This
Astrobin Debut Object is a galaxy group of 4 galaxies, called Hickson 5, located in the constellation of Pisces at a declination of +7 degrees.
The Hickson catalog is a collection of 100 galaxy groups, established by Paul Hickson in 1982. Hickson compact galaxy groups are tightly spaced and somewhat isolated 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.
Like many Hickson groups, these 4 galaxies are not a true cluster. Only the top 3 galaxies are about the same distance, ranging from 540 to 580 million light years away. I believe that these 3 galaxies are simply visually superimposed and are not interacting with each other.
The largest one (5a) is the only one with a NGC designation – NGC 190. This magnitude 14 face-on spiral galaxy is 45 arc-seconds in diameter, which corresponds to a diameter of 100,000 light years.
The bottom galaxy (5d) is much closer at 380 million light years away. This is a small galaxy at 45,000 light years in diameter.
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