Arp 77 / NGC 1097 / C 67

Designation(s)Arp 77, NGC 1097, C 67
Object Type(s)Galaxy
Relevant Catalog(s)All (Chron), Arp, Caldwell, NGC
Arp CategorySpiral galaxies with small high surface brightness companions on arms
Obs. Lat/Long42° 17', 073° 57'
ConstellationFornax
Date and Time Observed2025-09-27 05:44:00
InstrumentSeestar S50 f5.0-250mm FL
CameraSeestar Built-in SONY IMX462 Sensor
Image DetailsUp is 340.0 degrees E of N. Transparency: Good. Seeing: Good. Total integration time was 20m. Exposures 10s at auto gain. Darks applied.
DescriptionThis was an unplanned, unexpected observation. I woke up at 4:50 AM and noticed the skies were clear. Looked in SkySafari at the unobserved objects in the Caldwell list, and saw that C67 was barely above the horizon, but pretty far west at 211° azimuth, near where the best horizon from my backyard starts. Current elevation was a little over 13°. Decided to attempt a capture using my Seestar -- my only choice, really, given that nothing was ready. By 5:10 the Seestar was assembled, set out on my deck, and capturing images.

I'm astonished how well it all turned out. This is my 149th Arp capture, but the first with the Seestar. The comparison image to the plate from the Atlas (see gallery) shows the little Seestar did pretty well. Arp's remark, "Material of arm seems to flow 'around' comp[anion]" is nearly as evident in my image as in the Atlas image. At 9.5 magnitude this is one of the brightest Arp galaxies (exempting the 11 Messier galaxies he included), and at 9.4 x 6.6 armin, one of the largest. Sunrise was 6:48, and imaging so far west I was hoping to capture more time. But elevation was now only about 10°, a ground fog came up, and the Seestar could no longer stack. Still, with a little help from Noise-X-terminator and Affinity Photo I feel it did well.
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