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NGC 1532
ESO359-G027
RA 04:12:04
Dec -32°52.3'
Galaxy |
Dunlop 600: "an extremely faint
ill-defined nebula, rather elongated in the direction of the meridian, gradualy
a little brighter towards the centre."
h: B, vL, vmE, 5' long; A fine and curious
object. The following and brighter of two. In the ray is either a very faint
star or a knot in the nebula." On a second occasion he called it "a
bright ray; pretty suddenly much brighter in the middle; 4' long, the S.f. of
two." On the next sweep he called it "pretty suddenly brighter in the
middle, full 7' long, position 32.2 degrees." The second object mentioned
is NGC 1531. In his comments on NGC 134, NGC 1532 and NGC 3109 he writes: "These
figures exhibit elliptical nebulae normal in their character - that is to say,
in which, as the condensation increases towards the middle, the ellipticity of
the strata diminishes, or in which the interior and denser portions are
obviously more nearly spherical than the exterior and rarer. A great number of
such nebulae, of every variety of ellipticity and central condensation are
figured in my Northern Catalogue. Regarding the spherical as only a particular
case of the elliptical form, and a stellar nucleus as only the extreme stage of
condensation, at least nine-tenths of the whole nebulous contents of the heavens
will be found to belong to this class - so that, as regards a low and a
structure, the induction which refers them as a class to the operation of
similar causes, and assumes the prevalence within them of similar dynamical
conditions, is most full and satisfactory. To abstain altogether from
speculation as to what may be the nature of those causes and conditions, and to
refuse all attempts to reconcile the phenomena of so large and so definite a
class of cosmical existences with mechanical laws taken in their most general
acceptation, would be to err on the side of excessive caution, and
unphilosophical timidity. The time is clearly arrived for attempting to form
some conception at least of the possibility of such a system being either held
in a state of permanent equilibrium, or of progressing through a series of
regular and normal changes, resulting either in periodical restorations of a
former state, or in some final consummation."
Hartung notes that “this fine field with
a few scattered stars contains two bright nebulae, one somewhat elliptical about
1’ long and almost at a right angle to the immediately following long
narrow spindle with round bright centre, and about 5’ x 1’ in pa 35
deg. Both objects are visible with 10.5cm.”
Houston observed this galaxy with 20x 5-inch
binoculars as "one of a hard-to-see pair of galaxies in an easy-to-find
field . . . several minutes were required to glimpse this 5' x 1' spiral, but
then it was held steadily."
Tom Lorenzin: “11.8M; 5'x 1' extent;
large slash with much brighter center;”
Steve Gottlieb, 13-inch: “bright, large,
pretty edge-on 5:1 SW-NE, very bright nucleus, thin extensions. Forms a close
pair with N1531 1.6' NW.”
Steve Coe, observing with a 13” f/5.6,
notes: “Pretty bright, pretty large, very elongated with a bright nucleus
at 135X. This edge-on and the round NGC 1531 make an interesting pair.”
RNGC: S,EL,MINC,BM,DKLNS DIF EXTENSIONS OFF
PLANE.
A supernova erupted in this galaxy in 1981
(13.5v). |
