Hickson 44 is a compact galaxy group with 4 members that located in the Leo. They lie 60 million light-years away.

Hold your mouse cursor over the image to see galaxy identifications.

Paul Hickson, in an article titled Compact Groups of Galaxies published in the Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics in 1997, said: "Most compact groups contain a high fraction of galaxies having morphological or kinematical peculiarities, nuclear radio and infrared emission, and starburst or active galactic nuclei (AGN) activity. They contain large quantities of diffuse gas and are dynamically dominated by dark matter. They most likely form as subsystems within looser associations and evolve by gravitational processes. Strong galaxy interactions result and merging is expected to lead to the ultimate demise of the group. Compact groups are surprisingly numerous, and may play a significant role in galaxy evolution."

The members of Hickson 44 are:

• NGC 3190 (left center), a magnitude 11.1 Sa type spiral galaxy with a prominent dust lane
• NGC 3193 (top left), a magnitude 10.9 elliptical galaxy
• NGC 3187 (top center), a magnitude 13.4 SBc spiral galaxy
• NGC 3185 (bottom right center), a magnitude 12.2 SBb-c spiral galaxy

Many other faint galaxies are also visible in the image, including 17.2 magnitude LEDA 86788 (center right), and ESDO 500-05 (lower left).

The Hickson 44 galaxy group can be found halfway between Algieba (Gamma Leonis) and Adhafera (Zeta Leonis).

North is to the top in the above image.

Hickson 44 Catalogs: Hickson 44 Object Type: Galaxy Group NGC 3190: SA(s)a pec edge-on Galaxy NGC 3193: E2 Galaxy NGC 3187: SB(s)c pec Galaxy NGC 3185: (R)SB(r)a Galaxy Magnitude: NGC 3190: 11.1v NGC 3193: 10.8v NGC 3187: 12.9v NGC 3185: 12.0v Size: NGC 3190: 4' x 1.5' NGC 3193: 2.9' x 2.8' NGC 3187: 2.9' x 1.2' NGC 3185: 2.1' x 1.4' Constellation: Leo Image Field Centered At: RA: 10h 17m 54s Dec: +21° 49' 19"