Designation |
Fornax Dwarf |
Object type |
Dwarf spheroidal galaxy of the Local
Group |
Coordinates |
02h40min -34°32' (Fornax) |
Description |
This small and little conspicuous
galaxy is an ellipsoidally shaped swarm of old stars, which formed about
the same time as the galaxy and are similar to those in globular clusters.
It is accepted that 90% of the galaxy is dark matter. In spite of
its mag 9 catalog listing, the brightest individual stars are about 19th
magnitude. This, together with its large extension, is the reason
that it is so difficult to be observed. The Fornax Dwarf has
six globular clusters, the brightest of which (NGC 1049) was discovered
much earlier than its parent galaxy. These globulars have been used to
estimate the distance of this galaxy as 500,000 lightyears. The field of
view is nearly 1 x 1.5 degrees. |
Exposure |
L 120 min @ -15°C
- unbinned |
Camera |
SBIG ST-10XE selfguided, no
filter |
Optics |
Astro-Physics Traveler AP105EDF
(prime focus) |
Mount |
Astro-Physics AP900GTO |
Software |
MaxIm DL/CCD, DeBloomer, Sigma Pre Beta
11, Adobe
Photoshop 6.0 |
Location - Date - Time |
San Esteban (Chile) - 14Dec2003 -
03:00 UTC |
Conditions |
Transparency 5, Seeing 6, Temperature
+13°C |