Object of the Week May 30th, 2021 - NGC 5037

NGC 5307 also known as MCG -3-34-29

Galaxy in Virgo

R.A. 13h14m59.4s

Dec. -16°35'25" (2000)

Magnitude: 13.10 B

Size: 2.0' x 0.5'



With deep sky observing in northern latitudes pretty much shut down due to twilight for the
next two months and the focus on dancing around in stone circles pretending to be druids ????
I have made a somewhat random choice for this OOTW. The pretty edge on galaxy NGC 5037
in Virgo was first discovered by William Herschel, along with its two companions, NGC 5035
and NGC 5047. He found NGC 5035 and 5037 on different sweeps in 1785 but NGC 5047 had
to wait for a couple more years until 1787 before Herschel picked that one up. NGC 5037 lies
in Virgo and depending on distance measurements may or may not be part of the Virgo cluster.
Distance estimates to NGC 5037 vary widely from about 91 million light years to 150 million
light years. If at the lower end of that range then it is probably part of the NGC 5044 group of
galaxies which is regarded as a southern extension to the Virgo cluster, although probably at the
backside of the cluster as the distance to the Virgo cluster is normally regarded to be in the 55
million light year range. It may be part of a filament of galaxies that is joining the Virgo cluster.
The NGC 5044 subgroup itself contains perhaps as many as 111 galaxies, with perhaps 15
brighter members. Recent studies tend to confirm that NGC 5037 is part of the NGC 5044 group.
NGC 5044, another Herschel discovery, is by far the brightest galaxy in the group. Interestingly
the NGC 5044 group is also catalogued as LGG 338 and that group does not include NGC 5037.
The nucleus of NGC 5037 is very large and bright and may host an AGN that is heavily obscured
by dust. The nucleus of NGC 5037 also appears to host a water maser.

Observationally NGC 5037 should be visible in 25cm and from dark sites maybe with telescopes
as small as 15cm but so see much detail will probably require 40cm. Even using a medium power
eyepiece then many of the galaxies in the NGC 5044 group should be visible in the same field of
view as NGC 5037. I suspect that larger telescopes may be able to pick out all the NGC galaxies i
n the field as well as many of the fainter ones.

Attachment 4339

NGC 5037 from PanSTARRS

Attachment 4340

Megastar Chart showing area

Attachment 4341

HUbble image of 5037

As always give it a go and lets us know what you see.

My meager observations:
NGC 5037: from 1991 with a 13" at 130x "Nice elongation, near a double star"
NGC 5047: from 1996 with a 18" at 286x "Center is brighter than the rest. Longer than NGC-5049 in the same field. Can see extensions easier."
NGC 5049: from 1996 with a 18" at 286x "Center is brighter with extending arms hard to see. In the same field as NGC-5047."
NGC 5044: from 1991 with a 13" at 130x "Smooth with slightly brighter center. Homogeneous."

I have a rough sketch of the NGC 5044 group with 5037 from a long time ago with my old 20-inch - no notes, just the sketch.

Attachment 4342

My notes from 25 years ago with an 8" scope show this is the most interesting galaxy in the group.
"elongated, bright core, superimposed star"
Howard's sketch shows an elongated core or maybe a 2nd superimposed star?
Nope, the Hubble photo shows a 2nd superimposed star at the other end.
Howard just saw how the dark lane bifurcates the core.
Excellent catch.

Here's my NGC 5044 Group sketch made with my 20" f/3.5 Dob on Friday night 6/4/2021 from Pinnacles National Park, an hour's drive inland from my house Bortle 4 skies. My primary observing project currently is observing and sketching the objects listed in the Astronomical League's "Local Galaxy Groups and Neighborhood Galaxies" program.

Attachment 4347

In my observation of the 5044 group, there is one small galaxy that I was able to see adverted 50% of the time. I can't find an id or magnitude for it. It doesn't show up on my MegaStar app. I think it could be magnitude 15.5-16.0. Does anyone have a id and magnitude for this object?

Attachment 4348

An observing friend of mine found it on his Sky Safari. He says it's PGC 83870 aka 2MASS 13153203-1628509, mag 15.81, 0.8 x 0.5 arcmin.

Yes, here's the data from LEDA. The galaxy is included in MegaStar with the designation MAC 1315-1628B (make sure to turn on the "MAC" galaxies with the magnitude limit to at least 16.0). The "exact" B magnitude (15.81) is really a range of ~15.5-16.1, due to the uncertainty, and roughly 1.0 mag brighter in V.

Thanks, Steve!

Attachment 4354