Stephan's Quintet

Constellation:

Pegasus

Best Month To View:

Aug

Alt. Designations:

NGC 7317

Object Type:

elliptic galaxy

Distance:

290 mly

Right Ascension:

22h 35m 51.9s

Declination:

+33° 56´ 43"

Visual Magnitude:

13.6

Apparent Dimension:

0.4´ X 0.4´

Alt. Designations:

NGC 7318-A

Object Type:

elliptic galaxy

Distance:

290 mly

Right Ascension:

22h 35m 56.7s

Declination:

+33° 57´ 58"

Visual Magnitude:

13.4

Apparent Dimension:

1.2´ X 1.0´

Alt. Designations:

NGC 7318-B

Object Type:

barred spiral galaxy

Distance:

290 mly

Right Ascension:

22h 35m 58.3s

Declination:

+33° 58´ 00"

Visual Magnitude:

13.2

Apparent Dimension:

1.6´ X 1.1´

Alt. Designations:

NGC 7319

Object Type:

barred spiral galaxy

Distance:

280 mly

Right Ascension:

22h 36m 03.5s

Declination:

+33° 58´ 35"

Visual Magnitude:

13.3

Apparent Dimension:

1.4´ X 1.1´

Alt. Designations:

NGC 7320

Object Type:

spiral galaxy

Distance:

40 mly

Right Ascension:

22h 36m 03.5s

Declination:

+33° 56´ 54"

Visual Magnitude:

12.5

Apparent Dimension:

2.2´ X 1.1´

Alt. Designations:

NGC 7320-C

Object Type:

barred spiral galaxy

Distance:

280 mly

Right Ascension:

22h 36m 20.3s

Declination:

+33° 59´ 08"

Visual Magnitude:

Apparent Dimension:

0.6´ X 0.4´

The first identified compact galaxy group, Stephan's Quintet, discovered by Edouard Stephan in 1877. About 280 million light-years away, only four of these five galaxies are actually locked in a cosmic dance of repeated close encounters. The odd man out is easy to spot, though. The interacting galaxies, NGC 7319, 7318A, 7318B, and 7317 have an overall yellowish cast. They also tend to have distorted loops and tails, grown under the influence of disruptive gravitational tides. But the predominantly bluish galaxy, NGC 7320, is closer, just 40 million light-years distant, and isn't part of the interacting group. Stephan's Quintet lies within the boundaries of the high flying constellation Pegasus. Astronomers have identified another galaxy, NGC 7320C, that is also 280 million light-years distant. Of course, including it would bring the interacting quartet back up to quintet status.