NGC 2573
barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Octans
NGC 2573, also known as Polarissima Australis, is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Octans. It has an apparent magnitude of 13.25, making it readily visible in medium-sized telescopes, but not to the naked eye. The object is located relatively far at a distance of 84 million light years and it is currently receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 2495 km/s. Using a redshift of z = 0.08102 yields a greater distance of 109 million light years.
The galaxy was discovered on March 29th, 1837 by English astronomer John Herschel. It is the closest NGC object to the south celestial pole, hence the nickname "Polarissima Australis".
In the De Vaucouleurs system, NGC 2573 has a morphological classification of SAB(s)cd:, indicating that it is a weakly-barred spiral galaxy with loosely bound spiral arms and a small, faint bulge. The (s) notation indicates that the galaxy has a purely spiral structure. There is uncertainty about the classification, possibly due to NGC 2573's faintness. NGC 2573 is estimated to be 77,800 light years across, making it similar in size to the Milky Way.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “NGC 2573” is barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Octans. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through barred, spiral and galaxy, not as a finished interpretation.
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The phrase “barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Octans” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1049810. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1837.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “NGC 2573” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.