Astr110 Photography Projects, Spring 2005

NGC891, Emily Johnson

This is black-and-white picture of a galaxy by the name of NGC 891 and is a spiral galaxy. It is well know by many people, especially amateur astronomers and is found in the constellation Andromeda. The galaxy itself contains a bulge in the middle, and tapers off at the ends. It is thought that NGC 891 and the Milky Way Galaxy are very similar in composition. It was first discovered in 1783 by Caroline Herschel.

A line of dust is found around the center of the galaxy called a dust lane, which blocks its bright core and creates a dark line. It is one of the many galaxies found in a group of galaxies, often labeled the NGC 1023 group. This galaxy is viewed edge-on, creating the straight line formation. Its distance is 10 million ly (light years), its linear size is 40700 ly, and its angular size is 13.5' x 2.8'.

References:
Michael Purcell's Astrophotography
Astronomy Picture of the Day
NGC891- The edge on galaxy in Andromeda
NGC891