NGC 7331 Galaxy Group

NGC 7331: Group of galaxies in Pegasus; 500 mm Cassegrain 5800 mm f/11.4; SBIG STL11K; 120+10+10+10 min LRGB; Bernese Highlands; © 2005 Radek Chromik

Galaxie NGC 7331

The galaxy NGC 7331 was discovered by William Herschel on 6th September 1785. Distances range from 12.8 Mpc to 16.2 Mpc (41 to 53 million light years). With a diameter of 120'000 light-years, it is about the same size, shape and mass as our Milky Way, and has a similar rate of star formation. But unlike our Milky Way, NGC 7331 is not a barred spiral, but a spiral galaxy of morphological type SAb and with a LINER-type active core. [145, 196, 205]

Revised+Historic NGC/IC, Version 22/9, © Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke [277]
DesignationNGC 7331
TypeGx (Sbc)
Right Ascension (J2000.0)22h 37m 05.1s
Declination (J2000.0)+34° 25' 13"
Diameter10.2 × 4.2 arcmin
Photographic (blue) magnitude10.4 mag
Visual magnitude9.5 mag
Surface brightness13.3 mag·arcmin-2
Position Angle171°
Redshift0.002722
Distance derived from z11.50 Mpc
Metric Distance13.940 Mpc
Dreyer DescriptionB, pL, pmE 163°, smbM
Identification, RemarksUGC 12113, MCG 6-49-45, CGCG 514-68

Galaxies NGC 7335, 7336, 7337, 7340

The radial velocities, which are a factor of seven to ten higher, reveal that these galaxies are not companions of NGC 7331, but that they are much further away, namely 304 to 414 million light years. They just happen to be in the same line of sight. Apparent magnitudes are around 15 mag. [204]

Revised+Historic NGC/IC, Version 22/9, © Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke [277]
NameRADecTypebMagvMagB-VSBDimPAzD(z)MDDreyer DescriptionIdentification, Remarks
NGC 733522 37 19.5+34 26 54Gx (S0-a)14.413.31.113.01.2 × 0.61510.02106588.98vF, vS (B of Ld R)UGC 12116, MCG 6-49-47, CGCG 514-69, NPM1G +34.0449
NGC 733622 37 21.9+34 28 56Gx (S)15.314.50.813.10.8 × 0.41390.029354123.9eF, vS (C)MCG 6-49-49, NPM1G +34.0450
NGC 733722 37 26.6+34 22 26Gx (SBab)15.214.40.814.01 × 0.81770.02195292.72eF, S, stellar (E)UGC 12120, MCG 6-49-50, CGCG 514-71
NGC 734022 37 44.1+34 24 38Gx (E?)14.713.71.013.00.9 × 0.61620.02134890.17vF, vS, (D of Ld R)MCG 6-49-52, CGCG 514-75, NPM1G +34.0452

Finder Chart

NGC 7331 is located in the constellation of Pegasus and is most often used as a starting point for Stephan's Quintet.

Finder Chart NGC 7331 Galaxy Group
NGC 7331 Galaxy Group 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

320 mm aperture: NGC 7331 appears as an elongated, oval galaxy. With 9.5 mag it offers a good brightness to be found with a small and medium-sized telescope.

The four neighboring galaxies are of interest to larger amateur telescopes. NGC 7336 is the smallest of the four companion galaxies. The brightnesses are 14.7 mag for NGC 7335, 14.9 mag for NGC 7340, and the two faint companions NGC 7336 and NGC 7337 each have 15.4 mag. These galaxies are truly a test of sky transparency and a 12.5 inch telescope. [192]

12.5" Ninja-Dobson, F:4.5 / TV-Radian 8mm, 181x, 0.33
Eduard von Bergen, 2005

More Objects Nearby (±15°)

References