Hickson 92 in Pegasus

HICKSONNAMESIZE (M) MAG (V)SB
92aNGC 73202.2X1.1 12.613.5
92bNGC 7318B1.9X1.2 13.113.9
92cNGC 73191.7X1.3 13.113.8
92dNGC 73180.9X0.9 13.413.0
92eNGC 73171.1X1.1 13.613.8

My first view of Stephan's Quintet (Hickson 92 in Pegasus) was nearly 20 years ago in an 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain but I still remember the thrill of detecting a feeble glow. Over the years, I've returned this compact group numerous times with larger apertures attempting to squeeze out additional structural details. The entire group is crammed into a 4' circle, so high power is necessary to resolve the individual components.

The largest member, NGC 7320, appears 1.5'x0.7' with a gradually brighter core. At the southeast side a mag 14.5 star is superimposed. NGC 7318 is actually an interacting 13th magnitude double system and two stellar nuclei are resolved visually within a common elongated halo oriented roughly east-west.

Just 1.6' southwest of NGC 7318 you'll find NGC 7317. A mag 13 star at the northwest edge just 16" from the center confuses the observation as the galaxy seems double on first glance. The faintest member of Stephan's Quintet is NGC 7319 which appears as a low surface brightness glow just 1.7' north of NGC 7320. - Steve Gottlieb