NGC 5907, also known as the Splinter Galaxy or the Knife Edge Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy located approximately 50 million light-years away in the constellation Draco. Its striking edge-on orientation reveals a thin, elongated profile, which makes it a prime example of a warped disk galaxy. NGC 5907's disk shows minimal bulging at the center, which adds to its thin, knife-like appearance.

An intriguing feature of NGC 5907 is the faint, extended tidal stream that forms an "X" shape around the galaxy. This stellar stream is a remnant of a past interaction or merger with a smaller galaxy, providing crucial insights into the galaxy's evolutionary history. Observations of NGC 5907 also reveal a low surface brightness dwarf galaxy companion, which might be contributing to its tidal features. The "X marks the spot" structure around NGC 5907 offers a fascinating glimpse into the complex gravitational interactions and mergers that shape galaxies over time.

Ultra deep View of NGC 5907

Back in 2019 after completing my project on M63 Sunflower galaxy, I decided to search for new objects to image using Insight Observatory's 16" f3.7 Dream astrograph reflector, ATEO-1, remote telescope. While I was surfing the internet, I came across an interesting galaxy. I made sure that it is visible in the northern hemisphere as ATEO-1 is located in the dark skies of New Mexico. I researched a bit more about this edge-on galaxy and found that tidal streams create a loop around this galaxy. I found a couple more images where there were two loops wrapped around the galaxy. I was really excited to capture this galaxy remotely as it was one of a kind and I could not find a similar galaxy that had two loops. I made a decision to capture this galaxy and I decided to email Michael Petrasko and Muir Evenden, Co-founders of Insight Observatory. As the tidal streams were very faint, it would mean investing a lot of imaging time. We started out and collected 5 hours worth of luminance data with ATEO-1.