Astr110 Photography Projects, Fall 2005

Deer Lick Group, Peter Kooger

The Deer Lick Group is a group of galaxies that makes up part of the constellation Pegasus. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1784. Apparently it got its name in commemoration of an excellent night of astronomical viewing at Deer Lick Gap, North Carolina. The large galaxy in the center is NGC 7331. It is classified as a type Sb Spiral galaxy. It is very similar in type and appearance to our own galaxy, the Milky Way. NGC 7331 is about 49 million light years away.

This picture clearly shows the galaxy's disk, bulge and spiral arms. The disk is about 157,000 light years across. Several other smaller galaxies can be seen, but red-shift measurements tell us that they are in the background, not in the same area as 7331. The small galaxy closest to the bottom is NGC 7337 and the galaxy almost directly above it is 7335. The galaxy above 7335 is NGC 7336.

References:
Mark deRegt's Astronomical Images. Sept. 7,2001

Astronomy Images. B. Katzung, 2003

Astronomy 110 Lecture. D. Haarsma, Nov. 28, 2005