Seyfert's Sextet
Encyclopedia
Seyfert's Sextet is a group of galaxies about 190 million
light-year
s away in the constellation
Serpens Caput. The group appears to contain six members, but one of the galaxies is a background object and another "galaxy" is actually a separated part of one of the other galaxies. The gravitational interaction among these galaxies should continue for hundreds of millions of years. Ultimately, the galaxies will merge to form a single giant elliptical galaxy
.
using photographic plates made at the Barnard Observatory
of Vanderbilt University
. When these results were first published in 1951, this group was the most compact group ever identified.
1 E22 m
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this page lists distances starting at 10 Zm .Distances shorter than 10 Zm* 24 Zm — 2.5 million light years — Distance to the Andromeda Galaxy...
light-year
Light-year
A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres...
s away in the constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
Serpens Caput. The group appears to contain six members, but one of the galaxies is a background object and another "galaxy" is actually a separated part of one of the other galaxies. The gravitational interaction among these galaxies should continue for hundreds of millions of years. Ultimately, the galaxies will merge to form a single giant elliptical galaxy
Elliptical galaxy
An elliptical galaxy is a galaxy having an approximately ellipsoidal shape and a smooth, nearly featureless brightness profile. They range in shape from nearly spherical to highly flat and in size from hundreds of millions to over one trillion stars...
.
Discovery
The group was discovered by Carl Keenan SeyfertCarl Keenan Seyfert
Carl Keenan Seyfert was an American astronomer.He is best known for his 1943 research paper on high-excitation line emission from the centers of some spiral galaxies, which are named Seyfert galaxies after him...
using photographic plates made at the Barnard Observatory
Barnard Observatory
Barnard Observatory was a U.S. astronomical observatory owned and operated by University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. Completed in 1859, it was part of the astronomy focus that chancellor Frederick A.P. Barnard had for the school. Due to the outbreak of the Civil War, though, the purchase...
of Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
. When these results were first published in 1951, this group was the most compact group ever identified.
Members
| Name | Type | Distance from Sun Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields... (million ly Light-year A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres... ) |
Magnitude Apparent magnitude The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere... |
|---|---|---|---|
| NGC 6027 NGC 6027 NGC 6027 is a Lenticular galaxy that is the brightest member of Seyfert's Sextet, a compact group of galaxies. Edouard Stephan discovered the galaxy in 1882.- See also :* NGC 6027a* NGC 6027b* NGC 6027c* NGC 6027d* NGC 6027e* Seyfert's Sextet... |
S0 pec. | ~190 | +14.7 |
| NGC 6027a NGC 6027a NGC 6027a is a spiral galaxy that is part of Seyfert's Sextet, a compact group of galaxies, which is located in the constellation Serpens. In optical wavelengths, it has a strong resemblance to Messier 104, the Sombrero Galaxy, with which it shares a near equivalent orientation to observers on... |
S0 pec. | ~190 | +15.4 |
| NGC 6027b NGC 6027b NGC 6027b is a galaxy that is part of Seyfert's Sextet, a compact group of galaxies, which is located in the constellation Serpens.- See also :* NGC 6027* NGC 6027a* NGC 6027c* NGC 6027d* NGC 6027e* Seyfert's Sextet- External links :*... |
SAa pec. | ~190 | +15.4 |
| NGC 6027c NGC 6027c NGC 6027c is a galaxy that is part of Seyfert's Sextet, a compact group of galaxies, which is located in the constellation Serpens.- See also :* NGC 6027* NGC 6027a* NGC 6027b* NGC 6027d* NGC 6027e* Seyfert's Sextet- External links :*... |
SB(S)c | ~190 | +16 |
| NGC 6027d NGC 6027d NGC 6027d is a spiral galaxy that is part of Seyfert's Sextet, a compact group of galaxies, which is located in the constellation Serpens. NGC 6027d is not actually interacting with the other galaxies in the cluster, but is in the background and just happens to be in the same line of sight.- See... |
SB(S)bc pec. | ~190 | +15.6 |
| NGC 6027e NGC 6027e NGC 6027e is a tidal trail of NGC 6027 that is part of Seyfert's Sextet, a compact group of galaxies, which is located in the constellation Serpens.-See also:* NGC 6027* NGC 6027a* NGC 6027b* NGC 6027c* NGC 6027d* Seyfert's Sextet-External links:*... |
SB0 pec. | ~190 | +16.5 |
See also
- Robert's QuartetRobert's QuartetRobert's Quartet is a compact galaxy group approximately 160 million light-years away in the constellation Phoenix. It is a family of four very different galaxies in the process of colliding and merging. Its members are NGC 87, NGC 88, NGC 89 and NGC 92, discovered by John Herschel in the...
- another compact group - Stephan's QuintetStephan's QuintetStephan's Quintet in the constellation Pegasus is a visual grouping of five galaxies of which four form the first compact galaxy group ever discovered. The group was discovered by Édouard Stephan in 1877 at Marseilles Observatory....
- a well-known compact group