NGC974 and friends
About the Object
NGC 974 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Triangulum at a distance of approximately 200-220 million light-years — making it somewhat larger than the Milky Way in diameter. It shows a weak bar, and the somewhat distorted spiral arms hint towards interaction with the gravitationally bound neighbor NGC969 (to the lower right). Other galaxies in the image include NGC 970, a faint companion near NGC 969 and NGC 974; NGC 978 with PGC9823; and the star NGC971 which made it into the NGC by error. NGC 974 and friends are members of a small galaxy group often referred to as the NGC 973 group (also catalogued as LGG 66) which contains some 20 galaxies.
Observation Notes
Data were taken on 2025 October 2, 30, and 31
Technical Details
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