Date Posted: 6/26/2024
Date Taken: 11/3/2018, 11/6/2018, 11/10/2018, 11/11/2018
Scope: Planewave CDK 12.5 f/8, 2541mm
Camera: SBIG STL-11000 with Astrodon Tru-Balance E-Series Gen2 filters
Temp: -25C
Mount: Losmandy Titan
Guiding: On-axis via ONAG-XM and SX UltraStar at 2541mm. FocusLock real-time focus for focusing.
Exposure: LRGB 270:110:120:130 All subs 5 min. Luminance unbinned, RGB binned 2x2.

Calibrated and Stacked with CCDStack2; RGB combine and DDP with MaximDL. Processed with CS4.

NGC 660 is a unique polar ring galaxy, located 45 million light years away in Pisces. The central portion is a late-type lenticular galaxy (angled at 45 degrees in this image), and is surrounded by a ring of stars (vertical in this image) believed to have formed from an interaction with another galaxy about 1 billion years ago. The ring is has a much greater amount of gas, as well as much more active star formation than the host galaxy. The youngest stars in the ring are about 7 million years old, an indication that star formation in the ring is ongoing.

This is a tweak of the 2018 image, to boost the galaxy and reduce star size.