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| Catalogue and alternative designations | NGC
1316 and NGC 1317. NGC
1316 is also known as Fornax A
|
| Type | Galaxies |
| Position | 03 22 39, -37 12 45 (NGC 1316) |
| Constellation | Fornax |
| Camera and Telescope | STXL6303 and 36.8 cm Ritchey Chretien |
| Focal Ratio | F9 |
| Exposure Details | LRGB 330:105:90:120 luminance unbinned, colours binned 2x2 with Astrodon series 2 filters |
| Description |
NGC 1316 is the brightest galaxy in the Fornax Cluster with a magnitude of 9.4 and angular dimensions of 11.1' x 7.2'. The smaller NGC 1317 is magnitude 11.9 and 2.5' x 2.2. NGC 1316 is at about 62 million light years distance and NGC 1317 is similar. NGC 1316 is an intense radio source and is known in this guise as Fornax A being one of the earliest galactic radio sources discovered. The caption to a recent ESO image of the pair calls NGC 1316 a "galactic serial killer" because of the number of galaxies it has absorbed and interacted with over its lifetime. NGC 1317 by comparison has had a more sedate existence. |