SAS Astronomy Pictures of the Month [April, 2026]
Galaxies, Galaxies, Galaxies!
NGC4449 in Canes Venatici
C6 f/10 ASI533 48x3min Optolong L-Quad filter. This is an irregular dwarf galaxy about 14 million ly distant, classed as a 1B irregular. Its diameter is about 19 kly. Discovered by William Herschel in 1788 it has a visual magnitude of 9.4 and apparent diameter of 5.1’. The blue color is due to a large population of hot, young stars. It is worth imaging with an Ha filter.
NGC4449 in Canes Venatici by David Murray
NGC3949 in Ursa Major
C6 f/10 ASI533 L-Quad 93x3min
This barred-spirel galaxy (class Sbc) has been identified by astronomers as a twin of the Milky Way. It lies about 60 million ly distant with a visual magnitude of 10.9 and a size of 2.3 x 1.3 arcmin. Its diameter is about 40 kly. (Since it is only about 40% of the Milky Way’s size I’m not sure why it is considered a twin.)
NGC3949 in Ursa Major by David Murray
NGC4889 and the Coma Cluster in Coma Berenices
C6 F/10 ASI533 L-Quad 108x3min.
The yellowish tint on some of the galaxies is likely from red-shift. The cluster lies 250 million ly distant. The barred spiral in the upper left is NGC4907 and is about 290 million ly distant. The bright object center right is the 7th magnitude star, HD112887.
NGC4889 and the Coma Cluster in Coma Berenices by David Murray