NGC 2964, NGC 2968 and NGC 2970 (Gary Imm)

Celestial hemisphere: Northern · Constellation: Leo (Leo) · Contains: NGC 2964 · NGC 2968 · NGC 2970

NGC 2964, NGC 2968 and NGC 2970

This trio of galaxies is located in the constellation of Leo at a declination of +32 degrees.

The bottom right galaxy is the unusual spiral NGC 2964. It is closer than the other 2, at 60 million light years away. It spans 3.5 arc-minutes in our apparent view. This corresponds to a diameter of 60,000 light years. The galaxy structure is colorful, with a yellow core, blue arms, and a sprinkle of pink HII regions. The arm structure is fragmented. An odd oval shaped pseudo-ring surrounds the inner region.

The center galaxy is NGC 2968. It is interacting with the upper left galaxy, NGC 2970, as evidenced by the faint star steam connecting them. Both galaxies are 80 million light years away.

NGC 2968 is a magnitude 14.2 arm-less spiral galaxy which spans 4 arc-minutes in our apparent view. This corresponds to a diameter of 90,000 light years. My favorite part of the image is its magnificent dark dust lane which encircles the inner region at a slightly different angle than the long axis of the galaxy. The outer galaxy region is diffuse. It looks like this galaxy was formed from a past merger, perhaps between a spiral and an elliptical.

NGC 2970 is a small lenticular galaxy which spans 1 arc-minute in our apparent view. This corresponds to a diameter of 25,000 light years. Beneath this object is another galaxy (SDSS J094332.57+315803.2) that is even smaller. It is closer to us and it is unlikely that these 2 are interacting.

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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	5410623
PixInsight job	BSRGXEXDQURI826UQH6G2EO8R311ETBM
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	TASK_LOG

RA (center)	09h43m12s.136
RA (top/left)	09h44m01s.762
RA (top/right)	09h42m18s.641
RA (bottom/right)	09h42m22s.697
RA (bottom/left)	09h44m05s.500

Dec (center)	+31°55′41″.35
Dec (top/left)	+32°03′52″.37
Dec (top/right)	+32°02′40″.78
Dec (bottom/right)	+31°47′29″.17
Dec (bottom/left)	+31°48′40″.48

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NGC 2964, NGC 2968 and NGC 2970

NGC 2964, NGC 2968 and NGC 2970

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NGC 2964, NGC 2968 and NGC 2970

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