Group of Galaxies Hickson 10

Hickson 10
Hickson 10: Group of galaxies in Andromeda; 500 mm Cassegrain 3625 mm f/7.2; SBIG STL11K; 120-80-80-80min LRGB; Bernese Highlands; © 2017 Radek Chromik [32]

History

On 13 September 1784 William Herschel discovered a «very faint nebula» using his 18.7" telescope. He cataloged it as III 171 [NGC 536] and just remarked: «stellar». [463] On 17 November 1827 his son John found a nebula which he cataloged as h 118 [NGC 529] and noted: «pretty bright, very small, suddenly brighter in the middle. The preceding of two.» [466] The remaining two of this group (NGC 531 and NGC 542) were discovered on 16 October 1855 by R. J. Mitchell, assistant of 3rd Earl of Rosse. [196]

The British-Canadian astronomer Paul Hickson presented in 1982 his systematic search for groups of galaxies on the photo plates of the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS) to the public. In order to be classified by him as a galaxy group, at least four members should be identifiable, which had to be reasonably compact and isolated from the rest. The catalog contains 100 groups of galaxies. [140] The group number 10 has 4 members. In the 1993 special issue of his «Atlas of Compact Groups of Galaxies» he noted: «This is a rather loose group of nearby bright galaxies. The spiral galaxies (a [NGC 536], b [NGC 529] and c [NGC 531]) have extended spiral arms typical of interacting galaxies.» [166]

Physical Properties

Distances of the group members range from 52 to 70 Mpc. [145]

Revised+Historic NGC/IC Version 22/9, © 2022 Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke [277]
Name RA Dec Type bMag vMag B-V SB Dim PA z D(z) MD Dreyer Description Identification, Remarks
NGC 529 01 25 40.2 +34 42 47 Gx (E-S0) 13.1 12.1 1.0 13.8 2.4 × 2.1 160 0.016084 67.94 pB, vS, sbM, p of 2 h 118; GC 311; UGC 995; MCG 6-4-19; CGCG 521-23; HCG 10B
NGC 531 01 26 18.8 +34 45 15 Gx (SB0-a) 14.9 13.8 1.1 13.6 1.8 × 0.5 34 0.015544 65.66 F, S, R GC 312; UGC 1012; MCG 6-4-20; CGCG 521-24; HCG 10C
NGC 536 01 26 21.6 +34 42 12 Gx (SBb) 13.2 12.4 0.8 13.5 3.3 × 1.2 68 0.017309 73.11 61.070 pB, pL, gbM, f of 2 WH III 171; h 120; GC 317=325; UGC 1013; MCG 6-4-21; CGCG 521-25; HCG 10A
NGC 542 01 26 30.9 +34 40 34 Gx (Sb) 15.6 14.8 0.8 13.3 1 × 0.2 146 0.015551 65.69 eF, diffic GC 318; MCG 6-4-22; CGCG 521-26; HCG 10D

Finder Chart

The Hickson 10 compact group of galaxies can be found in the constellation Andromeda. The best time for observation is in the months from June to February.

Finder Chart Group of Galaxies Hickson 10
Group of Galaxies Hickson 10 in constellation Andromeda. Charts created using SkySafari 6 Pro and STScI Digitized Sky Survey. Limiting magnitudes: Constellation chart ~6.5 mag, DSS2 close-ups ~20 mag. [149, 160]

Objects Within a Radius of 15°

References