Before Two Become One

NGC 2207

NGC 2207 and IC 2163
Sketch by Eiji Kato, text by Frank McCabe

This remarkable sketch was made by Eiji Kato using a 47 cm. f/4 reflector and looking out to a distance measured to be 114 to144 million light years. These beautiful, large, interacting spiral galaxies are located in the constellation of Canis Major at R.A. 6 hrs.16 min.22 sec.; Dec. -21° 22′ 21”. The smaller of the two IC 2163 is about the size of our own Milky Way galaxy. Both members were discovered by John Herschel in 1835. Supernova hunters may be familiar with this pair since the brighter, larger member NGC 2207 has been the site of three supernovas in the past 33 years. The visual magnitudes of these galaxies are 12.2 (IC 2163) and 11.6 (NGC 2207). The nuclei of theses spirals are about 1.4′ of an arc apart. In time, galactic cannibalism will complete the merging of this pair.

Hubble Heritage Image from November of 1999 http://heritage.stsci.edu/1999/41/big.html

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