A Minuet of Galaxies
This troupe of four galaxies, known as Hickson Compact Group 87 (HCG 87), is performing an intricate dance orchestrated by the mutual gravitational forces acting between them. The dance is a slow, graceful minuet, occurring over a time span of hundreds of millions of years.
Credit:About the Image
NASA press release
| Id: | opo9931a |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 2 September 1999, 18:00 |
| Size: | 1500 x 1470 px |
About the Object
| Name: | HCG 87, Hickson Compact Group 87 |
| Type: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Grouping : Cluster |
| Distance: | 400 million light years |
| Constellation: | Capricornus |
| Category: | Galaxies |
Wallpapers
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 20 48 12.11 |
| Position (Dec): | -19° 50' 34.87" |
| Field of view: | 2.49 x 2.44 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 45.7° left of vertical |
View in ESASky:
View in WorldWide Telescope:
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
|---|---|---|
| Optical B | 450 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |
| Optical V | 555 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |
| Optical R | 675 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |
| Infrared I | 814 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |