HCG 87 is a compact

group of galaxies A galaxy group or group of galaxies (GrG) is an aggregation of galaxies comprising about 50 or fewer gravitationally bound members, each at least as luminous as the Milky Way (about 1010 times the luminosity of the Sun); collections of galaxies ...

listed in the

Hickson Compact Group A Hickson Compact Group (abbreviation: HCG) is a collection of Galaxy, galaxies designated as published by Paul Hickson in 1982. The most famous group on Hickson's list of 100 objects is HCG 92, Stephan's Quintet. Hickson Compact Groups Accordin ...

Catalogue. This group is about 400 million

light-year A light-year, alternatively spelled light year (ly or lyr), is a unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equal to exactly , which is approximately 9.46 trillion km or 5.88 trillion mi. As defined by the International Astr ...

s away in the

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellati ...

Capricornus Capricornus is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for "horned goat" or "goat Horn (anatomy), horn" or "having horns like a goat's", and it is commonly represented in the form of a sea goat: a mythical creature that is hal ...

. The group distinguishes itself as one of the most compact groups of galaxies, hosting two

active galactic nuclei An active galactic nucleus (AGN) is a compact region at the center of a galaxy that emits a significant amount of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum, with characteristics indicating that this luminosity is not produced by the stars. Such e ...

and a starburst among its three members, all of which show signs of interaction. This interaction, which astronomers have called visually, and scientifically, intriguing English, J. et al. 05/2000. "A Minuet of Galaxies: Hickson Compact Group 87 as Viewed by the Hubble Space Telescope". American Astronomical Society, 195th AAS Meeting, #136.04; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 32, p.884. is being examined to understand the influence of active nuclei on star formation histories.

Members

External links

Astronomy Picture of the Day Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest include ...

Galaxy Group HCG 87
– 2003 July 31

– 2010 July 6

References

87 Galaxy clusters Capricornus {{galaxy-stub