NGC 383 - Galaxy Group
The galaxy group around NGC 383 is located about 235 million light years away in the constellation Pisces and is best observed in the autumn months.
The brightest galaxy with an apparent magnitude of 12.2mag (after which the group is named) was discovered by F.W. Herschel in 1784.
The group itself is also listed in the catalog of Halton Arp as object no. 331 and is again a subgroup of 21 galaxies around NGC 425. For the "NGC 383
Group" alone a total mass of 65 trillion solar masses could be determined.
With a diameter of nearly 140.000 lightyears NGC 383 is a Hubble Type SA/0 elliptical galaxy with an absolute magnitude of M=-22.1mag, which
corresponds to a luminosity of 60 billion suns. It has an active galactic nucleus (AGN) that is surrounded by very dense orbiting dust clouds. The radio
band shows two jets running in opposite directions.
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A 20" telescope reveals a beautiful, long chain of elliptical galaxies, all quite bright and easy to see with averted vision. Some of the galaxies show a
brighter stellar nucleus. NGC 383 appears much brighter than the other galaxies and is oval with an elongation of 1.5:1, showing a bright central region
and a nearly stellar nucleus.
