in distance.

The bright red star next to HCG68 is HD112197, a K5II bright giant, which lies some 1160 light years away. It's some 887 times brighter than the Sun and 36 solar radii in size.

Some 3-4 of the way to the right side of the image and just below a trapezoid of stars lies the dwarf galaxy Markarian 462 (Mkr462). The galaxy contains several hundred million stars and a central black hole of some 200K solar masses in size. The central black hole is obscured by much dust and gas, with a central emission of hard X-rays being most prominent in high energy observations. The black hole is being used to study the formation of central supermassive black holes within galaxies.

A great many background galaxies are also present in this image, the most prominent being the galaxy PGC49480, a spiral galaxy seen at a near edge on angle. It's the faint galaxy lying below NGC5371.

Pic taken with t2 (iTelescope, NMSO), 52mins RGB (OSC camera).
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