Giant Square Galaxy

• by Cardiffian

  I assume the object in the lower half of the image is an artefact of some kind. Does anyone know what's caused I?

  Posted March 29, 2016 9:18 AM

• by JeanTate in response to Cardiffian's comment.

  Welcome to RGZ, Cardiffian.

  Yes, it's almost certainly a bright star (unfortunately it's outside the SDSS footprint, so checking on which star it is would have to rely on some other database, such as POSS). The spikes - like compass points - are diffraction spikes, caused by the 'vanes' which hold the secondary mirror of the telescope.

  Hope this helps, and happy hunting! 😃

  Posted March 29, 2016 2:39 PM

• by Cardiffian

  That makes sense, a bit like looking at something bright through an optical telescope and seeing effects caused by it's internal structure. Thanks for the information

  Posted March 29, 2016 8:53 PM