The target
Fornax A is one of the brightest radio galaxies in the sky, located about 62 million light-years away in the constellation Fornax. Its uniqueness lies in the two enormous radio emission lobes that extend for hundreds of thousands of light-years, powered by the activity of the supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s center. These structures result from energetic ejections interacting with the surrounding intergalactic medium.
Optical observations reveal an elliptical galaxy with clear signs of past galactic mergers, likely involving one or more spiral galaxies. These indicators include dark dust filaments, extended tidal tails, and intricately structured regions of star formation. The tidal tails, stretching well beyond the galaxy’s main body, are gravitational remnants of galaxies that interacted with Fornax A, tracing arcs and faint structures that bear witness to the dynamic processes over billions of years.
The nucleus of Fornax A, observable in both optical and infrared bands, exhibits a complex asymmetric morphology due to mergers and the presence of dust partially obscuring stellar light. These details suggest an active nucleus, with a composite stellar population consisting of old stars and younger stars formed during merger events.

In the ShaRA#11 image, small companion galaxies orbiting Fornax A are also visible. These secondary objects could represent future gravitational “victims” of the elliptical galaxy, contributing to new episodes of merging and accretion. Furthermore, the presence of globular clusters around the galaxy suggests a rich and dynamic environment, providing clues to the galaxy system’s evolution.Another remarkable detail is the presence of numerous foreground galaxies, some appearing as faint diffuse spots or elongated interacting objects, highlighting the richness of the extragalactic field in this celestial region.

A strange detail
At the ShaRA group, we always enjoy diving into the details of our captures. By pushing our imaging to the limit, with countless hours of integration under some of the darkest skies in the world, using ultra-fast telescopes and highly sensitive CCD cameras, we achieve results that few astrophotographers can match. This is why one of the greatest joys during post-processing is identifying peculiar objects within the field.In this image, some strange objects have been highlighted, some of which are most likely interacting galaxies while another object is definitely strange! A ShARA member found that it is cataloged as LEDA 62523 with magnitude g=18.99, a morphologically unknown galaxy with suspected AGN and no z measured. But are we sure it’s a galaxy? Decidedly out of the ordinary color and shape. We have scanned several photographs on the web, but none of them can be seen as well as on ours. That we have discovered a peculiar object? Which not even astronomers have cataloged correctly? Who knows! It looks so much like a bipolar planetary nebula of our Milky Way.

Radio emission of Fornax A
The starless image was overlaid with MeerKat’s radio-band image, released in a study by Maccagni (F. Maccagni, D. Kleiner, INAF-OAC, SARAO), to look at the radio lobes.

Conclusions
The use of the Chilescope service once again demonstrates the potential of remote astronomical photography. Projects like ShaRA allow access to telescopes located in exceptional skies, such as those in the Chilean Andes, reducing logistical barriers and offering astrophotographers the opportunity to obtain high-quality images, share costs, and collaborate on data processing workflows—bringing us closer to what might be called “doing a little science.”ShaRA#11 is a testament to the beauty and complexity of Fornax A, a galaxy that continues to amaze and inspire astrophysicists and astrophotographers around the world, as they strive to capture its faintest and most enigmatic morphological structures.