The Stephan's quintet comprises five galaxies, four of which are in physical contact with each other (Hickson Compact Group 92), in a cosmic dance of exceptional brutality, whιch probably will end with their merging. It is the first cluster of galaxies that discovered by Edouard Stephan in 1877 at Marseilles Observatory. Radio-studies (1970) revealed a mysterious filament network, in the inter-galactic space of this group of these galaxies. In the same area depicted faint glow in the visible wavelength attributed to ionized hydrogen, reinforcing the results of radio observations. Additional studies attribute this strange network giant wave (shock wave) caused by NGC 7318B, at a speed of several thousand miles per hour and towards the center of this group of galaxies.

 

  The galaxy NGC 7318B as it collides with gases of this group of galaxies, emit this huge wave (size over our milky galaxy), heating  these gases to millions of degrees as revealed by the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

In the photo, to the right of the center, are the two galaxies NGC 7318B and NGC 7318A (B left of the center of the group, A right to the outside of the group). Above and left from this dual system is the galaxy NGC 7319. Below the center lies the NGC 7320. Finally to the right and down (to the outer) lies the NGC 7317.

 

  NGC 7320 actually does not belong to the local group of these galaxies. Is a forground galaxys only 40 million light years from us, while the other group of galaxies is located approximately 280 million light years.

 

Technical data of the photo  :

Telescope  :  Vixen VC200L Visac

Mount       :    AP Mach1 GTo

Camera     :    QSI 683
Guiding    :    TS Optics 65Q, Zwo Asi 120mm, PHD
TS Optics 65Q, Zwo Asi 120mm, PHD
LRGB
Lum 29x300s
RG  12x300s each, B 9x300s

Processed in PixinSight and Photoshop
Skyros Island, Greece, September 2015