Sky & Telescope - April 2025 - 59

LEGACY SURVEYS / D. LANG (PERIMETER INSTITUTE) / CC-BY-4.0; SKETCH: UWE GLAHN
To find SHK 16, hop 2° east-northeast
of 16 and 17 Draconis, an easy
5.4-magnitude binocular pair. The
galaxy chain spans 5′ in length and
passes just west of the 9.2-magnitude
star HD 234352. Once you've identified
the field, I'd recommend using at least
250× to spread the members away from
this stellar signpost. I've observed this
delightful chain at least a half-dozen
times over the years. My favorite view,
though, was through my 18-inch from
the 8,500-foot-elevation trailhead to
Lassen Peak in Northern California.
Using 328×, I spotted SHK 16-1 just
2′ southwest of the bright star. Despite
a magnitude of 14.6, the galaxy has a
compact diameter of 18″ and a relatively
high surface brightness. Two fainter
companions, SHK 16-5 and SHK 16-3,
bracket the galaxy north and south by
0.8′ and resemble bloated stars. SHK
16-2 marks the southern end of the
chain, and I could hold it steady. By
scanning 1′ northwest of the star, I
caught SHK 16-4, a droplet of light near
the glare. I also noticed PGC 2817454
just 3′ north of SHK 16-4. It displayed
a 2:1 elongation and was comparable in
visibility to SHK 16-1 and SHK 16-2.
SHK 166 is a similar 8′ linear chain,
conveniently located only ½° southsoutheast
of 4.2-magnitude Epsilon
(ε) Ursae Minoris, one of the handle
Armenian Astronomer
Romela Shakhbazian was born in 1925 in the southern Russian city of Rostovon-Don.
She was a member of the BAO staff from 1953 until her retirement
in 1995. Shakhbazian defended her PhD thesis in 1970 under the supervision
of Viktor Ambartsumian, the observatory's founder and one of the leading astrophysicists
of the 20th century. As well as compact galaxy groups, she also
researched stellar associations in nearby galaxies and extragalactic supernovae.
Shakhbazian passed away in 2012 at the age of 87.
stars of the Little Dipper. The group
comprises several featureless elliptical
and lenticular galaxies queued up from
southwest to northeast.
At 281×, I first spied SHK 166-1, an
easy 20″ fuzzball just 50″ northeast of
a 13th-magnitude star. I find this star
helpful to orient the group members.
Three galaxies, SHK 166-4, SHK 166-3,
and SHK 166-2, line up to the southwest
of SHK 166-1. The closest is SHK
166-4, an intermittent glow just 40″
southwest of the star, while SHK 166-3
is comparable in brightness to SHK
166-1. Two feeble smudges lie close to
the northeast of SHK 166-1: SHK 166-7
is a miniature oval angling north-south
with the terribly elusive SHK 166-8 to
its east. By taking my time and focusing
on each member individually, I managed
to tally seven galaxies including
PGC 59182, a 12″ speck about 5′ south
of the chain. Although not assigned an
SHK designation, it has the same redshift
as the chain.
Pileups in Coma and Leo
SHK 202 is one of the nearer and
brighter of the Shakhbazian groups, but
there's a spoiler. The members huddle
near the 6.6-magnitude star 10 Comae
Berenices, whose brilliance may overwhelm
their anemic glows.
Before exploring SHK 202, let's take
a peek at NGC 4251, a 10.7-magnitude
barred lenticular located ½° southwest
of 10 Com. It spans 3.6′ × 1.5′ from east
to west and features a bright, bulging
core and a star-like nucleus. Shift 18′
to the northeast, and you'll arrive at
14th-magnitude IC 777. Through my
18-inch, this foreground galaxy tilts 2:1
northwest to southeast and outshines
the nearby members of SHK 202.
Since SHK 202-1 lies a mere 5′ south
SHK 166-7
SHK 166-8
SHK 166-1
SHK 166-4
SHK 166-3
SHK 166-2
SHAKHBAZIAN 166 The galaxies in this pleasing chain are sprinkled from northeast to southwest. German amateur
Uwe Glahn sketched it using his 27-inch f/4 telescope at 419×.
of 10 Com, I used 390× and nudged the
stellar nuisance outside
the field of view. SHK
202-1 appeared as a
20″ × 15″ oval patch
with a decent surface
brightness. The similarly
fuzzy SHK 202-3
floats just 2′ north. If
you're successful with
this pair, SHK 202-5 is
a tiny toughie squeezed
in between! SHK 202-6
is the lone member on
the northwest side of
10 Com, while SHK
202-2 is 6′ southeast
of the star. Both match
SHK 202-1 in size and
brightness. Want one
more challenge? I barely
glimpsed SHK 202-4 in
sk yand tele scope .o r g * APRIL 2025 59

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