This
Astrobin Debut Object is a galaxy group of 5 galaxies, called Hickson 65, located in the constellation of Hydra at a declination of -30 degrees.
Unlike most HIcksons, this is a true cluster – all 5 galaxies are about 650 million light years away. They all look like ellipticals to me but at this distance it is hard to really know. They seem to be interacting – I don’t see much distortion but the top 3 (b, c and e) and the bottom 2 (a and d) each seem to be sharing a galactic halo bridging between the galaxies.
The largest and brightest galaxy is 65a, a large magnitude 14 galaxy that is about 150,000 light years in diameter.
Many other faint galaxies are seen in the background.
The Hickson catalog is a collection of 100 galaxy groups, established by Paul Hickson in 1982. Hickson compact galaxy groups are strictly defined by 3 criteria: number of galaxies, total magnitude, and isolation from other galaxies. A typical Hickson group has 4 galaxies, but some have up to 8. You can see more about Hickson galaxy groups in my
Astrobin Hickson Collection.
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