Leo Cluster

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Leo Cluster
Leo Cluster legacy dr10.jpg
legacy surveys image of the center of the Leo Cluster
Observation data (Epoch J2000)
Constellation(s) Leo
Right ascension 11h 44m 36.5s [1]
Declination 19° 45′ 32″ [1]
Brightest member NGC 3842
Number of galaxies~100 [2]
Richness class 2 [3]
Bautz–Morgan classification II-III [3]
Redshift 0.022 (6 595 km/s) [1]
Distance 113  Mpc (368.6  Mly) for h−1
0.705
X-ray flux (81.40 ± 6.0%)×10−12 erg s−1 cm−2 (0.1–2.4 keV) [1]
Other designations
Abell 1367
See also: Galaxy group, Galaxy cluster, List of galaxy groups and clusters

The Leo Cluster (Abell 1367) is a galaxy cluster about 330 million light-years distant (z = 0.022 [1] ) in the constellation Leo, with at least 70 major galaxies. The galaxy known as NGC 3842 is the brightest member of this cluster. [4] Along with the Coma Cluster, it is one of the two major clusters comprising the Coma Supercluster, [5] which in turn is part of the CfA2 Great Wall, which is hundreds of millions light years long and is one of the largest known structures in the universe. [6]

Contents

A team of scientists decided to observe the Leo Cluster with the intention of creating a catalog of extended ionized gas (EIG) clouds. This data also led to the discovery of many star-forming parents (galaxies) within the cluster. These star-forming galaxies turned out to be very similar to those found in the neighboring Coma cluster. The EIGs in the Leo cluster, however, turned out to be longer in the Leo cluster than the Coma cluster. This likely means that the Leo cluster and its stars are probably younger than most comparable clusters in the universe and evolve at a different pace. [7]

Most dense galaxy clusters are composed mostly of elliptical galaxies. The Leo Cluster, however, mostly contains spiral galaxies, suggesting that it is much younger than other comparable clusters, such as the Coma Cluster. It is also home to one of the universe's largest known black holes, which lies in the center of NGC 3842. The black hole is 9.7 billion times more massive than the Sun. [4]

It can be very difficult for stars to form within the Leo Cluster. This is because infalling galaxies have a tendency to strip gas away from other stars that are attempting to form. This has led to the creation of a "hot zone" where stars are unable to maintain their gas long enough to properly form. [8]

There appears to be a number of subpopulations within the Leo Cluster. The first consists of elliptical galaxies that seem to be roughly as old as the universe. The second subpopulation contains red-sequence lenticular (lens shaped) galaxies whose ages are directly tied to their mass. The third and final subpopulation is of galaxies where star formation is still taking place, and are morphologically distributed. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coma Berenices</span> Constellation in the northern hemisphere

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coma Supercluster</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coma Cluster</span> Cluster of galaxies in the constellation Coma Berenices

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3226</span> Dwarf elliptical galaxy in the constellation Leo

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4889</span> Galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices

NGC 4889 is an E4 supergiant elliptical galaxy. It was discovered in 1785 by the British astronomer Frederick William Herschel I, who catalogued it as a bright, nebulous patch. The brightest galaxy within the northern Coma Cluster, it is located at a median distance of 94 million parsecs from Earth. At the core of the galaxy is a supermassive black hole that heats the intracluster medium through the action of friction from infalling gases and dust. The gamma ray bursts from the galaxy extend out to several million light years of the cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3607</span> Galaxy in the constellation Leo

NGC 3607 is a small but fairly bright lenticular galaxy in the equatorial constellation of Leo, about 2.5° south of the prominent star Delta Leonis. The galaxy was discovered March 14, 1784 by William Herschel. Dreyer described it as "very bright, large, round, very much brighter middle, 2nd of 3". It is located at a distance of 73 million light years and is receding with a radial velocity of 930 km/s. The galaxy lies southwest of NGC 3626 at an angular separation of ~50′. It occupies the center of the Leo II Group of galaxies, forming one of its two brightest members – the other being NGC 3608. It is a member of the NGC 3607 Group of galaxies, which is a member of the Leo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the right edge of the Virgo Supercluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Type-cD galaxy</span> Galaxy morphology classification

The type-cD galaxy is a galaxy morphology classification, a subtype of type-D giant elliptical galaxy. Characterized by a large halo of stars, they can be found near the centres of some rich galaxy clusters. They are also known as supergiant ellipticals or central dominant galaxies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3842</span> Galaxy in the constellation Leo

NGC 3842 is an elliptical galaxy in the constellation of Leo. It was discovered by William Herschel. It is notable for containing one of the largest black holes ever detected, reported to have a mass of 9.7 billion solar masses. It is around 330 million light-years distant from Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abell 1413</span> Galaxy cluster in constellation Coma Berenices

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">ESO 444-46</span> Galaxy in the constellation Centaurus

ESO 444-46 is a class E4 supergiant elliptical galaxy; the dominant and brightest member of the Abell 3558 galaxy cluster around 640 million light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. It lies within the core of the massive Shapley Supercluster, one of the closest neighboring superclusters. It is one of the largest galaxies in the local universe, and possibly contains one of the most massive black holes known. The black hole's mass is very uncertain, with estimates ranging from as low as 501 million M☉, to as high as 77.6 billion M☉.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3859</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Leo

NGC 3859 is a spiral galaxy located about 295 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. It was discovered by astronomer Édouard Stephan on March 23, 1884. The galaxy is a member of the Leo Cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 708</span> Galaxy in the constellation Andromeda

NGC 708 is an elliptical galaxy located 240 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda and was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on September 21, 1786. It is classified as a cD galaxy and is the brightest member of Abell 262. NGC 708 is a weak FR I radio galaxy and is also classified as a type 2 Seyfert galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4065 Group</span> Group of galaxies in the constellation of Coma Berenices

The NGC 4065 Group is a group of galaxies located about 330 Mly (100 Mpc) in the constellation Coma Berenices. The group's brightest member is NGC 4065 and located in the Coma Supercluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3937</span> Elliptical or lenticular galaxy in the constellation Leo

NGC 3937 is an elliptical or a lenticular galaxy located about 310 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 27, 1785 and is classified as a radio galaxy.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for Abell 1367. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
  2. ↑ "Abell 1367". Albert Highe: Observing Projects. Archived from the original on 2007-04-07. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
  3. 1 2 Abell, George O.; Corwin, Harold G. Jr.; Olowin, Ronald P. (May 1989). "A catalog of rich clusters of galaxies" (PDF). Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 70 (May 1989): 1–138. Bibcode:1989ApJS...70....1A. doi: 10.1086/191333 . ISSN   0067-0049 . Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Are You Ready, Willing, and Abell? - Sky & Telescope". Sky & Telescope. 2017-04-26. Retrieved 2018-04-18.
  5. ↑ "The Coma Supercluster". www.atlasoftheuniverse.com. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
  6. ↑ "Webb Deep-Sky Society: Galaxy of the Month: NGC3842". www.webbdeepsky.com. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
  7. ↑ Yagi, Masafumi; Yoshida, Michitoshi; Gavazzi, Giuseppe; Komiyama, Yutaka; Kashikawa, Nobunari; Sadanori Okamura (2017). "Extended Ionized Gas Clouds in the Abell 1367 Cluster". The Astrophysical Journal. 839 (1): 65. arXiv: 1703.10301 . Bibcode:2017ApJ...839...65Y. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aa68e3. ISSN   0004-637X. S2CID   119210351.
  8. ↑ "Abell 1367 - The Leo Galaxy Cluster". www.beskeen.com. Retrieved 2018-04-18.
  9. ↑ Mouhcine, M.; Kriwattanawong, W.; James, P. A. (2011-04-01). "The galaxy population of Abell 1367: the stellar mass–metallicity relation". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 412 (2): 1295–1308. arXiv: 1101.2074 . Bibcode:2011MNRAS.412.1295M. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.17993.x. ISSN   0035-8711. S2CID   118367587.
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