Edge-on Spiral Galaxy NGC 5170 in Virgo

This image was taken with an ST-9E CCD camera thru Kopernik's 20-inch F/8.1 Ritchey Chretien Cassegrain telescope.

Quote from the Deep Sky Field Guide to Uranometria 2000:

"Very small, very bright nucleus in small bright bulge partly obscured by dark lane. Similar to NGC 4565. Several faint companions nearby."

NGC 5170 has one of the smallest bulges of the edge-on spirals. Very-low-surface-brightness dwarf elliptical galaxy (dE) companions exist, evidently associated with the main galaxy. Based upon published red-shift data, a rough distance estimate for NGC 5170 is 79 million light years. At that distance the diameter would be 227,000 light years.

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• NGC 5170
• Magnitude: 12.1
• Constellation: Virgo
• RA: 13h 29m 49.0s
• Dec: -17° 57' 59" Epoch 2000
• Size (mins): 8.3' x 1.0'
• Classification: Edge-on Spiral Galaxy
  
  

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George Normandin, KAS

July 3rd, 2002