Abell 246 - Galaxy Cluster
Abell 246 is a galaxy cluster in the southern part of the constellation Pisces and is therefore best observed in autumn. The distance is about 940 million
light-years and the redshift is z=0.070. The speed at which Abell 246 moves away from us is 20,300 kilometers per second.
The brightest galaxy of the cluster is "LEDA 87318" with a brightness of 16.6mag. Converted this corresponds to a luminosity of 16 billion suns. The
elliptical galaxy has an apparent extent of 0.3x0.23' and therefore a true size of 85,000 light-years.
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Even in a dark night Abell 246 is not a spectacular object. In the field of view there is a 9.0mag bright F8- star, which looks like a tiny lighthouse due to its
whitish light.
With a magnification of 270x I could glimpse 8 galaxies, which are scattered relatively far. The cluster character is somewhat lost because of this. Except for
"LEDA 87318", which gets brighter towards the center and has a slightly oval shape, the rest of the galaxies appear almost homogeneous and featureless.
Overall a rather rather boring galaxy cluster... ;)
