The M74 Group (also known as the ''NGC 628 Group'') is a small

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 ...

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 ...

Pisces Pisces may refer to: *Pisces (astrology), an astrological sign Astronomy *Pisces (constellation), a constellation ** Pisces Overdensity, an overdensity of stars in the Milky Way's halo that is situated in the Pisces constellation ** Pisces II, a ...

. The face-on

spiral galaxy Spiral galaxies form a galaxy morphological classification, class of galaxy originally described by Edwin Hubble in his 1936 work ''The Realm of the Nebulae''

M74 (NGC 628) is the brightest galaxy within the group. Other members include the peculiar

spiral galaxy Spiral galaxies form a galaxy morphological classification, class of galaxy originally described by Edwin Hubble in his 1936 work ''The Realm of the Nebulae''

NGC 660 NGC 660 is a peculiar and unique polar-ring galaxy located approximately 45 million light-years from Earth in the Pisces constellation. It is the only such galaxy having, as its host, a "late-type lenticular galaxy". It was probably formed when ...

and several smaller irregular galaxies . The M74 Group is one of many galaxy groups that lie within the

Virgo Supercluster The Local Supercluster (LSC or LS), or Virgo Supercluster is a formerly defined supercluster containing the Virgo Cluster and Local Group, which itself contains the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies, as well as others. At least 100 galaxy group ...

Members

The table below lists galaxies that have been consistently identified as group members in the Nearby Galaxies Catalog, the Lyons Groups of Galaxies (LGG) Catalog, and the three group lists created from the Nearby Optical Galaxy sample of Giuricin et al. Other possible members galaxies (galaxies listed in only one or two of the lists from the above references) include the irregular galaxies UGC 891, UGC 1104, UGC 1171, UGC 1175, and UGCA 20.

References

Virgo Supercluster Pisces (constellation) Galaxy clusters {{Galaxy-stub