Dubbed the “Deer Lick Group,” foreground galaxy NGC 7331 and its smaller friends seemingly belong to the same cosmic family. However, spectroscopic analysis reveals that NGC 7331, which bears a striking resemblance to the spiral Andromeda Galaxy, lies only 43 million light-years away, while the background galaxies are nearly 350 million light-years distant! From Earth, it can be challenging to discern which astronomical objects are close to each other and which are optical illusions, but over centuries of technical innovation, astronomers have developed ingenious methods for understanding the scale of the universe.
Acquisition Date: August 5-9, 2023
Acquisition Site: San Carlos, CA
Equipment: Planewave CDK12.5, ASI2600MC, Astro-Physics 1200GTO
Subframes: 308 x 300s
Software: PixInsight, Apple Photos, Sequence Generator Pro, PHD2, APCC, Starry Night, SharpCap