NGC 1387

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NGC 1387
NGC1387 - hst 10217R850GB475.png
Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 1387
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Fornax
Right ascension 03h 36.57m [1]
Declination −35° 30′ [1]
Redshift 0.004343
Heliocentric radial velocity 1296 km/s
Distance 53 ± 4 megalight-years (16.2 ± 1.2 Mpc)
Apparent magnitude  (V)10.8 [1]
Characteristics
Type (R')SAB(s)0 [1]
Apparent size  (V)2.80′ × 2.6′ [1] (45 000 light-years)
Other designations
2MASX J03365707-3530240, ESO 358-036, GC 744, h 2564, IRAS 03350-3540, MCG -6-9-7, PGC 13344, SGC 33502-3540.2, FCC 184

NGC 1387 is a lenticular galaxy in the constellation Fornax, in the Fornax Cluster. It was discovered by William Herschel on December 25, 1835.

At a distance of 53 million light-years, it is one of the closer members of the Fornax Cluster. It has a magnitude of 10.8, which makes NGC 1387 one of the brighter galaxies in the Fornax Cluster and it is 60 000 light-years across. It is only 12 arcminutes from the central galaxy NGC 1399, which makes it one of the closest galaxies to NGC 1399. [1]

NGC 1387 is an early-type galaxy with a Hubble classification of (R')SAB(s)0. It has a clear, normal-looking non-ansae type bar embedded in a very extensive envelope, which is structureless except for the bar. Observations in 2006 discovered a large nuclear ring around NGC 1387, in a bulge-subtracted 2.2 micron image. [2] Despite their name, early-type galaxies are much older than spiral galaxies, and mostly comprise old, red-colored stars. Very little star formation occurs in these galaxies; the lack of star formation in elliptical galaxies appears to start at the center and then slowly propagates outward. [3] This is an early-type lenticular galaxy, with similar nature to early-type elliptical galaxies.

NGC 1387 is rich with globular clusters, with an estimated number of clusters of 406 ± 81. However, unlike similar galaxies NGC 1374 and NGC 1379, which have an almost equal number of blue and red globular clusters, NGC 1387's globular cluster system is mostly composed of red globular clusters, with only a small fraction of blue globular clusters. This may be caused by gravitational interactions with the massive central galaxy NGC 1399, which probably stripped off most of the globular clusters from NGC 1387. The globular clusters of NGC 1387, like globulars in NGC 1379 and NGC 1374, did not show any evidence of multiple populations. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fornax</span> Constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere

Fornax is a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere, partly ringed by the celestial river Eridanus. Its name is Latin for furnace. It was named by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1756. Fornax is one of the 88 modern constellations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Star cluster</span> Group of stars

Star clusters are large groups of stars held together by self-gravitation. Two main types of star clusters can be distinguished: globular clusters are tight groups of ten thousand to millions of old stars which are gravitationally bound, while open clusters are more loosely clustered groups of stars, generally containing fewer than a few hundred members, and are often very young. Open clusters become disrupted over time by the gravitational influence of giant molecular clouds as they move through the galaxy, but cluster members will continue to move in broadly the same direction through space even though they are no longer gravitationally bound; they are then known as a stellar association, sometimes also referred to as a moving group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elliptical galaxy</span> Spherical or ovoid mass of stars

An elliptical galaxy is a type of galaxy with an approximately ellipsoidal shape and a smooth, nearly featureless image. They are one of the four main classes of galaxy described by Edwin Hubble in his Hubble sequence and 1936 work The Realm of the Nebulae, along with spiral and lenticular galaxies. Elliptical (E) galaxies are, together with lenticular galaxies (S0) with their large-scale disks, and ES galaxies with their intermediate scale disks, a subset of the "early-type" galaxy population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lenticular galaxy</span> Class of galaxy between an elliptical galaxy and a spiral galaxy

A lenticular galaxy is a type of galaxy intermediate between an elliptical and a spiral galaxy in galaxy morphological classification schemes. It contains a large-scale disc but does not have large-scale spiral arms. Lenticular galaxies are disc galaxies that have used up or lost most of their interstellar matter and therefore have very little ongoing star formation. They may, however, retain significant dust in their disks. As a result, they consist mainly of aging stars. Despite the morphological differences, lenticular and elliptical galaxies share common properties like spectral features and scaling relations. Both can be considered early-type galaxies that are passively evolving, at least in the local part of the Universe. Connecting the E galaxies with the S0 galaxies are the ES galaxies with intermediate-scale discs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dwarf galaxy</span> Small galaxy composed of up to several billion stars

A dwarf galaxy is a small galaxy composed of about 1000 up to several billion stars, as compared to the Milky Way's 200–400 billion stars. The Large Magellanic Cloud, which closely orbits the Milky Way and contains over 30 billion stars, is sometimes classified as a dwarf galaxy; others consider it a full-fledged galaxy. Dwarf galaxies' formation and activity are thought to be heavily influenced by interactions with larger galaxies. Astronomers identify numerous types of dwarf galaxies, based on their shape and composition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 85</span> Elliptical galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices

Messier 85 is a lenticular galaxy, or elliptical galaxy for other authors, in the Coma Berenices constellation. It is 60 million light-years away, and it is estimated to be 125,000 light-years across.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1316</span> Lenticular radio galaxy in the constellation Fornax

NGC 1316 is a lenticular galaxy about 60 million light-years away in the constellation Fornax. It is a radio galaxy and at 1400 MHz is the fourth-brightest radio source in the sky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1427A</span> Galaxy in the constellation Fornax

NGC 1427A is an irregular galaxy in the constellation Fornax. Its distance modulus has been estimated using the globular cluster luminosity function to be 31.01 ± 0.21 which is about 52 Mly. It is the brightest dwarf irregular member of the Fornax cluster and is in the foreground of the cluster's central galaxy NGC 1399.

The Eridanus Group, sometimes called the Eridanus Cloud, is a nearby loose grouping of galaxies at a mean distance of approximately 75 Mly in the constellation Eridanus. Redshift values show that there are approximately 200 galaxies associated with the group, approximately 70% of which are spiral and irregular type galaxies while the remaining 30% are elliptical and lenticular types.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1399</span> Elliptical galaxy in the Fornax Cluster

NGC 1399 is a large elliptical galaxy in the Southern constellation Fornax, the central galaxy in the Fornax Cluster. The galaxy is 66 million light-years away from Earth. With a diameter of 130 000 light-years, it is one of the largest galaxies in the Fornax Cluster and slightly larger than the Milky Way. William Herschel discovered this galaxy on October 22, 1835.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1404</span> Elliptical galaxy in the Fornax Cluster

NGC 1404 is an elliptical galaxy in the Southern constellation Eridanus. It was discovered on November 28, 1837, by the astronomer John Herschel. Based on the tip of the red-giant branch distance indicator, it lies at a distance of approximately 60 million light-years from the Milky Way. It is one of the brightest members of the Fornax Cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1380</span> Galaxy in the constellation Fornax

NGC 1380 is a lenticular galaxy located in the constellation Fornax. It is located at a distance of circa 60 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 1380 is about 85,000 light years across. It was discovered by James Dunlop on September 2, 1826. It is a member of the Fornax Cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1381</span> Galaxy in the constellation Fornax

NGC 1381 is a lenticular galaxy located in the constellation Fornax. It is located at a distance of about 60 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 1381 is about 55,000 light years across. It is a member of the Fornax Cluster. NGC 1381 appears edge-on and features a thin disk with high surface brightness and a boxy bulge. Both the box-shaped bulge and the kinematics of the central area of the galaxy suggest that NGC 1381 has a bar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1374</span> Galaxy in the constellation Fornax

NGC 1374 is a low-luminosity elliptical galaxy in the southern constellation Fornax. It was discovered by John Herschel on November 29, 1837.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1375</span> Galaxy in the constellation Fornax

NGC 1375 is a barred lenticular galaxy in the constellation Fornax discovered by John Herschel on November 29, 1837. It is believed to be a member of the Fornax Cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4318</span> Galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4318 is a small lenticular galaxy located about 72 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by astronomer John Herschel on January 18, 1828. NGC 4318 is a member of the Virgo W′ group, a group of galaxies in the background of the Virgo Cluster that is centered on the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 4365.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1460</span> Galaxy in the constellation Eridanus

NGC 1460 is a barred lenticular galaxy in the constellation Eridanus. It was discovered by John Herschel on November 28, 1837. It is moving away from the Milky Way at 1341 km/s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1379</span> Galaxy in the constellation Fornax

NGC 1379 is a low-luminosity elliptical galaxy in the southern constellation Fornax. It was discovered by William Herschel on December 25, 1835.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1332</span> Elliptical galaxy in the constellation Eridanus

NGC 1332 is an almost edge-on elliptical galaxy located in constellation of Eridanus. Situated about 70 million light years away, it is a member of the Eridanus cluster of galaxies, a cluster of about 200 galaxies. It is also the brightest member of the NGC 1332 Group. It was discovered by William Herschel on 9 December 1784.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1351</span> Elliptical galaxy in the Fornax Cluster

NGC 1351 is an elliptical galaxy in the constellation Fornax. Based on the redshift, its distance from Earth is 69.5 million light years. It is elongated in shape, and was discovered by William Herschel on October 19, 1835.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dunlop, Storm (2005). Atlas of the Night Sky . Collins. ISBN   978-0-00-717223-8.
  2. ↑ Buta, Ronald J.; Corwin, Harold G.; Odewahn, Stephen C. (2007-03-08). Atlas of Galaxies. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   9780521820486.
  3. ↑ Howell, Elizabeth (2015). "Colossal Ancient Galaxies Die from the Inside Out". space.com. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  4. ↑ Bassino, Lilia P.; Richtler, Tom; Dirsch, Boris (2006). "Globular cluster systems in low-luminosity early-type galaxies near the Fornax cluster centre". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 367 (1): 156–168. arXiv: astro-ph/0511770 . Bibcode:2006MNRAS.367..156B. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.09919.x. S2CID   17850142.
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