SUNSET: 
0
Photographer:
Jon Greif
Location of Photo:
Alpine, CA, USA
Date/Time of photo:
May 22 - June 16, 2025, between 9 pm and 11 pm PDT
Equipment:
TS-Optics 8" f/4 ONTC Newtonian Telescope, 10Micron GM1000HPS Mount, ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera, ZWO RGB filters, MoonLite focuser, NINA acquisition software and Pixinsight processing software.
Description:
Grand spiral galaxies often get all the glory with their bright blue star clusters and beautiful, symmetric spiral arms. But small, irregular galaxies form stars too. This is dwarf galaxy IC 2574 showing clear evidence of intense star forming activity in its telltale pinkish regions of glowing hydrogen gas and bluish oxygen-iii regions. Just as in spiral galaxies, the turbulent star-forming regions in IC 2574 are churned by stellar winds and supernova explosions spewing material into the galaxy's interstellar medium and triggering further star formation. Just 12 million light-years away, IC 2574 is part of the M81 group of galaxies in the northern constellation Ursa Major. Also known as Coddington's Nebula, was discovered by American Astronomer Edwin Coddington in 1898.
