This is NGC7424, a barred spiral galaxy about 37.5 million light years away in the southern constellation Grus. What's far more interesting though, is that according to my planetarium software (Stellarium) this galaxy is also known as The Grand Design galaxy. Not *a* grand design galaxy, but *THE* grand design galaxy. Which begs the obvious questions:
Was it an owner-architect-builder? Is it an innovative ecological design which features both open plan living spaces as well as a cosy snug? Did they mortgage everything to afford the build? Did they have to live in a caravan after blowing out the deadline and available cash? Was there an unexpected pregnancy? Or a divorce? And most importantly, did Kevin raise an eyebrow and knowingly smile when they said they’d be in by Christmas…? ENQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW !!!
Capture details:
Skywatcher 200PDS, QHY294C, Sharpstar 0.95x MPCC, Skywatcher NEQ6
Optolong UV-IR 114 x 5min subs
Captured across 28 August – 6 Sept from Strathalbyn, processed in PixInsight 1.8.9-3
Am hoping I might be able to add some NB at a later date to enhance the nebula regions, but I’m happy with how this is shaping up so far. I’ve given it a good stretch as there seems to be some galactic cirrus around and lots of background fuzzies too.
Full res:
https://www.astrobin.com/ywjlt1/