Galaxy NGC 2782 (Arp 215)

NGC 2782
NGC 2782: Galaxie in Lynx; 500 mm Cassegrain f/7.2; SBIG STL11K; 240-60-60-60 min LRGB; Bernese Highlands; © 2019 Radek Chromik [32]

History

On 18 March 1787 the German-British astronomer William Herschel pointed his large 18.7 inch reflective telescope to the sky and saw a bright nebula drifting by, which he cataloged as I 167 and described as «considerably bright, round, bright nucleus, 1.5' diameter». [464] His son John included it in his 1864 «Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars» as GC 1778. [467] Dreyer included it as NGC 2782. [313]

In Halton Arp's 1966 «Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies», the galaxy NGC 2782 is listed as Arp 215. He noted: «Diffuse outer arms.» [199]

Physical Properties

NGC 2782 is a Seyfert 2 Galaxy of morphological type S_AB. The peculiar shape is due to a merger with a smaller galaxy of about a quarter of the mass. It is estimated that this took place about 200 million years ago. This merger produced two tidal arms rich in H-I. [519] With a redshift of z=0.008503 the estimated distances range from 38.6 to 41.7 Mpc. The small edge-on galaxy UGC 4872 shows a redshift of z=0.02744 and is 119 Mpc. It is much further away. [145]

«Catalogue of Principal Galaxies» Paturel et al., 1989 [144]
PGC RA Dec Type Dim Btot HRV PA Names
PGC 26034 09 14 05.5 +40 06 52 SB 3.7 x 2.4 12.3 2559 NGC 2782, UGC 4862, MCG 7-19-36, CGCG 209-31, ARP 215, IRAS 9108+4019, KUG 910+403
PGC 26086 09 14 59.2 +40 03 31 SB 1.9 x .2 15.8 12 UGC 4872, MCG 7-19-41

Finder Chart

The galaxy NGC 2782 is located in constellation Lynx. The best time for observation is November to April, when it is high in the sky during night.

Finder Chart Galaxy NGC 2782 (Arp 215)
Galaxy NGC 2782 (Arp 215) in constellation Lynx. 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 Aperture: The circular mother galaxy is named NGC 2782. It shows up with a somewhat washed out but still star point shaped core. To the right of the adjacent star, a hint of nothingness or a tidal arm can be perceived briefly only indirectly a few times. — 30" SlipStream-Dobson f/3.3, Hasliberg, 14. 2. 2023, Eduard von Bergen

Objects Within a Radius of 15°

References