\begin{table}%t5
\caption{Electron densities and temperatures (in units of cm$^{-3}$ and K, respectively).}
\label{table densities and temperatures}
%\centering
\small
\begin{tabular}{lrrrrr}
\hline
\hline
& NGC~2579, A  & 
NGC~2579, B  & 
NGC~2579, C & 
NGC~2579, ABC &
ESO~370-9 \\
\hline
$N_{\rm e}$ (\ion{S}{ii})   &      699 $\pm$ 219 &    641  $\pm$ 126  &     869 $\pm$ 129 &     745 $\pm$ 114  &     443 $\pm$ 262 \\ 
$N_{\rm e}$ (\ion{Cl}{iii}) &         $<$1100 &         $<$2900 &        $<$1600 &         $<$2100 &                   \\
$T_{\rm e}$ (\ion{N}{ii})   &  11~550 $\pm$ 620 &  9630 $\pm$ 430  & 11~670 $\pm$ 680 & 11~030 $\pm$ 520  & 10~300 $\pm$ 790 \\ 
$T_{\rm e}$ (\ion{O}{iii})  &   9490 $\pm$ 230 &  9140 $\pm$ 240  &  8620 $\pm$ 190 &  8960 $\pm$ 210  &                   \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{table}