IC 860 is classfied a nearby post-starburst galaxy, in early stages of transforming into its quiescent state.[4] It is also vibrationally excited HCN luminous infrared galaxy (LIRG) with LHCN -VIB/LIR of 3.2 x 10−8. It has a dust obscured nucleus making it hard to determine whether it is a starburst galaxy or an active galactic nucleus (AGN).[5] In additional, the galaxy contains HI and OH absorption towards its central region. The galaxy has an implied mass of MSMBH of 4 x 107 MΘ based on its velocity rotation of vrot = 226 km s−1. The Eddington luminosity of IC 860 is 2 x 1012 LΘ.[6]
According to low [C II] 157.7 μm-to-LFIR ratios and by a mid-infrared silicate absorption, the findings suggest IC 860 does have a warm compact region. The region of the galaxy, is in a current phase of rapid evolution where inflows are accumulating column densities of interstellar dust and gas, sufficient to fuel its star formation or its AGN.[6]
IC 860 was also observed in optical imaging. From the results, the galaxy has a massive V-shaped kiloparsec dust structure. As the nuclear gas only has an outflow velocity of vout = 170 – 200 km s−1, this makes it impossible to escape from the galaxy unless being accelerated.[6]
In another study, IC 860 contains 4.83 GHz formaldehyde emission with a peak flux density of 2.0-2.2 mJy based from observations made by Arecibo Observatory. It is found to have three unique emission compartments centered between 3830 and 3990 km s−1.[7]
