NGC 6861

NGC 6861 is a lenticular galaxy located in the constellation Telescopium. It is the second-brightest object in the constellation. Unlike most lenticular galaxies, which tend to be mostly devoid of both gas and dust, NGC 6861 exhibits a thick obscuring ring of dust around the nucleus where star formation is occurring. The galaxy was discovered by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop, in 1826.^[3] NGC 6861 is interacting with NGC 6868, and it is predicted that they will eventually merge.^[4]

NGC 6861
NGC 6861
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation	Telescopium[1]
Right ascension	20h 07m 19.48s[2]
Declination	−48° 22′ 12.8″[2]
Redshift	0.009437[2]
Apparent magnitude (V)	11.0[1]
Characteristics
Type	SA0^-(s):[2]
Apparent size (V)	3′ × 2′[1]
Other designations
IC 4949[1]