NGC 6217 - Galaxy
NGC 6217 is a small galaxy in the constellation “Ursa Minor” (UMi), which was discovered by F.W. Herschel in 1797. It has a brightness of
11.0mag and an apparent size of 3'x2.5'.
The galaxy belongs to the group of barred spirals and has a pronounced bar, moderately wound spiral arms and an inner as well as a false outer
ring. Its diameter is 55,000 light-years - making it only half the size of our Milky Way. Furthermore, it is inclined towards us at an angle of 35°.
Due to the many HII regions and star formation areas, NGC 6217 is also known as a starburst galaxy. The stars formed in this process have a
bluish glow and are less than 10 million years old. So far, only one supernova has been observed in this galaxy: SN2018gj with a maximum
brightness of 14.4mag.
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NGC 6217 appears surprisingly bright in my 20” telescope. At 270x, the bar and the spiral arms were visible without any problems. A bright, stellar
nucleus appeared in the center. Southeast of the nucleus is a faint star that could easily be mistaken for a supernova. I was also able to recognize a
brighter HII region as a small diffuse patch at the southeastern end of the galaxy, as well as a brighter area just east of the southern spiral arm.
A very nice object for larger telescopes. :))
