NGC 672 is a

spiral galaxy Spiral galaxies form a class of galaxy originally described by Edwin Hubble in his 1936 work ''The Realm of the Nebulae''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 origins of the e ...

of Triangulum, positioned around 2° to the southwest of the star

Alpha Trianguli Alpha Trianguli (α Trianguli, abbreviated Alpha Tri, α Tri) is a spectroscopic binary star in the constellation of Triangulum. Based on parallax measurements obtained during the Hipparcos mission, it is approximatel ...

. The original object designated NGC 672 was discovered by the German-born astronomer William Herschel on 26 October 1786, but this was later cataloged as NGC 614. The object now identified as NGC 672 was discovered by

John Herschel Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet (; 7 March 1792 – 11 May 1871) was an English polymath active as a mathematician, astronomer, chemist, inventor, experimental photographer who invented the blueprint and did botanical wor ...

on 11 November 1827. ''This link refers to NGC 627, not NGC 672'' This galaxy is located at a distance of approximately from the Milky Way, where it forms an interacting pair with the irregular galaxy IC 1727. In the

neutral hydrogen The hydrogen line, 21 centimeter line, or H I line is the electromagnetic radiation spectral line that is created by a change in the energy state of neutral hydrogen atoms. This electromagnetic radiation has a precise frequency of , w ...

radio band, a tidal bridge is observed between the galaxies. NGC 672 appears to be the more massive of the two, and hence IC 1727 shows more distortion from the interaction. Together they form members of a combined group of galaxies that includes

NGC 784 NGC 784 is a barred spiral galaxy about 16.0 Mly away in the constellation Triangulum. NGC 784 is located within the Virgo Supercluster The Virgo Supercluster (Virgo SC) or the Local Supercluster (LSC or LS) is a mass concentration of gala ...

. The morphological classification of NGC 672 is SB(s)cd, which indicates this is a barred spiral galaxy (SB), with no ring structure around the central bar (s), and moderately to loosely-wound spiral arms. In the visual spectrum, the galaxy appears symmetrical with clearly defined spiral arms. It is gas-rich with an estimated mass of 38 billion times the

mass of the Sun The solar mass () is a standard unit of mass in astronomy, equal to approximately . It is often used to indicate the masses of other stars, as well as stellar clusters, nebulae, galaxies and black holes. It is approximately equal to the mass ...

and a star formation rate of yr⁻¹.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:NGC 672 Barred spiral galaxies Interacting galaxies Triangulum 0672 01256 06595 Galaxies discovered in 1786