|
NGC 300
MCG-06-03-005
RA 00:54:50
Dec -37°41.8'
Galaxy 
|
This spiral galaxy was discovered by Sir John
Herschel at the Cape of Good Hope with an 18-inch f/13 speculum telescope. He
recorded it on three occasions, the first time on the night of September 1,
1834. He called it "bright; very large; very gradually pretty much brighter
towards the middle; very much elongated; irregular figure; 8' to 10' long, 3' or
4' broad; has subordinate nuclei." His sketch indicates four regions of
nebulosity. Three nights later, he noted it as "faint, very large, very
gradually brighter towards the middle; 4' long; 2' broad; has another nebula
attached." He noted 10.4' to the west a "very faint nebula attached to
the large one, or a subordinate nucleus." On 30 November 1837 he wrote: "A
large oval nebula, containing three stars." He had tentatively identified
it with Dunlop 530, but noted: "Mr. Dunlop's neb 530 is described by him as
easily resolvable into very minute stars,. Its identity with this is therefore
very doubtful."
In the Notes to the NGC, Dreyer writes: "A
complex object with several nuclei."
Hartung calls it a "diffuse haze rising
broadly to the centre, irregular and extended generally west-east, about 3' x 2'"
as seen with a 12-inch reflector. With a 6-inch he calls it a "faint,
indefinite haze."
Van den Bergh (“A Nearby Cluster of
Galaxies”, Observatory, 83, December 1963, 257) derives the distance to the
cluster as 2.0 Mpc, only about three times the distance to M31. Galaxies listed
are NGC 45, 55, 247, 253, 300, 7793.
Sanford writes: "It is a member of the
South Galactic Pole group of galaxies, which includes NGC 45, NGC 55, NGC 247,
NGC 253, NGC 300, and NGC 7793. This loose grouping has been characterized as
the nearest group of galaxies there is beyond the Local Group, which is centred
on our Milky Way Galaxy."
De Vaucouleurs (1956) “Survey of bright
galaxies south of -35° declination”, Mem. Mount Stromlo, No. 13. On
photos taken with the 30-inch Reynolds reflector, 20-inch diaphragm: bright
inner part 19’ x 13.5’, faint outer regions 23’ x 17’.
Remarks: extremely remarkable, well resolved, emmission objects.
Other data: Names: “E295-20”.
Inclination: (face-on, in degrees) 43 Total photoelectric blue mag 8.72 Total
colour index .59 Logarithm of the angular diameter D25 (arcminutes) 2.34 Blue
photographic magnitude 9.00 This galaxy is included in a sample of galaxies with
velocity less than 500km/s with respect to the centroid of the Local Group.
[Nearby Galaxies. Schmidt K.-H., Priebe A., Boller T. (Astron. Nachr. 314, 371
(1993))]
Steve Coe, in “SACNEWS On-line for
November 1996”, observing with a 17.5” f/4.5 at 100X, notes: NGC 300
is at 0 hr 54.9 min and -37 41. I saw it as faint, large, and somewhat brighter
in the middle at 100X. There are four stars seen across the face of this galaxy.
This is a low surface brightness object. Imagine M 33 only 10 degrees above the
horizon.
Tom Lorenzin: “11M; 21'x 14' extent;
large and faint; look for s-shape in this face-on spiral”
10x50: "faint, large,
no bright centre. Next to a rather bright star. Seen without averted vision, but
difficult." (suburban skies, sky ashen grey with very little contrast.) [DC]
11x80: “Like a small
cloud. Very large 19’ x 13’ oval smudge, elongated roughly east-west,
with a 9.5m star immersed in the south-west border. Elongation ratio 10:7. ”
(seeing 3, transparency 3, sky darkness 4, lim.mag. at south pole 6.0 (naked
eye), 10.7 (binoculars at pole) Strong SE wind.) [AS] |
