{"id":26136,"date":"2026-04-28T10:14:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T09:14:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.petrhoralek.com\/?p=26136"},"modified":"2026-05-03T17:15:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T16:15:54","slug":"four-hours-of-small-magellanic-cloud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.petrhoralek.com\/?p=26136","title":{"rendered":"Four hours of Small Magellanic Cloud"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Four<\/a>

Four hours of Small Magellanic Cloud (crop)<\/p><\/div>\n

The last night of my 2025 stay at Cerro Pach\u00f3n Observatory on (4-5 May 2025), where astronomers at Vera C. Rubin Telescope<\/a> just started their amazing work<\/a>, I tried to finish my longer-term photography project. The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) photography, which I actually started days sooner in Bolivia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As\u00a0NOIRLab says<\/a>: Cerro Pach\u00f3n is a mountain in the foothills of Chile\u2019s Andes range. Northern Chile offers some of the clearest, driest, and darkest skies in the world. These conditions create ample opportunities for astrophotography and for addressing some of our biggest questions about the Universe. Such as capturing objects of deep Universe, like the Small Magellanic. With the Large Magellanic Cloud<\/a> (LMC), they are the largest of the 60+ satellite galaxies of the Milky Way<\/a>. Satellite galaxies orbit around a host galaxy and are usually smaller than their host galaxy. The SMC was once even a satellite galaxy of the LMC<\/a>! Unlike most of the other satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, the SMC is actively forming stars at a rapid pace, a process revealed by the blue light in this image.<\/p>\n

\"Four<\/a>

Four hours of Small Magellanic Cloud<\/p><\/div>\n

The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is a dwarf irregular galaxy located about 200,000 light-years from Earth, making it one of the closest galactic neighbors of the Milky Way. It spans roughly 7000 light-years across and contains several hundred million stars\u2014far fewer than the Milky Way\u2019s hundreds of billions. One of its most interesting physical features is its distorted, irregular shape, which is the result of strong gravitational interactions with both the Milky Way and its companion, the Large Magellanic Cloud. These interactions have triggered bursts of star formation, making the SMC rich in young, hot stars and glowing nebulae. It also has a relatively low metallicity (few heavy elements), which gives astronomers insight into conditions similar to those in the early universe.<\/p>\n

Around the Small Magellanic Cloud, astronomers observe a number of globular clusters and stellar associations, though it has fewer than larger galaxies. Notable clusters include NGC 121<\/a>, one of the oldest known clusters in the SMC, and 47 Tucanae<\/a>, which, although actually part of the Milky Way, appears close to the SMC in the sky. The region is also surrounded by the Magellanic Bridge, a stream of gas and stars connecting it to the Large Magellanic Cloud, and the Magellanic Stream, a long tail of gas trailing behind both galaxies. These structures provide clear evidence of ongoing gravitational interaction and material exchange, making the SMC a key object for studying how galaxies evolve through interaction.<\/p>\n

Used Canon Ra, Tamron 70-200mm@200mm, f2.8, ISO 3200, 30s exposures, 3.9 hours total integration time.<\/p>\n

Full credit: NOIRLab\/NSF\/AURA\/P. Hor\u00e1lek (Institute of Physics in Opava)
\nSee also Six hours of Large Magellanic Cloud<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u010cesk\u00e9 zamy\u0161len\u00ed:<\/p>\n

\u0160koda, \u017ee takov\u00fd obr\u00e1zek nikdy nem\u016f\u017ee zaujmout \u0161ir\u0161\u00ed publikum. Proto\u017ee tohle nebyla \u017e\u00e1dn\u00e1 sranda. Ale fakt po\u0159\u00e1dn\u00e1 roub\u00edrna!
\nCo \u017ee to teda vlastn\u011b vid\u00edte? P\u00e1r tis\u00edcovek te\u010dek, n\u011bjak\u00e9 \u0161mouhy, tro\u0161ka \u010derven\u00e9 barvy. Ano, jedn\u00edm klikem m\u016f\u017eete n\u011bco takov\u00e9ho upatlat zam\u011bstn\u00e1n\u00edm n\u011bjak\u00e9 vhodn\u00e9 um\u011bl\u00e9 moudrosti. Jenom\u017ee to byste pak vyprodukovali jen ilustra\u010dn\u00ed obr\u00e1zek. Toto je toti\u017e fotka. Fotka re\u00e1ln\u00e9ho objektu. Fotka, kterou jsem exponoval p\u0159es 4 hodiny. Ano, \u010dtete dob\u0159e, P\u0158ES 4 HODINY!<\/p>\n

Na sn\u00edmku vid\u00edte drobou\u010dkou galaxii zn\u00e1mou jako Mal\u00e9 Magellanovo Mra\u010dno, kter\u00e1 le\u017e\u00ed asi 200 000 sv\u011bteln\u00fdch let od Zem\u011b a je patrn\u00e1 nedaleko ji\u017en\u00edho nebesk\u00e9ho p\u00f3lu i pouh\u00fdma o\u010dima. Teleskopy velk\u00fdch observato\u0159\u00ed po\u0159\u00eddily jej\u00ed portr\u00e9t mnohem kr\u00e1sn\u011bji, ale j\u00e1 jsem cht\u011bl p\u0159ijmout a vyzkou\u0161et jednu v\u00fdzvu: D\u00e1 se to nafotit i klasicky na b\u011b\u017en\u011b dostupnou techniku? Tak jako d\u00e1, ale chce to 1) dokonale tmavou no\u010dn\u00ed oblohu, 2) dostate\u010dn\u011b ustavenou aparaturu, co odol\u00e1 i siln\u011bj\u0161\u00edmu v\u011btru, 3) tro\u0161ku t\u00e9 matematiky ve slu\u017eb\u00e1ch astrofotografie.<\/p>\n

To prvn\u00ed a t\u0159et\u00ed jsem m\u011bl, to druh\u00e9 bylo dost na hran\u011b. Je tomu zhruba rok, kdy jsem ta data po\u0159\u00eddil, a to konkr\u00e9tn\u011b na observato\u0159i Cerro Pach\u00f3n v pou\u0161ti Atacama v Chile. A vichr fi\u010del fakt slu\u0161n\u00fd. Nakonec jsem celou t\u011b\u017ekou aparaturu s 200mm objektivem “za\u0161il” do z\u00e1v\u011bt\u0159\u00ed mohutn\u00e9 kopule Gemini South (schv\u00e1ln\u011b zam\u011bstn\u011bjte strejdu Googla, abyste zjistili, jak mohutn\u00e9) a nechal apar\u00e1t cvakat d\u00edl\u010d\u00ed expozice po dobu zhruba 4 hodin. <\/p>\n

V\u00fdhoda t\u00e9to galaxie je, \u017ee na jihu nezapad\u00e1, ale p\u0159esto barevn\u00e9 nebe v d\u016fsledku siln\u00e9ho airglow, p\u0159irozen\u00e9ho z\u00e1\u0159en\u00ed atmosf\u00e9ry, nemalou v\u00fdzvu ve zpracov\u00e1n\u00ed p\u0159ineslo. Samotn\u00e9 zpracov\u00e1n\u00ed zabralo je\u0161t\u011b asi 40 hodin \u010dist\u00e9ho \u010dasu – zku\u0161en\u00ed astrofotografov\u00e9 zhruba tu\u0161\u00ed, co v\u0161echno za t\u00edm st\u00e1lo. No a vy nezku\u0161en\u00ed se te\u010f m\u016f\u017eete pokochat detailn\u00edm a hlubok\u00fdm portr\u00e9tem jedn\u00e9 ze sousedn\u00edch galaxi\u00ed, kterou zleva je\u0161t\u011b dopl\u0148uje okuskvostn\u00e1 kulov\u00e1 hv\u011bzdokupa 47 v souhv\u011bzd\u00ed Tukana.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The last night of my 2025 stay at Cerro Pach\u00f3n Observatory on (4-5 May 2025), where astronomers at Vera C. Rubin Telescope just started their amazing work, I tried to finish my longer-term photography project. The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) photography, which I actually started days sooner in Bolivia. As\u00a0NOIRLab says: Cerro Pach\u00f3n is a…
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