NGC 3718
NGC 3718 is the twisted spiral galaxy in the upper-right corner of the image. Its distinctive shape is likely the result of gravitational interactions with the smaller spiral galaxy, NGC 3729, to the left. Below and to the right of NGC 3718 is the Hickson Compact Group 56, which consists of five interacting galaxies. These galaxies aren't smaller. Instead, they are about eight times further away than NGC 3718 and NGC 3729.
| Observatory: | Kitt Peak National Observatory Kitt Peak, Arizona |
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| Telescope: | KPNO 4-Meter |
| Instrument: | Mosaic I |
| Astronomer: | T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and H. Schweiker (WIYN and NOAO/AURA/NSF) |
| Date of Observation: | 02-05-2010 |
| Filters and Assigned Colors: | U (violet), B (blue), V (green), I (orange) and Hydrogen-Alpha (red) |
| Exposure Times: | 5x25min in U, 5x20min in B, 5x13min in V, 4x8min in I and 5x18min in H-alpha |
| Location of Image: | Ursa Major |
| Field of View: | 20.5 x 15.7 arcmin |
| Orientation: | Rotated 35 degrees counterclockwise from North is up, East is left |
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| Link to Full Resolution Image | |
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