| Compact
Spiral Galaxy
NGC 278, PGC 3051, MCG 8-2-16, Uppsala 528 Integrated Visual Magnitude: 11.5 Mean Surface Brightness: 22.1 mag/arc-sec2 Apparent Diameter: 2.4' x 2.4' Distance: 26 Mly Actual Diameter: 18,000 ly Minimum requirements to view: 6-inch scope and dark skies |
This
is an odd looking, obscure little galaxy whose primary claim to fame is
its appearance in a photograph in Burnham's, although nothing is written
about it. In a wide field eyepiece it looks like a tiny, round smudge
near a distinct grouping of stars. One of the things which makes
this object interesting is that galaxies this small don't typically have
such a high surface brightness; for this reason its appearance is more
like that of a planetary nebula. Even at high magnification it appears
more like a planetary than a galaxy, complete with a central star--the
tiny, nearly stellar, core of the galaxy.
Users of 16-inch or larger
instruments should use at least 400x to look for the presence of dark lanes
between the spiral arms. In my 18-inch on an average night I was
able to see some mottling in the otherwise smooth disk, with a relatively
well defined edge.
The field in an 8-inch at 55x. North is down and east is to the right.
If you wish to be mischievous,
try showing this one to an observing buddy. Claim he's looking at
a planetary nebula and see if he realizes that it's a galaxy instead!
| Millennium
Star Atlas Vol I Chart 84
Sky Atlas 2000 Chart 4 Uranometria 2000 Vol I Chart 60 |
