Combination of 3, 3 minute exposures, Meade 416XT CCD.
300mm f/6 newtonian telescope at prime focus.
In the southern constellation of Sculptor is a very unusual galaxy, PGC 2248/2249. This is the famous "Cartwheel Galaxy", the brightest example of a "ring-type" galaxy. These galaxies have undergone a burst of star formation in their outer regions, giving the appearence of a ring. In the case of the Cartwheel, it is believed that one or both of the two faint galaxies just to the upper left of the Cartwheel, have passed through the Cartwheel, triggering the burst of star formation. These two galaxies are PGC 2252 (left) and PGC 2249. Both of these are around magnitude 16 and so should be visible in a 20" telescope.
The Cartwheel galaxy is visible in an 8" telescope as a faint patch of light with a bright centre. The two nearby galaxies are visible in a 17.5" telescope.
Near the top of the image is another faint galaxy, MAC 0037-3339, while to the left, the furthest of the three bright stars is actually the galaxy, MAC 0038-3343.
