IC 5152: A Loner at the Edge of the Galaxy Group
- Type
- Galaxy
- Acquisition
- Planewave CDK17 · SBIG STXL-11002
- Integration
- 35h
IC 5152: A Loner at the Edge of the Galaxy Group
Deep in Indus, about 5.8 million light-years away, hides a dwarf irregular galaxy of somewhat mysterious standing: IC 5152. Sitting at the fringe of the Local Group, it is still debated whether it truly belongs to our galaxy group at all.
What makes this galaxy most appealing is how readily it "comes apart": in observations it resolves cleanly into individual stars, offering a window into the formation and evolutionary history of its stellar populations.
For amateur astronomers, though, IC 5152 has one love-it-or-hate-it quirk: a magnitude 7.7 star sits squarely in front of it. It complicates deep-sky imaging and photometry a little — but it also gives the galaxy an unmistakable visual signature.
Planewave CDK 17"
SBIG STXL 11002 with AOX
Paramount ME
Astrodon 50mm LRGB
Lx21, Rx20, Gx21, Bx22 1200s, Hax14 1800s
Total integration time: 35hrs
Location: El Sauce, Chile
Software: PixInsight, Photoshop