This
Astrobin Debut Object is a galaxy group of 4 galaxies, called Hickson 62, located 200 million light years away in the constellation of Virgo at a declination of -9 degrees. This is one of the closest Hickson groups to earth. These 4 galaxies are about the same distance away form us although, based on the lack of visual disturbance, I don’t think they are close enough together to be interacting.
The largest and brightest galaxy, Hickson 62a, is also known as NGC 4761. It spans 1.4 arc-minutes, which corresponds to a diameter of 80,000 light years. 62a and 62d are ellipticals while 62b and 62c are lenticulars. Hickson galaxy groups without spirals, such as this one, are my least favorite. Unfortunately, there are quite a few non-spiral Hickson groups - 25 out of the 100 total.
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 Hickson galaxy groups in my
Astrobin Hickson Collection.
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