| Description | This is a relatively large and bright barred spiral Arp galaxy, located high in the sky in Ursa Minor, and observable in almost precisely the opposite direction from the nearly full moon. Unfortunately, there was a relatively faint satellite trail that passed close to the image towards the end of the capture. The dust lanes that extend the arms of the galaxy are visible but less than might have emerged on a darker night. I was reluctant to extend the capture because the moon was continuing to rise, and it seemed to me that more time might wash out the dust lanes. The filaments are reasonably symmetrical, and fill out a classic "spiral" galaxy shape albeit with much less stellar mass than in a more mature galaxy. I guessed that this is a relatively young galaxy still actively making stars, later confirmed by the Wikipedia write-up. |
