14 DAY TRIAL // Astronomers with the American space agency recently used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to collect a detailed image of a portion of the night sky that features a member from a very select group of galaxies. The object, known as NGC 1190, lies to the right of the image above.
According to scientists, it is part of the Hickson Compact Group 22 (HCG 22), which features four other members that are out of view in this photograph. The other objects are called NGC 1189, NGC 1191, NGC 1192, and NGC 1199.
The two galaxies that accompany NGC 1190 in this image are called 2MASS J03032308-1539079 (center) and dCAZ94 HCG 22-21 (left), both of which are located closer to the Milky Way than any of the members of HCG 22. All of these galaxies are located in the constellation of Eridanus (The River).
Paul Hickson was the first astronomer to discover the tightly-bound groups of galaxies that now bear his name. The expert released the first catalog of Hickson Compact Groups in the early 1980s, identifying around 100 of these structures. Due to their close proximity, HCG members have the tendency to merge and combine into larger, elliptical galaxies.