Odd Structure Near Regulus
April 01, 2017
Photographer: Greg Parker
Summary Author: Greg Parker
Springtime in the Northern Hemisphere is galaxy-imaging season as the constellation of Leo, which is rich in galaxies, is well placed for observing at this time of year. I wanted to get a nice image of the first magnitude star, Regulus (32-Alpha Leonis), together with the dwarf galaxy Leo 1, which looks like a faint cloud lying close to Regulus. I took 6 hours of 10-minute subs (shorter exposure photographs) using the Sky 90 array and M26C one-shot color CCDs. At first, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary in the subs. It was only when I processed (stretched) the data hard that this odd object appeared in the frame. I'm not sure if this is a man-made object lying close to us in a geostationary orbit or whether it's very far away and therefore a really huge structure. Whatever it is, it seems to have a fractal design (Menger Sponge) as its structural basis. Photo taken on April 1, 2017.