If you are anything like me, if someone states they have an image with five galaxies visible in it, I immediately think of either part of Markarian’s Chain or Stephan’s Quintet in Pegasus. The latter fits in a field only 4 arcminutes in diameter. This image is a little different, spanning more than 250 degrees of azimuth.
Taken last year while on holiday on Benguerra Island in Mozambique, this is a stitched panorama of 10 photographs using a Canon 70D at 22mm focal length, ISO 3200 and F/2.8. The images were combined in Microsoft ICE and processed in Adobe Lightroom. I am quite pleased how this turned out given it was only my second attempt at an astro-panorama.
A 10 pane, 250-degree wide panorama which contains 5 galaxies. Click for larger image.
So how many galaxies can you spot? Three are simple, one is a little trickier and the final one might require a closer inspection of the photograph.
The reality is there is far more in this photo than a quick glance first reveals. Rather frustratingly, Astrometry.net refused to work on either the Panorama, or the individual frames, so I sat with iPad in hand and Sky Safari 5 Pro, and worked my way across the image, tracing out the constellation patterns (rather tough with so many stars to pick from) and picking out any DSOs I could find. Turns out there were quite a few!
A rather painstaking process as Astrometry.net failed to work with even the base images. Click for larger image.
The table below runs from left to right on the image listing each of the identified DSOs. I doubt it is fully exhaustive. If you spot one, let me know and I will add to the list.
List of the all the DSOs identified in the panorama image.
Matthew,
I’ll take your word for it on the 5 galaxies. As an aside, for me the finest view in the Northern Hemisphere skies, even surpassing M42, is the Andromeda galaxy and its two satellite galaxies, M110 & M32, at 28x under Bortle 2 skies (SQM 21.98) here in New Mexico.
BTW, I’m enjoying reading your travel reports, especially from sites in the Southern Hemisphere.
Glad you are enjoying the observing reports. I have to travel a long way to find an SQM reading of 21.98! Quite jealous.