This
Astrobin Debut Object is a galaxy group of 5 galaxies, called Hickson 13, located almost 0.6 billion light years away in the constellation of Cetus at a declination of -8 degrees.
This is a true cluster with all 5 galaxies about the same distance away, although they only look slightly disturbed so they are likely not located close enough to each other to have much interaction.
The largest and brightest galaxy of the group, Hickson 13a, is also known as LEDA 5732. It is a magnitude 14 spiral that is 150,000 light years in diameter. Overall, the group magnitude of these 5 galaxies is 13.3, which makes it the 80th (out of 100) brightest Hickson cluster.
You will see other galaxies in the background near the cluster but these are much further away, at 2 to 3 billion light years away.
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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