Latest posts
- Stephan's QuintetJul 06, 2026
North is right (mirrored). 0.53"/pixel [17'x12' field]. FWHM=3.7" Ok, this is a crazy one. Five tightly spaced galaxies with visible tidal interactions: However, looking at redshift data, the blue spiral on the left is ten times closer than all the other objects: at z=0.0026 instead of z=0.022. This means it's not actually a member of the group, even though it's in the same part of of the sky
- Arp 38: not that peculiarJun 27, 2026
Data is from 2026-06-20. North is right. 0.53"/pixel (27'x27' field). FWHM=4' A nice, if rather small (~100") edge on spiral galaxy. Arp filed this one under "low surface brightness companions", but the companion doesn't seem to exist. There's a bright spot to the north (right) of the core, but hubble data shows it's just a bright HII region and star cluster. This part of the sky isn't cover
- Arp 293: More interacting galaxiesJun 23, 2026
North is right. 0.52"/pixel (18'x9' field) FWHM=4.5" The pair of galaxies near the center is NGC 6285 (top) and NGC 6286 (bottom). The lower one has a distinct tidal trail below it, and a faint bridge to the upper galaxy is visible. Both sit around z=0.018. My field also included a galaxy cluster around 16h57m49s +58°46'55": The brightest member, LEDA 2582489 has a reshift of around z=0.11,
- Glassblowing #3: A better thermionic diodeJun 20, 2026
My last attempt at a vacuum tube technically worked, but not very well because there was a lot of glass between the anode and cathode: Because of this, many any electrons that miss anode and build up on the glass. This negative charge will keep accumulating until it's strong enough to overpower the anode's positive charge. On paper, the solution is simple: surround the filament in anode. This
- Arp 29: The fireworks galaxyJun 19, 2026
North is right. 0.55"/pixel (26'x26' field). FWHM=3.7" This one is in the Atlas of Pecular Galaxies under "one heavy arm", which checks out: the eastern arm (down) is considerably bighter and denser than the others. In the sky, it apears very close to the milky way, which can be seen as the unusally dense star field. Also, there's a lot of dust blocking the galaxy's light which results in