Stephans Quintet (Hickson 92)

NGC 7331 & Stephan's Quintet
NGC 7331 & Stephan's Quintet: Galaxies in Pegasus; 11" RASA; QHY268M (SW); ToupTek MONO 2600MP (RGB); 56 min; Amden; © 2023-08-19 Peter Stüssi
Hickson 92
Hickson 92: Galaxy group «Stephans Quintett» in Pegasus; 500 mm Cassegrain 3625 mm f/7.2; SBIG STL11K; 17x10 min lum, 6x10 min RGB; Bernese Highlands; © 2011 Radek Chromik [32]

History

This compact group of galaxies was the first to be discovered. It was first sighted by the French astronomer Jean Marie Édouard Stephan in 1876. From 1866 to 1907 he was director of the observatory in Marseille. At that time, however, he only saw four nebulae and wrote: «The four nebulae 19, 20, 21 and 22 are very, very faint, very small and difficult to observe. The most beautiful is 19, then 20, 21, 22. Although 22 is the smallest of the four, it is the brightest.» [420]

The four nebulae were included in 1888 by the Danish-Irish astronomer Johann (John) Louis Emil Dreyer as NGC 7317, NGC 7318, NGC 7319, NGC 7320 in his «New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars». [313] Stephan's former quartet became a quintet when NGC 7318 emerged as two galaxies and were henceforth called NGC 7318A and NGC 7318B. The American astronomer Halton Arp listed this group under the name Arp 319 in his 1966 «Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies» as an example of a group of galaxies. [199]

Stephans Quintet
Stephans Quintet: Image taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. © NASA, ESA, Hubble SM4 ERO Team [421]

Paul Hickson lists this group of galaxies in his 1993 «Atlas of Compact Groups of Galaxies" as HCG 92. He wrote: «This is the famous group of Stephan's Quintet, also Arp 319 and VV 228. It consists of a compact quartet plus a bright, lower redshift, spiral galaxy (NGC 7320). The quartet has a relatively high velocity dispersion and a short crossing time. The distorted galaxy (NGC 7319) is an infrared and radio source.» [166]

Physical Properties

The brightest and largest galaxy in this quintet is NGC 7320. It does not belong to the group, but has a much smaller redshift and is in the foreground at a distance of about 14-18 Mpc, while the other galaxies are about 90-97 Mpc. [145] It is believed that it could be the physical companion of the larger galaxies NGC 7331, which is roughly the same distance away. A little further east is another small galaxy: NGC 7320C. It is about the same distance as the other galaxies and actually belongs to the group. All members of this group show gravitational interactions with one another. Kinematic studies showed that NGC 7320C and NGC 7318B invaded the group and created the tidal arms. [422]

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 7317 22 35 51.9 +33 56 43 Gx (E4) 14.6 13.6 1.0 13.8 0.4 × 0.4 0.022012 92.98 vF, vS GC 6061; MCG 6-49-38; CGCG 514-60; VV 288; Arp 319; HCG 92E; Stephan's quintet
NGC 7318 A 22 35 56.7 +33 57 58 Gx (E2/P) 14.3 13.4 0.9 13.1 1.2 × 1 5 0.022115 93.41 eF, eS GC 6062; UGC 12099; MCG 6-49-39; CGCG 514-61; VV 288; Arp 319; ARAK 560; HCG 92D; NPM1G +33.0464; Stephan's quintet
NGC 7318 B 22 35 58.3 +33 58 00 Gx (SBbc) 14.0 13.1 0.9 13.2 1.6 × 1.1 99 0.019260 81.35 eF, eS GC 6062; UGC 12100; MCG 6-49-40; CGCG 514-62; Arp 319; VV 288; HCG 92B; NPM1G +33.0464; Stephan's quintet
NGC 7319 22 36 03.5 +33 58 35 Gx (SBbc) 14.1 13.1 1.0 13.8 1.4 × 1.1 52 0.022507 95.07 eF, eS GC 6063; UGC 12102; MCG 6-49-41; CGCG 514-64; IRAS 22337+3342; NPM1G +33.0466; HCG 92C; Arp 319; VV 288; Stephan's quintet
NGC 7320 22 36 03.5 +33 56 54 Gx (Scd) 13.2 12.6 0.6 13.5 2.2 × 1.1 132 0.002622 11.08 15.670 F, vS GC 6064; UGC 12101; MCG 6-49-42; CGCG 514-63; VV 288; Arp 319; HCG 92A; Stephan's quintet
NGC 7320 A 22 36 32.2 +33 47 46 Gx (S0) 16.0 15.0 1.0 12.1 0.4 × 0.2 45 F, vS GC 6064
NGC 7320 B 22 37 28.1 +33 55 24 Gx (S) 15.6 14.8 0.8 12.3 0.6 × 0.2 50 0.021278 89.88 F, vS GC 6064; CGCG 514-72
NGC 7320 C 22 36 20.3 +33 59 08 Gx (SB0-a) 16.7 15.5 1.2 13.4 0.6 × 0.4 172 0.019964 84.33 F, vS GC 6064; MCG 6-49-43; NPM1G +33.0467; Member of Stephan's quintet?

Finder Chart

The galaxy group is located in the constellation Pegasus. The larger and brighter galaxy NGC 7331 can be used as a search aid. Stephen's quintet is only half a degree southwest of it. The best observation time is June to December.

Finder Chart Stephans Quintet (Hickson 92)
Stephans Quintet (Hickson 92) in constellation Pegasus. 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]

Visual Observation

762 mm Öffnung: The five galaxies listed as Stephen's Quintet, NGC 7317, NGC 7318A, NGC 7318B, NGC 7319 and NGC 7320, are easily recognizable. The sixth galaxy in the group, NGC 7320C (PGC 68279), can be found and verified by means of the surrounding stars. — 30" f/3.3 Slipstream Dobsonian, Hasliberg, 26. 10. 2019, SQM 21.17, Eduard von Bergen

762 mm Aperture: All five members of Stephen's quintet (NGC 7317, 7318A, 7318B, 7319, 7320) were clearly visible. A more detailed description was omitted due to advanced tiredness in the early morning hour. — 30" Slipstream Dobsonian, Hasliberg, 14. 8. 2021 Bernd Nies, Eduard von Bergen

Objects Within a Radius of 20°

References