NGC 7640 (Galaxy)
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Right ascension: 23h 22m
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Declination: 40° 54'
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Constellation: Andromeda
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Date/time: 2008.11.18 19:30 UT
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Equipment: 12" f/5 Newtonian
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FoV: 23'
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Magnification and filter(s): 167x
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Seeing: 6/10
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Transparency: 3/5
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Location: Nádasdladány, Hungary
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Observer: Ferenc Lovró
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Description:
Faint but still very spectacular spiral galaxy with an estimated brightness of about 12.3m. As I almost never read or view pictures of the objects I want to observe (so the photos in my memory will not change the picture I really see with my own eyes), because of its very asymmetrical shape I first thought that it must be an irregular galaxy, similar to the objects in Halton Arp's compilation of peculiar galaxies. Even its core area seemed to almost fall out of the galaxy itself. However, later on by examining astrophotographs it turned out that what I believed to be its core is in fact a bright foreground star and the real galactic core is in fact located in the brighter little densities near this "fake core". At smaller magnification levels (67x) the shape of the galaxy is easier to see, however by increasing the magnification, the sofar homogeneous arms start to show many details, especially with averted vision near the core. I measured its size as 4.5'x1'.
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Hi-resolution image: [ reversed sketch | original sketch ]
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This sketch was featured on Astronomy Sketch of the Day on Dec 6, 2008.
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