NGC 672 & IC 1727

Also Known as: Leda 6574 (IC 1727)

Object Type: Barred Spiral Galaxy (NGC 672), Irregular Galaxy (IC 1727)

Constellation: Triangulum

Distance from Earth: 23.42 million light years (NCG 672), 24.3 million light years (IC 1727).

Apparent Magnitude: 11.09 (NGC 627)

Coordinates: RA 01H 47M 54.47627S DEC 27 deg 25 min 57.9948 sec (NGC 672) ...RA 01H 47M 30S DEC 27 deg 20 Min (IC 1727)

Actual Size: 42,000 light years (NGC 672), 40,000 light years (IC 1727)

Apparent Dimensions: 6.17 arc-minutes x 2.29 arc-minutes (NGC 672) ... 5.7 arc-minutes x 2.4 arc-minutes (IC 1727)

Discovered by: The original object designated NGC 672 was discovered by the German-born astronomer William Herschel on 26 October 1786, but this was later cataloged as NGC 614. The object now identified as NGC 672 was discovered by John Herschel on 11 November 1827.
Herschel seemed to have overlooked the neighboring galaxy IC 1727 due to its lower luminosity. It was only discovered on 29th November 1896 by Isaac Roberts with a 20" reflector telescope discovered photographically.

Description: The NGC 672 galaxy forms an interacting pair with the irregular galaxy IC 1727.
The morphological classification of NGC 672 is SB(s)cd, which indicates this is a barred spiral galaxy (SB), with no ring structure around the central bar (s), and moderately to loosely-wound spiral arms. In the visual spectrum, the galaxy appears symmetrical with clearly defined spiral arms. It is gas-rich with an estimated mass of 38 billion times the mass of the Sun. In the neutral hydrogen radio band, a tidal bridge is observed between the galaxies.
NGC 672 appears to be the more massive of the two, and hence IC 1727 shows more distortion from the interaction.
Together they form members of a combined group of galaxies that includes NGC 784.
NGC 672 and IC 1727 are quite the interesting couple. Being only 88,000 light years apart - about the diameter of one of them - they interact extensively, even to the degree that they are encapsulated in a common envelope of shared gas and intermingling stars.
This pair is theorized to be situated along the same dark-matter filament in an otherwise galaxy-sparse part of the universe.
The theory is that the dark matter has focused the regular matter in the region, allowing it to condense into small, irregular galaxies and then into larger spirals by way of hierarchical clustering.
Gravity governs the movements of the cosmos. It draws flocks of galaxies together to form small groups and more massive galaxy clusters, and brings duos so close that they begin to tug at one another. This latter scenario can have extreme consequences, with members of interacting pairs of galaxies often being dramatically distorted, torn apart, or driven to smash into one another, abandoning their former identities and merging to form a single accumulation of gas, dust, and stars. IC 1727 is currently interacting with its near neighbor, NGC 672. The pair’s interactions have triggered peculiar and intriguing phenomena within both objects — most noticeably in IC 1727. The galaxy’s structure is visibly twisted and asymmetric, and its bright nucleus has been dragged off-center. In interacting galaxies such as these, astronomers often see signs of intense star formation and spot newly-formed star clusters. They are thought to be caused by gravity churning, redistributing, and compacting the gas and dust. In fact, astronomers have analyzed the star formation within IC 1727 and NGC 672 and discovered something interesting — observations show that simultaneous bursts of star formation occurred in both galaxies some 20 to 30 and 450 to 750 million years ago. The most likely explanation for this is that the galaxies are indeed an interacting pair, approaching each other every so often and swirling up gas and dust as they pass close by.

Click Below Image(s) for Full Size:

NGC 672 is situated north of the celestial equator and, as such, it is more easily visible from the northern hemisphere. It is best viewed in the Summer months

Platesolve

NGC 672 & IC 1727 Galaxies

Imaging Details
Click to Return to Home Page