NGC 3077 - I0 pec

NGC 3077

De Vaucouleurs Atlas Type: I0 pec

Filter: V

Telescope: MDM 2.4-m
North up , East left
Field Dimensions: 3.6 x 2.9 arcminutes

RC3 Type: I0p
RSA Type: Amorph
Surface Brightness Range Displayed: 17.5-27.0 mag per square arcsec
Absolute Blue Magnitude: -17.8

De Vaucouleurs Atlas Description:

NGC 3077 is a very good example of what de Vaucouleurs called an I0 . The irregular central region is a star-forming zone like than in NGC 5253 , but this zone is imbedded in a smooth background having complex dust lanes. NGC 3077 is a companion to M81 and is connected to M81 via a tidal bridge of neutral gas. Walter et al. (2002) speculate that the starburst in NGC 3077 was triggered by the way the interaction redistributed the gas near the center of the galaxy.