Arp 313 (NGC 3391, 3994, 3995) from my „Jade“ observatory

This image marks one of the first light projects with my new equipment mounted on the second pier (“Deep Sky Pier”) at my Jade Observatory.

Arp 313 is a fascinating triplet of interacting galaxies consisting of NGC 3991, NGC 3994, and NGC 3995, located in the constellation Ursa Major. The group exhibits subtle tidal features and faint bridges of material — clear evidence of gravitational interaction — making it an especially interesting subject for high-resolution imaging.

Data calibration, registration, and final image processing were all carried out in PixInsight.

The result was as follows:

In this image you can see some quasars. The most distant quasar of them is:

SDSS J115630.47+320929.6 with a redshift of 3.035 and an apparent mag_v of 20.6 (SDSS DR17).

Here is an overview of the used equipment and the exposure times:

• Date: March 2025
• Location: Varel
• Telescope/Lense: 6″ Lacerta Newton
• Focal length [mm]: 600
• Focal ratio: 4
• Mount: Skywatcher EQ 8
• Camera: Lacerta Deepsky 2600 M
• Autoguiding: Off-Axis with ZWO Asi 120 MM Mini
• Filter: L:R:G:B
• Exposure time [min]: 240:60:63:72
• Resolution: 1.31/px