| Compact
Galaxy Group
NGC 6975, 6976, 6977 and 6978 Visual Magnitude: 12.2 Apparent Diameter: 10.4' Distance: 240 Mly Minimum requirements to view: 10-inch telescope under very dark skies |
Hickson 88 is a cluster of four faint spiral galaxies in Aquarius which lie within an 10' field. The brightest galaxies are NGC 6977 (13.9 magnitude) and NGC 6978 (14.0). The bright cores of these galaxies may be visible in apertures as small as eight inches from very dark locations. The other two galaxies are somewhat fainter. NGC 6976 is 14.5 magnitude and NGC 6975 is 15.5. The latter can be a challenge even in large aperture instruments.
In my 18-inch f/4.5 Dob NGC 6976 and NGC 6977 were the most apparent. They appeared as small, faint elongated blobs with very indistinct edges. NGC 6975 proved to be the most difficult, revealing itself with averted vision and higher magnification.
NGC 6977 is a face-on barred spiral which subtends 1.3' x 0.9'. NGC 6978 is a nearly face-on spiral of about the same size. NGC 6976 is another face-on spiral that is a bit smaller. The final member is NGC 6975, which is the lone edge-on spiral. It subtends 1.1' x 0.2'.
The view in 1n 18" telescope at 230x. North is down and East is right.
This image is from the Digital Sky Survey generated
with SkyView.
| Millennium
Star Atlas Vol III Chart 1312
Sky Atlas 2000 Chart 16 Uranometria 2000 Vol II Chart 299 |
