Galaxy NGC 908

NGC 908
NGC 908: Image taken with FORS2 on VLT in Chile © ESO 2000 [640]

History

This galaxy was discovered by William Herschel on 20 September 1789 using his 18.7 inch reflector. He cataloged it as I 153 and noted: «Considerably bright, very large, extended, south proceeding, north following, above 15' length.» [463] Dreyer added it as NGC 908 to his «New General Catalogue» published in 1888. [313]

Physical Properties

NGC 908 is a spiral galaxy in a distance of 65 million light-years and 75 000 light-years in size. It is a starburst galaxy that is undergoing a phase where many stars are born at a high rate. Clusters of young and massive stars can be seen in the spiral arms. The galaxy also presents uneven and thick spiral arms, indicating that it suffered a close encounter with another galaxy, even none is visible today. [640]

Revised+Historic NGC/IC Version 22/9, © 2022 Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke [277]
Designation NGC 908
Type Gx (SBc)
Right Ascension (J2000.0) 02h 23m 04.6s
Declination (J2000.0) -21° 14' 00"
Diameter 6.1 × 2.7 arcmin
Photographic (blue) magnitude 10.8 mag
Visual magnitude 10.2 mag
Surface brightness 13.0 mag·arcmin-2
Position Angle 75°
Redshift (z) 0.005033
Distance derived from z 21.26 Mpc
Metric Distance 17.620 Mpc
Dreyer Description cB, vL, E
Identification, Remarks WH I 153; GC 536; ESO 545-11; MCG -4-6-35; UGCA 29; IRAS 02207-2127

Finder Chart

The galaxy NGC 908 is located in the constellation Cetus, close to Eridanus and Fornax. The best observation time is September to December.

Finder Chart Galaxy NGC 908
Galaxy NGC 908 in constellation Cetus. 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 25°

References