NGC 753 – a Vera Rubin Galaxy

Designation(s)NGC 753
Object Type(s)Galaxy
Relevant Catalog(s)All (Chron), NGC
Obs. Lat/Long42° 17', 073° 57'
ConstellationAndromeda
Date and Time Observed2025-11-20 20:01:00
InstrumentEdgeHD 8" w/f7 reducer-1,422mm FL
CameraPlayer One Apollo-M Mini
Image DetailsUp is 259.8 degrees E of N. Transparency: Good. Seeing: Good. Total integration time was 35m. Exposures 15s@225g, No filter. Dithered and recentered in SharpCap. No guiding.
DescriptionIn researching my Arp talk, I downloaded and read Vera Rubin's classic paper published in 1980 where she measured the rotation curves of 21 spiral galaxies ("Sc" or "Sbc" in the Hubble system) and hypothesized the existence of Dark Matter. She found "Neither high nor low luminosity Sc galaxies have falling rotation curves. Sc galaxies of all luminosities must have significant mass located beyond the optical image."

I'd tried to capture this target the night before and failed as high clouds rolled in. Despite being a better night, I was still plagued by clouds rolling in and out. The last 10 minutes of integration time took nearly an hour, and I was anxious to move on. Unfortunately, this didn't allow me to capture the extended, faint arms you see in Vera Rubin's image. Rubin was observing at Kitt Peak Observatory in Arizona, when Geoffrey Burbidge was the Managing Director there. Most of the galaxies were observed using the 2.1 meter telescope there. Of course, a much deeper image than mine. I think this demonstrates the continuing improvement in film emulsions from the mid-1960s to 1979 when this image was captured.
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