ShaRA#9 – The Antennaee Galaxies

2024August 2024

Aug 7

Written By Charles Lillo

Image Title: ShaRA#9 – The Antennaee Galaxies

Copyright: ShaRA Team

Date image was taken: June 29, 2024

Location: Chile

Image Description and Details: The Target
The Antennae galaxies (NGC 4038/39), also known as Arp 244, are one of the most fascinating and studied examples of interacting galaxies. Located about 45 million light-years away in the constellation Corvus, these two spiral galaxies are merging, offering a unique opportunity to observe the processes of galactic merger and star formation in detail.

The interactions between the Antennae galaxies have caused significant distortions in their structures. The gravitational forces not only created the long tidal tails but also compressed the gas in the central regions, triggering episodes of intense star formation. These processes are clearly visible in high-resolution images of the Antennae, showing bright regions of new star formation and distorted gas structures.

The Antennae galaxies provide an important window into galaxy evolution. Studies and simulations suggest that mergers between spiral galaxies can lead to the formation of elliptical galaxies, influencing the distribution of gas and stars. Additionally, understanding star formation efficiency in these high-density environments can provide crucial insights into the processes that regulate the formation of massive star clusters.

The Photo
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, the final photo from the ShaRA team is the result of “two years of work.” For reference, here is the list of sessions conducted (and those canceled due to bad weather) with the RC1000 in Rio Hurtado, Chile (Chilescope service):
For 12 nights, we tried to capture as many photons as possible, during the usual observation windows corresponding to a 40% discount on the hourly rate of the “beast” (i.e., 3/4 nights around the quarter moon). In the end, we collected the following subs:

46x600s bin1 Luminance
18x600s bin1 Blue
17x600s bin1 Green
24x600s bin1 Red (+ another 10 of poor quality)
8x600s bin1 H-alpha
For a total of 17.7 hours of integration (we would have needed at least 50!!! but the cost of the operation would have been too high).

ShaRA Team:
Anfuso Adriano
Bertocco Andrea
Chander Vikas
Curzi Simone
Di Fusco Massimo
Di Stefano Fabio
Erkaslan Aygen
Firenzuoli Marco
Iorio Andrea
Kaptàs Attila
Linsalata Fernando
Ligustri Rolando
Lioce Donato
Loro Antonio
Lupi Alberto
Maffioli Riccardo
Michieletto Gianpaolo
Pazienza Gianluigi
Ravagnin Alessandro
Trabuio Cristiano
Vergani Egidio