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Photographer:

Daniel Stern

Location of Photo:

Rio Hurtado, Chile

Date/Time of photo:

March 2025

Equipment:

CDK-24 / Moravian C5-100

Description:

NGC 4945, AKA Caldwell 83, is an edge-on spiral galaxy that has been described as a “twin” of the Milky Way. It is a composite galaxy in that it has both extreme starburst activity and a Seyfert-powered nucleus and is therefore considered to be a bit of an anomaly. It’s unknown which energy source dominates. A Seyfert galaxy is a type of spiral galaxy characterized by a bright and highly active nucleus and is believed to host supermassive black holes at their centers. A starburst galaxy is a type of galaxy that is undergoing an exceptionally high rate of star formation, resulting in a burst of new stellar birth. In starburst galaxies, the intensity of star formation is significantly higher than in typical galaxies. In this case there is an unusual amount of visual evidence of starburst

Website:

https://app.astrobin.com/u/dstern