NGC 2655

Lore & Background

William Herschel discovered NGC 2655 on September 26, 1802, describing it as very bright and considerably large. The galaxy can be glimpsed with a 4-inch telescope under dark skies, nearly 10° from the north celestial pole. The galaxy exhibits asymmetric dust lanes in its center, tidal arms, and extended neutral hydrogen gas, suggesting it may have recently experienced a merger. The complex dynamics of the HI and optical tails indicate the galaxy may have undergone more mergers in the past. A weak bar has been detected in the infrared H band. One of the gas structures of NGC 2655 trails off toward the small galaxy UGC 4714.

Reader's Guide

NGC 2655 is significant as the brightest member of its namesake group, providing a nearby laboratory for studying Seyfert activity and merger-induced dynamics. Its asymmetric dust lanes, tidal arms, and extended neutral hydrogen gas point to a recent merger, while the complex motions of its HI and optical tails hint at multiple past mergers. The detection of a weak bar in the infrared H band adds to its structural complexity. The galaxy's proximity and brightness make it accessible to amateur astronomers with moderate equipment, and its supernova SN 2011B (Type Ia, magnitude 15.8) was discovered by Kōichi Itagaki and Masaki Tsuboi on 7 January 2011, contributing to studies of stellar explosions in lenticular environments.

Did You Know?

• NGC 2655 is a Seyfert galaxy with asymmetric dust lanes in its center.
• The galaxy's disk is estimated to be 60 kpc (195,000 light years) in diameter.
• One supernova, SN 2011B (Type Ia, mag. 15.8), has been observed in NGC 2655.