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Balcony photo reveals 548 galaxies in stunning cosmic image
🇦🇷 Argentina /Culture & Society

Balcony photo reveals 548 galaxies in stunning cosmic image

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Sources not specified Context piece
  • An astrophotographer captured an image revealing 548 galaxies from his balcony in the Netherlands.
  • The photo features the Leo Triplet galaxies and a massive tidal tail from NGC 3628, spanning an estimated 300,000 light-years.
  • The project, which took nearly two years, involved 85 hours of observation data, showcasing detailed galactic structures and evolutionary history.

From his balcony in the Netherlands, engineer and astrophotographer Cornelis Van Zuilen has captured a stunning image of the cosmos, revealing 548 galaxies in a single photograph. This achievement, which has gone viral on social media, focuses on the galaxies of the Leo Triplet, including the spiral galaxies M65, M66, and NGC 3628, located about 30 million light-years away.

The ambitious project began nearly two years ago when Van Zuilen acquired a new telescope, enabling him to focus on galaxies for his long-term goal of photographing the entire Messier Catalog. After an initial image of the Leo Triplet in 2025, he was inspired to capture the "Hamburger Galaxy" (NGC 3628) and its prominent tidal tail.

After finishing my first image of the Leo Triplet in 2025, I really wanted to see the gigantic tidal tail of NGC 3628 and decided to return with a much more ambitious goal.

— Cornelis Van ZuilenExplaining his motivation for the ambitious project.

Van Zuilen commenced an observation campaign on April 6, 2026, spanning 18 clear nights. He gathered 85 hours of astronomical data, ultimately selecting over 60 hours of high-quality material for the final image. Weeks of processing with specialized software revealed extraordinary details, including the spiral structures of M65 and M66, and the thick dust band of NGC 3628.

The most striking element is the immense tidal tail extending from NGC 3628, estimated at 300,000 light-years. Scientists believe these formations are crucial for reconstructing the evolutionary history of galactic systems. The photograph not only showcases these distant galaxies but also provides valuable insights into the dynamic interactions that shape the universe.

I lost the love of my life.

— Marjane SatrapiQuote from her Instagram profile.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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