Galaxy NGC 2859

NGC 2859
NGC 2859: Galaxy in Leo Minor; 500 mm Cassegrain 3625 mm f/7.2; SBIG STL11K; 230-40-40-40 min LRGB; Bernese Highlands; © 2014 Radek Chromik [32]

History

This galaxy was discovered on 28 March 1786 by the German-British astronomer William Herschel with his self-made 18.7 inch f/12.8 reflecting telescope in Slough, England. He listed it under the designation I 137. He classified his discoveries according to purely visual impressions, where I stands for bright nebulae. The description reads: «Very bright, round, very suddenly much brighter in the middle, chevelure 3' diameter.» [464] Dreyer listed the galaxy as NGC 2859 in 1888. [313]

Physical Properties

The distance of this galaxy is given as 21 to 27 Mpc. [145]

Revised+Historic NGC/IC Version 22/9, © 2022 Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke [277]
Designation NGC 2859
Type Gx (SB0-a)
Right Ascension (J2000.0) 09h 24m 18.6s
Declination (J2000.0) +34° 30' 48"
Diameter 4.6 × 4.1 arcmin
Photographic (blue) magnitude 11.8 mag
Visual magnitude 10.9 mag
Surface brightness 13.8 mag·arcmin-2
Position Angle 85°
Redshift (z) 0.005627
Distance derived from z 23.77 Mpc
Metric Distance 25.400 Mpc
Dreyer Description vB, pL, R, smbM
Identification, Remarks UGC 5001, MCG 6-21-30, CGCG 181-40

Finder Chart

The galaxy NGC 2859 is located in the constellation Leo Minor. The best viewing time is October to June.

Finder Chart Galaxy NGC 2859
Galaxy NGC 2859 in constellation Leo Minor. 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]

More Objects Nearby (±15°)

References

  • [32] Astrofotografie by Radek, Bernie and Dragan; sternwarte.ch
  • [145] SIMBAD astronomical database; simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad
  • [149] SkySafari 6 Pro, Simulation Curriculum; skysafariastronomy.com
  • [160] The STScI Digitized Sky Survey; archive.stsci.edu/cgi-bin/dss_form
  • [277] «Historische Deep-Sky Kataloge» von Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke; klima-luft.de/steinicke (2021-02-17)
  • [313] «A New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars, being the Catalogue of the late Sir John F.W. Herschel, Bart., revised, corrected, and enlarged» Dreyer, J. L. E. (1888); Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society. 49: 1–237; Bibcode:1888MmRAS..49....1D
  • [464] «Catalogue of a second thousand of new nebulae and clusters of stars; with a few introductory remarks on the construction of the heavens» William Herschel, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 1 January 1789; DOI:10.1098/rstl.1789.0021