Arp 322 / Hickson Compact Group 56
| Designation(s) | Arp 322, Hickson Compact Group #56 |
| Object Type(s) | Galaxy |
| Relevant Catalog(s) | All (Chron), Arp |
| Arp Category | Chains of galaxies |
| Obs. Lat/Long | 42° 17', 073° 57' |
| Constellation | Ursa Major |
| Date and Time Observed | 2025-05-11 23:59:00 |
| Instrument | EdgeHD 8" w/f7 reducer-1,422mm FL |
| Camera | Player One Apollo-M Mini |
| Image Details | Up is 89.4 degrees E of N. Transparency: Fair. Seeing: Fair. Total integration time was 24m15s. Exposures 15s@300g, UV/IR Cut Filter. Dithered and recentered in SharpCap. No guiding. |
| Description | The first observation following a clear day, but with a full moon. As it turned out clear enough. Arp categorizes these four galaxies as a "chain of galaxies", presumably because they're connected by tidal links, best seen in the inverted images. The connection to the top galaxy (Hickson 56E) is tenuous, but hinted at in both Arp's image and mine. Hickson includes a 5th galaxy in his group, which is visible in the featured image but is excluded from Arp 322 due to the lack of obvious connection. It is the largest in the group, an edge-on spiral, and Hickson designates it as 56A, aka MCG 9-19-113. Hickson A and D are Seyfert Galaxies, meaning they have bright, active nuclei, a form of Active Galactic Nuclei, most likely generated by supermassive black holes. NGC 3718 is NOT part of Arp 322, but is listed separately as Arp 214. |
| Related Observations | Arp214 (2) Arp322 (2) |
| Catalog Links | <Previous | Arp Listings | Next> |
