| Seyfert's Sextet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Observation data (EpochJ2000) | |
| Constellation(s) | Serpens |
| Right ascension | 15h 59m 11.9s[1] |
| Declination | +20° 45′ 31″[1] |
| Brightest member | NGC 6027 |
| Number of galaxies | 6[1] |
| Other designations | |
| Serpens Sextet, HCG 79,UGC 10116, VV 115, VII Zw 631[1] | |
Seyfert's Sextet is agroup of galaxies about190 millionlight-years away[2] in theconstellationSerpens. The group appears to contain six members, but one of the galaxies,NGC 6027d, is a background object (700 million light years behind the group) and another "galaxy,"NGC 6027e, is actually a part of the tail from galaxyNGC 6027. Thegravitational interaction among these galaxies should continue for hundreds of millions of years. Ultimately, the galaxies will merge to form a single giantelliptical galaxy.
French astronomerÉdouard Stephan discoveredNGC 6027 on 20 March 1882, but he was unable to resolve the individual galaxies in the group.[3] The group members were discovered byCarl Keenan Seyfert using photographic plates made at theBarnard Observatory ofVanderbilt University. When these results were first published in 1951, this group was the most compact group ever identified.[4]
| Name | Type | Distance fromSun (millionly) | Magnitude |
|---|---|---|---|
| NGC 6027 | S0 pec. | ~190 | +14.7 |
| NGC 6027a | Sa pec. | ~190 | +15.4 |
| NGC 6027b | S0 pec. | ~190 | +15.4 |
| NGC 6027c | SB(S)c | ~190 | +16 |
| NGC 6027d | SB(S)bc pec. | ~877[5] | +15.6 |
| NGC 6027e | Tidal Tail. | ~190 | +16.5 |
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