NGC 247 Needle's Eye Galaxy and Burbidge's Chain

 Posted: Oct 9th, 2026
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Technical Info
Telescope/Lens: Askar SQA 106 мм f/4.8
Camera: ZWO ASI 2600 MC Pro
Mount: Ioptron HAE 29 C
Guide Scope: Askar 52 мм F4
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI 120 MM mini
Software: SharpCap 4.0, Siril
Exposure:
85 x 180" ISO/Gain: 100
Orange, Bortle 6 zone:
 Adygeya Stanica Dahovskaya, Russia
 Oct 2nd, 2026
4 h 15 m
11
Resolution: 2467x1810 px
Scale: 1754 KB

NGC 247 (Needle's Eye or Claw) is located at a distance of 11.8 million light-years, with a diameter of about 70 thousand light-years. The galaxy's angular size is 19.2x5.5 arc minutes. NGC 247 has a void clearly visible in photographs, which is why it is called the Needle's Eye galaxy. It is located in the constellation Cetus. 

In Adygea (44th latitude), it does not rise above 25 degrees above the horizon. Nearby (to the right and up) is a group of 4 galaxies called Burbidge's Chain. This group is located at a distance of about 350 million light-years from us, which is almost 30 times farther than NGC 247.

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