NGC 7552 in Grus

The image is centered on NGC 7552 which is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Grus. It is at a distance of 60 million light years from Earth, with an estimated size of about 75,000 light years across. It forms with three other spiral galaxies what is termed the Grus Quartet. This galaxy appears to possess a small-scale molecular bar and a large reservoir of molecular material, but there is no evidence for current activity, either starburst or Seyfert-like, at the nucleus. In the wider frame image, at the top right is PGC 100685 which NED database puts at a distance of 1.8 billion light years.

Imaged in LRGB on our CDK 1000 at El Sauce, Obstech, Chile

Integration Time: L 13.5 hours, RGB 5 hours each channel

Image Processing: Mike Selby and Mark Hanson