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Compact Galaxy Groups have always been of interest to astronomers ever since Stephan discoverd his famous Stephan's Quintet in 1877. The Hickson Compact Galaxy Groups were compiled by Paul Hickson and published in his Atlas of Compact Groups of Galaxies in 1994.There are exactly 100 entries.

They represent the brightest groups visible to northern observers and this of course makes them ideal targets for amateur astronomers.Many of the objects are small, lending themeselves to the longer focal length telescopes.

NGC 5371 is a face-on spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. NGC 5371 (which also seems to be known as NGC 5390) is a symmetrical face-on Sbc barred spiral galaxy at a distance of 100 million light years. This galaxy with Hickson Galaxy Group 68 makes up the Big Lick Galaxy Group.

NGC-5353 is the brightest member of a galaxy group known as Hickson Compact

Group 68. More specifically this is the 68th entry in Paul Hickson’s 1982

publication of small galaxy groups. NGC-5353 shines at mag. 11.0 and is

approximately 110 million light years away. The galaxy measures 2.4 by 1.2 arc

minutes in size, which puts the diameter of the galaxy at 70,000 light years, if the

distance is accurate. The next brightest galaxy in the group is NGC-5354 (mag.

11.4), which lies just north of NGC-5353. NGC-5354, like NGC-5353, is classified

as an S0 galaxy (spiral with no spiral arms). NGC-5354 is slightly smaller in

apparent and real size and may be 20 million light years farther away.

Just north of that pair is NGC-5350 at mag. 11.5. NGC-5350 is a face-on barred

spiral galaxy and also a Seyfert galaxy (has an active galactic nucleus). It lies at the

same distance as NGC-5353 and is slightly larger in size.

NGC-5355 and NGC-5358 are fainter members of Hickson Compact Group 68.

NGC- 5355 is a mag. 13.2 elliptical galaxy while NGC-5358 is a mag. 14.6

lenticular galaxy.

Info credits: MONTHLY OBSERVER’S CHALLENGE

Las Vegas Astronomical Society

June 2012

NGC-5353 – Hickson 68 - Galaxy Group In Canes Venatici

Compiled by:

Roger Ivester, Boiling Springs, North Carolina

&

!Fred Rayworth, Las Vegas, Nevada!

With special assistance from:!

Rob Lambert, Las Vegas, Nevada