NGC 6782

NGC 6782 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the southern constellation of Pavo, at a distance of approximately 173 megalight-years from the Milky Way.^[3] It was discovered on July 12, 1834 by English astronomer John Herschel. John L. E. Dreyer described it as, "considerably faint, considerably small, round, a little brighter middle, 9th magnitude star to south".^[7] The morphological classification of NGC 6782 is (R₁R′₂)SB(r)a, indicating a barred spiral galaxy with a multiple ring system and tightly-wound spiral arms.^[5] It is seen nearly face-on,^[8] being inclined by an angle of 27.2°±0.2° to the line of sight from the Earth.^[5]

At the galactic core is an almost circular nuclear ring at the inner Lindblad resonance. This is attached to the primary bar, which extends out to a somewhat pointy, diamond-shaped inner ring. It is actually a double-barred galaxy, with an interior bar inside the nuclear ring. A pair of faint spiral arms extend out from the inner ring to the outer parts of the galaxy, where it joints a double outer ring system.^[5] Both inner rings of the galaxy are undergoing star formation, producing hot OB stars, with little star formation occurring in the remainder.^[8]

Gallery

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  Structure of NGC 6782
• 
  NGC 6782 with legacy survey

See also

• Messier 94 - a similar spiral galaxy

References