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Celestron CPC 1100 Altazimuth Mount
Hyperstar ZWO ASI 224MC Non Cooled
NGC 7331, 35, 36, 37, 40 Deer Lick Cluster
Magnitude: 10.4
Distance: Aprox: 40 million light-years
Constellation: Pegasus
Number of Starts: 3 billion
An unbarred spiral galaxy in a group of galaxies.
NGC 7331 is the brightest member of the NGC 7331 Group of galaxies. The other members of the group are the unbarred spirals NGC 7335 and 7336, the barred spiral galaxy NGC 7337 and the elliptical galaxy NGC 7340.
These galaxies lie at distances of approximately 332, 365, 348 and 294 million light years, respectively.
In both visible light and infrared photos of the NGC 7331, the core of the galaxy appears to be slightly off-center, with one side of the disk appearing to extend further away from the core than the opposite side.
NGC 7331 is similar in size and structure to the Milky Way, and is often referred to as "the Milky Way's twin". However, discoveries in the 2000s regarding the structure of the Milky Way may call this similarity into doubt, particularly because the latter is now believed to be a barred spiral, compared to the unbarred status of NGC 7331.