Deep Sky Object in Winter
HCG23 (Galaxy Group in Eridanus)


Date & Time: Nov 14 2020, from 24:18 to 25:24 JST(+0900)
Composed 12 shots with 6 minutes exposed
Optical: Meade 25cm(10") Schmidt-Cassegrain with conversion lens (f=1600mm, F6.3)
with BaaderPlanetarium Moon&Skyglow filter
Auto-guided with Meade LX200 Equatorial & Lacerta M-GEN
Digital Camera: Nikon D810A
Location: Ooizumi, Hokuto city, Yamanashi pref.

Camera Settings: Recording Format...14bit CCD-RAW, converted to 16bit TIFF(4080×4080)
Device Size...20×20mm
Sensitivity...ISO4000, White Balance...Daylight


This picture shows you a galaxy group of the Hickson Compact Group (HCG) 23 and neighboring galaxies that positions at about 2.7 degrees ESE of η Eridani in the northern region of the constellation. The brightest one in HCG23 is NGC1215 (HCG23B) spiral that has a long axis of a bit smaller than 2 arc minutes and a brightness of 15th magnitude. The group contains compact five galaxies from A to E. The distance has been estimated as about 250 million light years. More, a lenticular galaxy of NGC1208 not belonging to the group is 13.4th magnitude, the brightest one in this image.
Numbers with 4 digits represent NGC #
NGC1214 / Galaxy, type SB(rs)0+?
R.A.03h 06m 56.0s (2000.0)
Dec.-09°32' 37" (2000.0)
Apparent Size1.3×0.4'
Radial Velocity+4841km/s
Magnitude15.0
Distance210 million light yrs.
Group of Galaxies -
Other IDsHickson 23A, MCG -2-8-51
PGC 11675
NGC1215 / Galaxy, type (R)SAB(r)a pec
R.A.03h 07m 09.5s (2000.0)
Dec.-09°35' 33" (2000.0)
Apparent Size1.8×1.1'
Radial Velocity+4921km/s
Magnitude15.0
Distance216 million light yrs.
Group of Galaxies -
Other IDsHickson 23B, MCG -2-8-55
PGC 11687
NGC1208 / Galaxy, type SA(r)0/a?
R.A.03h 06m 11.9s (2000.0)
Dec.-09°32' 29" (2000.0)
Apparent Size1.7×0.8'
Radial Velocity+4607km/s
Magnitude13.4
Distance198 million light yrs.
Group of Galaxies -
Other IDsMCG -2-8-47, IRAS 3037-943
PGC 11647



HCG21
HCG31

Copyright(c) 2020 by Naoyuki Kurita, All rights reserved.
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