NGC 891 looks as the Milky Way would look like when viewed edge-on (some astronomers have even noted how similar to NGC 891 our galaxy looks as seen from the Southern Hemisphere[9]) and, in fact, both galaxies are considered very similar in terms of luminosity and size;[10] studies of the dynamics of its molecular hydrogen have also proven the likely presence of a central bar.[11]
Despite this, recent high-resolution images of its dusty disk show unusual filamentary patterns. These patterns are extending into the halo of the galaxy, away from its galactic disk. Scientists presume that supernova explosions caused this interstellar dust to be thrown out of the galactic disk toward the halo.[12]
It may also be possible that the light pressure from surrounding stars causes this phenomenon.[13]
The galaxy is a member of a small group of galaxies, sometimes called the NGC 1023 Group. Other galaxies in this group are the NGCs 925, 949, 959, 1003, 1023, and 1058, and the UGCs 1807, 1865 (DDO 19), 2014 (DDO 22), 2023 (DDO 25), 2034 (DDO 24), and 2259.[14] Its outskirts are populated by multiple low-surface brightness, coherent, and vast substructures, like giant streams that loop around the parent galaxy up to distances of approximately 50 kpc. The bulge and the disk are surrounded by a flat and thick cocoon-like stellar structure. These have vertical and radial distances of up to 15 kpc and 40 kpc, respectively,[15] and are interpreted as the remnant of a satellite galaxy disrupted and in the process of being absorbed by NGC 891.[16]
NGC 891 (north part) close-up by HST, 3.24′ view. Credit: NASA/STScI/WikiSky
The soundtrack of the 1974 film Dark StarbyJohn Carpenter features a muzak-style instrumental piece called "When Twilight Falls on NGC 891".[21]
The first solo album by Edgar Froese, Aqua, also released in 1974, contained a track called "NGC 891". Side 2 of the album, which included this track, was unusual in having been a rare example of a commercially issued piece of music recorded using the artificial head system.
^Seligman, Courtney. "NGC 891". Celestial Atlas. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
^Ho, Luis C.; Filippenko, Alexei V.; Sargent, Wallace L. W. (October 1997). "A Search for "Dwarf" Seyfert Nuclei. III. Spectroscopic Parameters and Properties of the Host Galaxies". Astrophysical Journal Supplement. 112 (2): 315–390. arXiv:astro-ph/9704107. Bibcode:1997ApJS..112..315H. doi:10.1086/313041. S2CID17086638.
^Garcia-Burillo, S.; Guelin, M. (1995). "The distorted kinematics of molecular gas in the center of NGC 891". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 299: 657. Bibcode:1995A&A...299..657G.
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Media related to NGC 891 at Wikimedia Commons
