NGC 2685 The Helix Galaxy
NGC 2685 is a very unusual galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major.
It is a rare polar ring galaxy - meaning it has a ring of gas, stars and dust orbiting in a plane almost perpendicular to the normal flat plane of NGC 2685. Physically it contains two separate velocity systems whose axes are perpendicular. The most popular view says that such galaxies are the result of an interaction, up to and including a complete merger, with another galaxy.
This feature can be seen in the image as helical filaments around the central part of the galaxy.
NGC 2685 is about 50,000 light years across, and about 42 million light years from Earth.
It is a rare polar ring galaxy - meaning it has a ring of gas, stars and dust orbiting in a plane almost perpendicular to the normal flat plane of NGC 2685. Physically it contains two separate velocity systems whose axes are perpendicular. The most popular view says that such galaxies are the result of an interaction, up to and including a complete merger, with another galaxy.
This feature can be seen in the image as helical filaments around the central part of the galaxy.
NGC 2685 is about 50,000 light years across, and about 42 million light years from Earth.

TARGET
Nomenclature: NGC 2685, Helix Galaxy
Right Ascension: 08:55:34.75
Declination: +58:44:03.87
Discovery: William Tempel on 18 August 1882
EQUIPMENT USED
APM TMB LZOS 152 refractor
10Micron GM2000 HPS mount
QSI6120 CCD camera
Astrodon filters
IMAGE CAPTURE
Luminance: 194x300 bin 1x1
Red: 18x300 bin 1x1
Green: 17x300 bin 1x1
Blue: 16x300 bin 1x1
Total integration: 20 hours 25 minutes
Pixel scale: 0.265 arcsec/pixel
Field radius: 0.188 degrees
Capture dates: 26 March - 7 April 2022
Capture location: Fregenal de la Sierra, Spain
Luminance: 194x300 bin 1x1
Red: 18x300 bin 1x1
Green: 17x300 bin 1x1
Blue: 16x300 bin 1x1
Total integration: 20 hours 25 minutes
Pixel scale: 0.265 arcsec/pixel
Field radius: 0.188 degrees
Capture dates: 26 March - 7 April 2022
Capture location: Fregenal de la Sierra, Spain
IMAGE PROCESSING
Pre-processing: CCDStack2
Post-processing: Photoshop CS2
Pre-processing: CCDStack2
Post-processing: Photoshop CS2