- Data collection using:
CCD Commander
ASCOM POTH
MaxPoint
CCDSoft
FocusMax
PinPoint
TheSky6 Pro
- Image Calibration - Maxim DL
- Image Registration - Regim
- Image Stacking - Sigma Clip
- Color combine, addition of luminance data and post processing in Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended
Type Sc Spiral Galaxy in Perseus
RA = 3h 53.5m 2.5s DEC = +35° 35' 18'' Distance ~ 96 Mpc Diameter ~ 250 kpc
m = +13.5 Apparent size = 5.5'
Mass = 2 x 1012 M¤ (Milky Way = 5 x 1011 M¤ ) Redshift = 5,800 km/sec, not unusual
The spiral galaxy UGC 2885 is the largest known spiral galaxy being some 250,000 parsecs in size (815,000 light years). It is some 10 times larger than the Milky Way ! The diagram below shows the comparison of UGC 2885's size vs. some other well known galaxies.
UGC 2885 is located in the constellation Perseus. It is located less than 1 degree from the famous California Nebula, and 10 degrees north of the Pleiades. Its rotation period is nearly 2 billion years at a distance of 125,000 parsecs from the nucleus. Therefore the outer regions have undergone just 7 revolutions since the origin of the Universe. The Milky Way by comparison has rotated some 50 times since the origin of the known Universe. Yet with so few rotations, the spiral arms are smooth and well developed. No large scale velocity irregularities exist.
Large scale velocity regularity coupled with so few rotations means that a well-ordered global spiral pattern must have been established soon after galaxy formation. It cannot be the product of smoothing after many rotations. Hence large disk galaxies with global spiral patterns such as UGC 2885 put important constraints on models of galaxy formation and evolution. |
