Hoag's Object was discovered in 1950 by Arthur Hoag.
The Ring Galaxy's location is 15:17:14.4 (R.A.) and 21:35:08 (Dec.). Its Visual (Apparent) Brightness is 16.20 Magnitude . The object can not be seen by the naked eye, you need a telescope to see it.
Hoag's Object has a radius of 60,500 light years or to put it another way, it has a diameter of 121,000 light years. It would take a space ship 121,000 years travelling at the speed of light to get from one side to the other.
Hoag's Object has been likened to an egg with the yellow centre and the white outer. The outer shell has a large amount of bluer stars, blue is indicative of younger hotter stars. Near the centre are redder, older stars. Between the centre and ring is complete darkness except for a few stars and galaxies that shine through.
If you look carefully at about one o'clock, you can see a galaxy which lies far in the distance. The picture was taken using the hubble space telescope. N.A.S.A
Hoag's Object is referred to as a Peculiar Galaxy rather than Elliptical or Spiral. Another example of a ring galaxy is the Cartwheel Galaxy.
There are a number of theories as to why the galaxy looks the way it does. A common theme between the different versions is that it was caused by a collision of two galaxies. Instead of creating a tail such as that in the Tadpole Galaxy, it has created the effect that we see. Medium
How to find and see the Hoag's Object
The site assumes that you are viewing from London in the Northern Hemisphere and from Sydney in the Southern Hemisphere and are looking at the sky about 9 p.m. If you are looking at another time or location, you will need to adjust for your location.
Northern Hemisphere
It should be possible to see the object from April until October. The object rises highest in July before coming back down and disappearing below the horizon. A good telescope should enable you to see the object. It can be seen earlier in the year but you would need to stay up later to see it. The closer to April, the earlier it is to see it.
Southern Hemisphere
The object is possible to be seen from April to the beginning of October. With the map illustration below, you will need to flip the picture. To see the object, you need to look in a north-easterly direction but as the months go on, you will need to look more to a north-westerly direction.
Fact File
Name: Hoag's Object
Type Ring: Galaxy
Constellation :Serpens
Right Ascension: 15:17:14.4
Declination: 21:35:08
Distance :(Lt.Yr) 612.8 (+/-) 9.4 MLy
Radius (Lt.Yr): 60,500.00
Visual / Apparent Magnitude: 16.20
Naked Eye :Visible Requires 8m Telescope - Magnitudes
Year of Discovery :::1950
Discoverer :::Arthur Hoag
Morphological::: Type 3 D
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