This galaxy is small and isolated[5] with a morphological classification of SB(r)0+,[6] which indicates a barred spiral (SB) with a ring around the bar (r). Being a lenticular galaxy, it has the large halo of an elliptical galaxy. The disk is inclined at an angle of 58°±3° to the line of sight from the Earth, with the major axis aligned along a position angle of 110°±3°.[5] The galaxy has an unusually high mass-to-light ratio, much greater than for a typical spiral galaxy.[5] The distribution of the galaxy's neutral hydrogen forms a clumpy ring with a radius of 10.3 kpc, double that of the visible galaxy, with a mass of 5.5×108M☉.[5] This ring appears misaligned with the central disk.[11]
NGC 2787 contains a low-ionization nuclear emission-line region (LINER) at its core, which is a type of region that is characterized by its spectral line emission from weakly ionized atoms.[12] LINERs are very common within lenticular galaxies, with approximately one-fifth of nearby lenticular galaxies containing LINERs.[13] The supermassive black hole at the center has a mass of 4.1+0.4 −0.5×107M☉.[14] The central region of the galaxy contains dust rings that are tilted with respect to the disk, which may be the result of an encounter with another galaxy.[11]
^ abcdefgShostak, G. S. (March 1987). "The distribution of HI in the lenticular galaxy NGC 2787". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 175: 4–8. Bibcode:1987A&A...175....4S.
^ abSkrutskie, Michael F.; Cutri, Roc M.; Stiening, Rae; Weinberg, Martin D.; Schneider, Stephen E.; Carpenter, John M.; Beichman, Charles A.; Capps, Richard W.; Chester, Thomas; Elias, Jonathan H.; Huchra, John P.; Liebert, James W.; Lonsdale, Carol J.; Monet, David G.; Price, Stephan; Seitzer, Patrick; Jarrett, Thomas H.; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Gizis, John E.; Howard, Elizabeth V.; Evans, Tracey E.; Fowler, John W.; Fullmer, Linda; Hurt, Robert L.; Light, Robert M.; Kopan, Eugene L.; Marsh, Kenneth A.; McCallon, Howard L.; Tam, Robert; Van Dyk, Schuyler D.; Wheelock, Sherry L. (1 February 2006). "The Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS)". The Astronomical Journal. 131 (2): 1163–1183. Bibcode:2006AJ....131.1163S. doi:10.1086/498708. ISSN0004-6256. S2CID18913331.
^Graham, Alister W. (November 2008). "Populating the Galaxy Velocity Dispersion - Supermassive Black Hole Mass Diagram: A Catalogue of (Mbh, σ) Values". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia. 25 (4): 167–175. arXiv:0807.2549. Bibcode:2008PASA...25..167G. doi:10.1071/AS08013. S2CID89905.