NGC 6744 - Galaxy in the constellation Pavo

NGC 6744 forms the center of the so-called Pavo galaxy group, which extends over a length of 7 degrees through the constellation Pavo (Peacock). The galaxies of this group are located at a distance between 25 and 35 million light years from the solar system.
The galaxy has a the clear spiral structure and a central bar. This consists mainly of old stars, which shine yellowish. The spiral arms show some reddish H-II regions and many bluish regions, indicating intense star formation.
NGC 6744 is one of the largest spiral galaxies in our wider cosmic neighborhood and is very similar in shape to our Milky Way. However, with a diameter of 200,000 light-years, it is nearly twice the size of our home galaxy. The irregular companion galaxy, designated NGC 6744A, resembles the Large Magellanic Cloud, our galactic compagnion of similar size.

larger image
Date:21.+23.09.2019
Optics: Astro Physics EDF
Aperture: 130 mm
Focal Length: 870 mm
Camera: ZWO ASI 071 MC
Exposure: 38 x 600 s
Location: Chamaeleon Observatory, Onjala Lodge, Namibia
Processing: DeepSkyStacker, Nebulosity, Photoshop
Diameter:200,000 light years
Distance:25 million light years
annotated image

image field in the sky