| NGC 779 | |
|---|---|
 NGC 779 as seen bySDSS | |
| Observation data (J2000epoch) | |
| Constellation | Cetus |
| Right ascension | 01h 59m 42.3s[1] |
| Declination | −05° 57′ 48″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.004640 ± 0.000013[1] |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 1,391 ± 4km/s[1] |
| Distance | 59 ± 11Mly (18.3 ± 3.3Mpc)[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 11.2 |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SAB(r)b[1] |
| Apparent size (V) | 4.0′ × 1.2′[1] |
| Other designations | |
| MCG -01-06-016,PGC 7544[1] | |
NGC 779 is aspiral galaxy seen edge-on, located in the constellationCetus. It is located at a distance of circa 60 millionlight years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 779 is about 70,000 light years across. It was discovered byWilliam Herschel on September 10, 1785.[2]
NGC 779 features a bright nucleus and an elliptical or boxybulge. It is seen with high inclination. The innerarms are tightly wound and form an inner pseudoring with high surface brightness. A break is seen at the northwest side of the pseudoring and may be due to dust extinction. The disk has lower surface brightness and is smooth, with no pronounced star-forming knots.[3] The spiral pattern of the galaxy gas been described either as multiple-armed[4] orgrand-design two-armed spiral.[3]
NGC 779 forms a smallgalaxy group with UGCA 024, known as the NGC 779 group.[5] NGC 779 is considered to be part of the Cetus II cloud, which also includesNGC 584,NGC 681,NGC 720, and their groups, although it could also lie in the foreground.[6]
The galaxy is included in theHerschel 400 Catalogue. It lies about five degrees northeast fromZeta Ceti. It can be seen with a smalltelescope at moderate magnification, with its core being more easily detected.[7]
