NGC 7377

NGC 7377 is located 100 million light years away in Aquarius. It is relatively small in the apparent field of view and has been very rarely imaged. It has been variously classified as lenticular and spiral. As seen in this image there is a spiral structure evident and faint out stretched arms. It is more probable that this is a spiral transitioning to a lenticular galaxy. The spiral structure has a heavy dust content and is quite dense towards the central portion of the galaxy. The overall shape of the galaxy indicates possible past interaction with another galaxy. Imaged in LRGB on our Planewave CDK 1000 at Observatorio El Sauce, Chile.

Image Processing: Mike Selby and Mark Hanson