Peculiar Spiral Galaxy NGC 2976

This is a 10.5 minute exposure with an ST-6 CCD camera thru Kopernik's 20-inch F/8.1 telescope. The field of view is about 5x7 arc minutes.

Quote from the Deep Sky Field Guide to Uranometria 2000:

Very small, bright stellar nucleus; many stellar condensations.

Quote from Burnham's Celestial Handbook:

.....in addition to M-81 and M-82, this galaxy group also contains the peculiar galaxies NGC 3077 and 2976, the faint irregular systems NGC 2366, IC 2574 and Ho II, and possibly a few other faint members. The large spiral NGC 2403 in Camelopardalis also appears to be a dynamical member of this group.

The fourth member of the M-81 group is NGC 2976, located about 1.4 Degrees from M-81 toward the SSW. This is another odd galaxy, usually classed as a spiral of type Sd although very little evidence of spiral structure appears on photographs. The outline is elliptical; there does not appear to be any definite nucleus, and the entire surface of the galaxy is resolved into a mottled conglomeration of star clouds and dust patches. This is another dwarf system with a computed diameter of about 7,000 light years.

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• NGC 2976
• Magnitude: 11.0
• Constellation: Ursa Major
• RA: 09h 47m 15.6s
• Dec: +67d 54' 50" Epoch 2000
• Size (mins): 5.9 x 2.7
• Classification: SAc pec IV
                          Spiral, peculiarities, Luminosity Class IV (i.e. dim)
  
  

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George Normandin, KAS

December 23rd, 1997