Three's Company In Space: Stargazers Spot Galaxy Trio (Photo)

News
By Nina Sen
published

Draco Trio Hermann Hancock
This image shows a trio of galaxies often called the Draco group because they are located in the northern constellation of Draco. The galaxy on the left is NGC 5985, the center is the elliptical galaxy NGC 5982, and the bottom right is NGC 5981. Astrophotographer Terry Hancock and former NASA scientist Fred Hermann teamed up to take this photo. The image was released June 17, 2013. (Image credit: Terry Hancock / Fred Hermann)

A stargazing team captured spiral galaxy NGC 5985, NGC 5982 and edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 5981 in this cool night sky photo.

Astrophotographer Terry Hancock teamed up with former NASA scientist Fred Hermann to take this photo.

Hermann captured this photo from Alabama using an AT12RC/SBIG STT-8300 Monochrome CCD while Hancock from Michigan used an AT12RC/QHY9 Monochrome CCD camera. The LRGB data was combined and processed using CCDStack, Photoshop and Pixinsight for a total exposure of 8 hours. The image was released June 17. [65 Amazing Galaxy Photos]

"This image is a good example of the different type of shapes that a galaxy can take on," Hermann told SPACE.com in an email.

In this image, the left galaxy is NGC 5985, the center is the elliptical galaxy NGC 5982, and the bottom right is NGC 5981. All three galaxies are at a distance between 100 to 140 million light-years from Earth. This trio of galaxies is often called the Draco group because they are located in the northern constellation Draco, the Dragon.

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Nina Sen
Contributing Writer and Producer

Nina Sen is a freelance writer and producer who covered night sky photography and astronomy for Space.com. She began writing and producing content for Space.com in 2011 with a focus on story and image production, as well as amazing space photos captured by NASA telescopes and other missions. Her work also includes coverage of amazing images by astrophotographers that showcase the night sky's beauty.