Just wondered what the best way is to identify background galaxies in your images. e.g. the one pointed to by the arrow below
M51 with only 3 hours of integration
M51 with only 3 hours of integration
Best way to identify galaxies
If you use Pixinsight you can plate some the image and annotate it…
Depending on your membership level, Astrobin can add a lot of annotation too.
In the image edit menu, if you have Advanced Plate-solving Settings, you can turn on Show PGC objects and restart the advanced plate solve. It will surely be in the PGC database.
From a very quick glance in my Sky Safari app, my guess is it might be PGC91291. There’s also one just a little directly back toward the Whirlpool too that might be PGC3482152.
In the image edit menu, if you have Advanced Plate-solving Settings, you can turn on Show PGC objects and restart the advanced plate solve. It will surely be in the PGC database.
From a very quick glance in my Sky Safari app, my guess is it might be PGC91291. There’s also one just a little directly back toward the Whirlpool too that might be PGC3482152.
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You can use ASTAP as stand-alone-sollution, too.
Also very helpful with asteroids.😎
Cheers
Mike
Also very helpful with asteroids.😎
Cheers
Mike
In PixInsight you can load the SDSS R7 catalogue. This contains a lot of faint galaxies. I do some of my identification work manually inAladin and Simbad
https://aladin.u-strasbg.fr/AladinLite/
https://aladin.u-strasbg.fr/AladinLite/
You can also use Aladin Desktop to annotate platesolved images:
https://aladin.cds.unistra.fr/java/nph-aladin.pl?frame=downloading
To do the platesolving, you can upload your image to Astrometry.net (https://nova.astrometry.net/) and download the new-image.fits file from the output (But you can use any other platesolving program you like for this). Then you can import the image into Aladin and click on "Simbad" to show the annotations.
If you are into Python you can even write your own program which exports a list of background galaxies, stars, ... filtered by custom criteria (type, redshift, magnitude) as shown below:
https://aladin.cds.unistra.fr/java/nph-aladin.pl?frame=downloading
To do the platesolving, you can upload your image to Astrometry.net (https://nova.astrometry.net/) and download the new-image.fits file from the output (But you can use any other platesolving program you like for this). Then you can import the image into Aladin and click on "Simbad" to show the annotations.
If you are into Python you can even write your own program which exports a list of background galaxies, stars, ... filtered by custom criteria (type, redshift, magnitude) as shown below:
Helpful
Download and install Aladin desktop version (easy simple) - https://aladin.u-strasbg.fr/java/nph-aladin.pl?frame=downloading
Run Aladin and type the know local galaxy (M51) into Aladin's "Command" box. Zoom in and star hop to the object in question and left click on it (cross hairs appear).
Continue to hover mouse until pop-up information appears.
Here's the cut&paste from the Aladin screen ...
Note: I had to laugh at it's description LINER.
If I star hopped correctly your galaxy in question appears at the bottom of the page below and is named 2MFGC 10831
http://aladin.unistra.fr/simbad-thumbnails/thumbnails2757.html
Run Aladin and type the know local galaxy (M51) into Aladin's "Command" box. Zoom in and star hop to the object in question and left click on it (cross hairs appear).
Continue to hover mouse until pop-up information appears.
Here's the cut&paste from the Aladin screen ...
Note: I had to laugh at it's description LINER.
If I star hopped correctly your galaxy in question appears at the bottom of the page below and is named 2MFGC 10831
http://aladin.unistra.fr/simbad-thumbnails/thumbnails2757.html
Helpful
The Sky 6, the version I'm running shows it as PGC 91291
You can also use the NASA extragalactic database:
https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/
It‘s manual work but a very extensive database.
Björn
https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/
It‘s manual work but a very extensive database.
Björn
Björn Arnold:
You can also use the NASA extragalactic database:
https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/
It‘s manual work but a very extensive database.
Björn
Thank you, that is really useful and, as you say, a very extensive database.
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SIRIL does it for most DSO and you can also add annotation to your picture…
Upload your image to https://nova.astrometry.net.
Depending on your membership level, Astrobin can add a lot of annotation too.
In the image edit menu, if you have Advanced Plate-solving Settings, you can turn on Show PGC objects and restart the advanced plate solve. It will surely be in the PGC database.
From a very quick glance in my Sky Safari app, my guess is it might be PGC91291. There’s also one just a little directly back toward the Whirlpool too that might be PGC3482152.
@Andy Wray I had a look at this image in your Astrobin collection, and with plate solving overlay turned on, the galaxy is identified.