Image data acquired and preprocessed by Martin Winder: 16" RC on Paramount, SBIG ST10, The Sky, CCD Stack

Image processing by Dietmar Hager: Maxim DL, CCD Stack, (Deconv.), Pix Insight LE, PS CS2

Discovered by Edward Foster Coddington, this bar-spiral galaxy islocated in ursa major, some 13.1 Mio lightyears away from earth, at an appearent size of 13,2' × 5,4' and being 10m2 bright.

This nice little dwarf galaxy holds less than half of our own galaxy in diameter and is said to contain huge, highly acitve star forming regions, very well visible in this image as imperfect defined gasous knots at around 1 and 3 o'clock. These very regions are called SGS, super giant shells, appearing as 30" x 60" in diameter. According to theory these shells are said to comprise very hot H-I-gas, which is the driver for the still ongoing process of expansion (25km/sec), which is rarely seen, as in most dwarf galaxies this process has already stalled. As a result of this enormous temperature, expectations on X-ray emittissions have indeed been detected by ROSAT.

Judging by the shell-size (1000x500 pc) and the expansion velocity, calculations indicate an energy-content of about 100 supernovae to build up this shell. The life span (derived by the present condition of this shell) also indicates, that some of the massive stars are still within the central cluster, yet waiting to go off as a future-SN.