User:Cseligman/IC 96

IC 96 is object number 96 in J. L. E. Dreyer's Index Catalog. It is a 13th-magnitude spiral galaxy (type Sb) in Pisces.

The galaxy was discovered by Truman Safford in 1866, and rediscovered by Stephane Javelle in 1899. Safford's discovery was listed as IC 96, and Javelle's as IC 1672, and most references treat the two as separate galaxies, as there are two galaxies in the region, and given the two IC listings, it seems reasonable to assign one to each galaxy. However, Malcolm Thomson makes a compelling argument that they are one and the same.

Thomson's argument is based on the fact that although there are two galaxies in the region, Safford only mentioned one, and is more likely to have observed the brighter one, which is positively identifiable as Javelle's object. Dreyer's listing of Safford's description seems to confirm the suggestion, as Safford stated that the object had a bright nucleus, equivalent to a 12th or 13th-magnitude star, which is identical to the appearance of 13th-magnitude PGC 4848 = IC 1672, but not at all similar to 14th-magnitude PGC 4840, which is usually listed as IC 96. There is a thorough discussion of this, with accompanying Wikisky cutouts and the NED data and conclusions drawn below, at cseligman.com

NED data are as follows: Position: RA 01 20 38, Dec +29 41 56 Recessional velocity: 7025 km/sec, corresponding to a distance of 315 million light years Apparent size 1.3 by 1.0 arcmin, corresponding to a size of 120 thousand light years

NED lists PGC 4848 as being a spiral galaxy, but of uncertain type. Steinicke and HyperLeda suggest type Sb, and Wikisky SDSS images appear to confirm this.