NGC 2403 | |
---|---|
Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
Constellation | Camelopardalis |
Right ascension | 07h 36m 51.4s [1] |
Declination | +65° 36′ 09″ [1] |
Redshift | 131 ± 3 km/s [1] |
Distance | 9.65 Mly (2.96 Mpc) [2] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 8.9 [1] |
Characteristics | |
Type | SAB(s)cd [1] |
Apparent size (V) | 21.9′ × 12.3′ [1] |
Other designations | |
UGC 3918, [1] PGC 21396, [1] Caldwell 7 |
NGC 2403 (also known as Caldwell 7) is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Camelopardalis. It is an outlying member of the M81 Group, [3] and is approximately 8 million light-years distant. It bears a similarity to M33, being about 50,000 light years in diameter and containing numerous star-forming H II regions. [4] The northern spiral arm connects it to the star forming region NGC 2404. [3] NGC 2403 can be observed using 10×50 binoculars. [3] NGC 2404 is 940 light-years in diameter, making it one of the largest known H II regions. This H II region represents striking similarity with NGC 604 in M33, both in size and location in galaxy.
There have been four reported astronomical transients in the galaxy:
The galaxy was discovered by William Herschel in 1788. Edwin Hubble detected Cepheid variables in NGC 2403 using the Hale Telescope, making it the first galaxy beyond the Local Group within which a Cepheid was discovered. [3] By 1963, 59 variables had been found in NGC 2403, of which 17 were eventually confirmed as Cepheids, with periods between 20 and 87 days. As late as 1950 Hubble was using a distance of just under 2 million light years for the galaxy's distance, but by 1968 the analysis of the Cepheids increased this by almost a factor of five, to within 0.2 magnitudes of the current value.
NGC 2403 has two known companions. One is the relatively massive dwarf galaxy DDO 44. It is currently being disrupted by NGC 2403, as evidenced by a tidal stream extending 82 kly (25 kpc ) on both sides of DDO 44. DDO 44 is approaching NGC 2403 at a distance much closer than typical for dwarf galaxy interactions. It currently has a V-band absolute magnitude of −12.9, but its progenitor was even more luminous. [2]
The other known companion is officially named MADCASH J074238+652501-dw, although it is nicknamed MADCASH-1. The name refers to the MADCASH (Magellanic Analog Dwarf Companions and Stellar Halos) project. MADCASH-1 is similar to typical dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Local Group; it is quite faint, with an absolute V-band magnitude of −7.81, and has only an ancient, metal-poor population of red giant stars. [11]
NGC 2403 has four known luminous blue variables. AT 2016ccd, NGC 2403 V14, NGC 2403 V37, and NGC 2403 V12.
Not much is known about AT 2016ccd, besides that it is a luminous blue variable. AT 2016ccd has a magnitude of 18-19.95, so it is quite dim. NGC 2403 V14 is more well known then AT 2016ccd. NGC 2403 V14 has a size of 1,260.2 solar radii, it has a mass of 24 solar masses and has a temperature of 7,041 K. NGC 2403 V14 has a magnitude of 12.9. NGC 2403 V37 is not well known, it is believed to be a luminous blue variable with a magnitude of 12.9. NGC 2403 V12 is an unknown luminous blue variable with a magnitude of 6.5. [] [] [] []
NGC 300 (also known as Caldwell 70 or the Sculptor Pinwheel Galaxy) is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor. It was discovered on 5 August 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop. It is one of the closest galaxies to the Local Group, and probably lies between the latter and the Sculptor Group. It is the brightest of the five main spirals in the direction of the Sculptor Group. It is inclined at an angle of 42° when viewed from Earth and shares many characteristics of the Triangulum Galaxy. It is 94,000 light-years in diameter, somewhat smaller than the Milky Way, and has an estimated mass of (2.9 ± 0.2) × 1010M☉.
The Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as Messier 51a (M51a) or NGC 5194, is an interacting grand-design spiral galaxy with a Seyfert 2 active galactic nucleus. It lies in the constellation Canes Venatici, and was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy. It is 7.22 megaparsecs away and 23.58 kiloparsecs (76,900 ly) in diameter.
NGC 3982(also known as UGC 6918) is an intermediate spiral galaxy approximately 68 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by William Herschel on April 14, 1789, and misclassified as a planetary nebula. NGC 3982 is a part of the M109 Group.
NGC 3184, the Little Pinwheel Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy approximately 40 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. Its name comes from its resemblance to the Pinwheel Galaxy. It was discovered on 18 March 1787 by German-British astronomer William Herschel. It has two HII regions named NGC 3180 and NGC 3181.
Luminous blue variables (LBVs) are rare, massive and evolved stars that show unpredictable and sometimes dramatic variations in their spectra and brightness. They are also known as S Doradus variables after S Doradus, one of the brightest stars of the Large Magellanic Cloud.
NGC 4725 is an intermediate barred spiral galaxy with a prominent ring structure, located in the northern constellation of Coma Berenices near the north galactic pole. It was discovered by German-born British astronomer William Herschel on April 6, 1785. The galaxy lies at a distance of approximately 40 megalight-years from the Milky Way. NGC 4725 is the brightest member of the Coma I Group of the Coma-Sculptor Cloud, although it is relatively isolated from the other members of this group. This galaxy is strongly disturbed and is interacting with neighboring spiral galaxy NGC 4747, with its spiral arms showing indications of warping. The pair have an angular separation of 24′, which corresponds to a projected linear separation of 370 kly. A tidal plume extends from NGC 4747 toward NGC 4725.
NGC 4414, also known as the Dusty Spiral Galaxy, is an unbarred spiral galaxy about 62 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. It is a flocculent spiral galaxy, with short segments of spiral structure but without the dramatic well-defined spiral arms of a grand design spiral.
NGC 2442 and NGC 2443 are two parts of a single intermediate spiral galaxy, commonly known as the Meathook Galaxy or the Cobra and Mouse. It is about 50 million light-years away in the constellation Volans. It was discovered by Sir John Herschel on December 23, 1834 during his survey of southern skies with a 18.25 inch diameter reflecting telescope from an observatory he set up in Cape Town, South Africa. Associated with this galaxy is HIPASS J0731-69, a cloud of gas devoid of any stars. It is likely that the cloud was torn loose from NGC 2442 by a companion.
NGC 1309 is a spiral galaxy located approximately 120 million light-years away, appearing in the constellation Eridanus. It is about 75,000 light-years across, and is about 3/4s the width of the Milky Way. Its shape is classified as SA(s)bc, meaning that it has moderately wound spiral arms and no ring. Bright blue areas of star formation can be seen in the spiral arms, while the yellowish central nucleus contains older-population stars. NGC 1309 is one of over 200 members of the Eridanus Group of galaxies.
NGC 4214 is a dwarf barred irregular galaxy located around 10 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici. It was discovered on 28 April 1785 by German-British astronomer William Herschel. NGC 4214 is a member of the M94 Group.
NGC 4559 is an intermediate spiral galaxy with a weak inner ring structure in the constellation Coma Berenices. Distance estimates for NGC 4559 range from about 28 million light-years to 31 million light-years, averaging about 29 million light-years. It was discovered on 11 April 1785 by German-British astronomer William Herschel.
NGC 4639 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the equatorial constellation of Virgo. It was discovered by German-born astronomer William Herschel on April 12, 1784. John L. E. Dreyer described it as "pretty bright, small, extended, mottled but not resolved, 12th magnitude star 1 arcmin to southeast". This is a relatively nearby galaxy, lying approximately 72 million light-years away from the Milky Way. It is a companion to NGC 4654, and the two appear to have interacted roughly 500 million years ago. NGC 4639 is a member of the Virgo Cluster.
NGC 3432 is an edge-on spiral galaxy that can be found in the northern constellation of Leo Minor. It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on March 19, 1787. This galaxy is located at a distance of 40 million light-years (12.3 Mpc) from the Milky Way. It is interacting with UGC 5983, a nearby dwarf galaxy, and features tidal filaments and intense star formation. Because of these features, it was listed in Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies.
NGC 2748 is a spiral galaxy in the northern circumpolar constellation of Camelopardalis, located at a distance of 61.3 megalight-years from the Milky Way. It was discovered September 2, 1828 by John Herschel. The morphological classification of SAbc indicates this is an unbarred spiral with moderate to loosely-wound spiral arms. It is a disk-like peculiar galaxy with a stellar shell that is rotating about the main galactic axis. This shell was most likely formed through the capture and disruption of a dwarf companion. The galactic nucleus likely contains a supermassive black hole with a mass of 4.4+3.5
−3.6×107 M☉, or 44 million times the mass of the Sun.
NGC 3198, also known as Herschel 146 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by William Herschel on 15 January 1788. NGC 3198 is located in the Leo Spur, which is part of the Virgo Supercluster, and is approximately 47 million light years away.
NGC 3021 is a spiral galaxy in the northern constellation of Leo Minor. It is about 93 million light-years away from Earth, and is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 1,537±4 km/s. This galaxy was discovered December 7, 1785 by Anglo-German astronomer William Herschel. The morphological classification of NGC 3021 is SA(rs)bc, which indicates a spiral galaxy with no central bar (SA), an incomplete inner ring structure (rs), and moderate to loosely wound spiral arms (bc).
NGC 4242 is a spiral galaxy in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici. The galaxy is about 18 million light years away. It was discovered on 10 April 1788 by William Herschel, and it was described as "very faint, considerably large, irregular, round, very gradually brighter in the middle, resolvable" by John Louis Emil Dreyer, the compiler of the New General Catalogue.
NGC 877 is an intermediate spiral galaxy located in the constellation Aries. It is located at a distance of circa 160 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 877 is about 115,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on October 14, 1784. It interacts with NGC 876.
NGC 2404 is a massive H II region inside NGC 2403, a spiral galaxy in Camelopardalis. It was discovered on February 2, 1886 by Gulliaume Bigourdan. NGC 2404 is approximately 940 ly in diameter, making it one of the largest H II regions so far known. It is the largest H II region in NGC 2403, and lies at the outskirts of the galaxy, making for a striking similarity with NGC 604 in M33, both in size and location in the host galaxy. This H II region contains 30-40 Wolf-Rayet stars, and unlike the Tarantula Nebula, but similar to NGC 604, NGC 2404's open cluster is probably much less compact, so it probably looks like a large stellar association. This H II region is probably only a few million years old.
DDO 44 is a dwarf spheroidal galaxy in the M81 Group, believed to be a satellite galaxy of the nearby NGC 2403.