NGC 3718 is a fascinating galaxy, and I was glad to see a portrait of it become an APOD. It is of course a bonus that the Hickson Group 56 is located so favorably along the line of sight of NGC 3718.
As for NGC 3718 itself, note the diaphanous nature of much of the disk. Two slightly more substantial spiral or tidal arms point "up" and "down". It is almost as if the galaxy wore a see-through "dress" around its "legs".
The yellow bulge is large and the twisting dust lane is finely detailed. Most of the rest of the galaxy is "soft", without features. An amorphous blue "ring" encircles the yellow bulge. But there is star formation at the end of the lower arm and along much of the top arm.
The morphology of NGC 3729 is quite different. There is a bright blue ring with star formation encircling the yellow bulge, but outside the ring, the disk becomes smooth and diffuse.
What I would have liked to see more of in the caption is some additional information about the picture itself. When I clicked on the link about the
David Malin Astrophotography Competition, I came to a page which showed me a smaller version of today's APOD.
I did note one thing on the David Malin Astrophotgraphy page (or the universe@CSIRO page). The version of Martin Pugh's picture looks better color-balanced there than it does here. Here, the bulges of NGC 3718 and NGC 3729 are unnaturally orange, whereas they look more naturally yellow on the universe@CSIRO page. On that page, the color of the blue ring around the bulge of NGC 3718 is also quite muted, which seems realistic. On the other hand, there are some fascinating red details in the disk of NGC 3729 that seem to be missing in today's APOD.
So would it be possible to include some information about Martin Pugh's image other than that which is provided on the universe@CSIRO page?
Ann
NGC 3718 is a fascinating galaxy, and I was glad to see a portrait of it become an APOD. It is of course a bonus that the Hickson Group 56 is located so favorably along the line of sight of NGC 3718.
As for NGC 3718 itself, note the diaphanous nature of much of the disk. Two slightly more substantial spiral or tidal arms point "up" and "down". It is almost as if the galaxy wore a see-through "dress" around its "legs".
The yellow bulge is large and the twisting dust lane is finely detailed. Most of the rest of the galaxy is "soft", without features. An amorphous blue "ring" encircles the yellow bulge. But there is star formation at the end of the lower arm and along much of the top arm.
The morphology of NGC 3729 is quite different. There is a bright blue ring with star formation encircling the yellow bulge, but outside the ring, the disk becomes smooth and diffuse.
What I would have liked to see more of in the caption is some additional information about the picture itself. When I clicked on the link about the [url=http://csirouniverseblog.com/2013/07/19/phenomenal-photos-from-the-david-malin-awards/]David Malin Astrophotography Competition[/url], I came to a page which showed me a smaller version of today's APOD.
I did note one thing on the David Malin Astrophotgraphy page (or the universe@CSIRO page). The version of Martin Pugh's picture looks better color-balanced there than it does here. Here, the bulges of NGC 3718 and NGC 3729 are unnaturally orange, whereas they look more naturally yellow on the universe@CSIRO page. On that page, the color of the blue ring around the bulge of NGC 3718 is also quite muted, which seems realistic. On the other hand, there are some fascinating red details in the disk of NGC 3729 that seem to be missing in today's APOD.
So would it be possible to include some information about Martin Pugh's image other than that which is provided on the universe@CSIRO page?
Ann