Antilhue - Chile

NGC 4945 in Centaurus
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Image Data

Designation NGC 4945,  Bennett 57
Object type Spiral galaxy
Coordinates 13h05m   - 49°28'
Constellation Centaurus (Cen)
Description For such a close galaxy, NGC 4945 is easy to miss.   NGC 4945 is a spiral galaxy in the Centaurus Group of galaxies, located only six times farther away than the prominent Andromeda Galaxy.  The thin disk galaxy is oriented nearly edge-on, however, and shrouded in dark dust.  The yellowish/red appearance is caused by about 1 mag of interstellar absorption due to its low galactic latitude. Together with NGC 5128 (Centaurus A) and M 83, it forms part of a small group of galaxies 13 million lightyears away.

Here is a wide field view taken with a 6" (155mm) refractor telescope.

Exposure LRGB 120:60:60:60 min @ -15°C, RGB binned 2x2
Camera SBIG ST-10XE selfguided + CFW8 with Astrodon Tru-Balance LRGB filter set.
Optics RCOS 14.5" Ritchey-Chrétien with AP 0.67X reducer working at f/6.56
Mount Astro-Physics AP1200GTO
Software MaxIm DL/CCD, DeBloomer, Sigma Pre Beta 11, Adobe Photoshop CS
Location - Date - Time San Esteban (Chile) - 19Mar04 @ 08:00 UTC
Conditions Transparency 5,  Seeing 6, Temperature +14°C