NGC 2403

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NGC 2403
NGC2403-Subaru-HST-L.jpg
A Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and Subaru image of NGC 2403. NGC 2404 is visible
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.

Contents

Supernova and Supernova Imposters

There have been four reported astronomical transients in the galaxy:

History

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.

Companions

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]

A Galaxy of Birth and Death A Galaxy of Birth and Death.jpg
A Galaxy of Birth and Death

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whirlpool Galaxy</span> Galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3982</span> Galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3184</span> Galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luminous blue variable</span> Type of star that is luminous, blue, and variable in brightness

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4725</span> Galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4414</span> Galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 2442 and NGC 2443</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Volans

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 5253</span> Irregular galaxy in the M83 group of galaxies

NGC 5253 is an irregular galaxy in the constellation Centaurus. It was discovered by William Herschel on 15 March 1787.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4214</span> Galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3432</span> Galaxy in the constellation Leo Minor

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 5584</span> Galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 5584 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered July 27, 1881 by American astronomer E. E. Barnard. Distance determination using Cepheid variable measurements gives an estimate of 75 million light years, whereas the tip of the red-giant branch approach yields a distance of 73.4 million light years. It is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 1,637 km/s. It is a member of the Virgo III Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out to the east of the Virgo Supercluster of galaxies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 2748</span> Galaxy in the constellation Camelopardalis

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3198</span> Galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3021</span> Galaxy in the constellation Leo Minor

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4242</span> Galaxy in constellation Canes Venatici

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 877</span> Galaxy located in the constellation Aries

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 2404</span> Large, emission nebula in the constellation Camelopardalis

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DDO 44</span> Dwarf spheroidal galaxy in the constellation Camelopardalis

DDO 44 is a dwarf spheroidal galaxy in the M81 Group, believed to be a satellite galaxy of the nearby NGC 2403.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 2403. Retrieved 2006-11-21.
  2. 1 2 Carlin, Jeffrey L.; Garling, Christopher T.; Peter, Annika H. G.; Crnojević, Denija; Forbes, Duncan A.; Hargis, Jonathan R.; Mutlu-Pakdil, Burçin; Pucha, Ragadeepika; Romanowsky, Aaron J.; Sand, David J.; Spekkens, Kristine; Strader, Jay; Willman, Beth (2019). "Tidal Destruction in a Low-mass Galaxy Environment: The Discovery of Tidal Tails around DDO 44". The Astrophysical Journal. 886 (2): 109. arXiv: 1906.08260 . Bibcode:2019ApJ...886..109C. doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ab4c32 . S2CID   195218404.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Kepple, George Robert; Glen W. Sanner (1998). The Night Sky Observer's Guide. Vol. 1. Willmann-Bell, Inc. p. 73. ISBN   978-0-943396-58-3.
  4. Ho, Luis C.; Filippenko, Alexei V.; Sargent, Wallace L. W. (October 1997). "A Search for "Dwarf" Seyfert Nuclei. III. Spectroscopic Parameters and Properties of the Host Galaxies". Astrophysical Journal Supplement. 112 (2): 315–390. arXiv: astro-ph/9704107 . Bibcode:1997ApJS..112..315H. doi:10.1086/313041. S2CID   17086638.
  5. Van Dyk, Schuyler D.; Filippenko, Alexei V.; Chornock, Ryan; Li, Weidong; Challis, Peter M. (2005). "Supernova 1954J (Variable 12) in NGC 2403 Unmasked". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 117 (832): 553–562. arXiv: astro-ph/0503324 . Bibcode:2005PASP..117..553V. doi:10.1086/430238.
  6. Green, Daniel W. E. (January 15, 2003). "Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams, Circular No. 8051" . Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  7. "SN 2002kg". Transient Name Server. IAU . Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  8. "SN 2004dj". Transient Name Server. IAU . Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  9. Bishop, David (9 November 2021). "LBV AT2016ccd in NGC 2403". Rochester Astronomy. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  10. "AT 2016ccd". Transient Name Server. IAU . Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  11. Carlin, Jeffrey L.; Mutlu-Pakdil, Burçin; Crnojević, Denija; Garling, Christopher T.; Karunakaran, Ananthan; Peter, Annika H. G.; Tollerud, Erik; Forbes, Duncan A.; Hargis, Jonathan R.; Lim, Sungsoon; Romanowsky, Aaron J.; Sand, David J.; Spekkens, Kristine; Strader, Jay (2021). "Hubble Space Telescope Observations of Two Faint Dwarf Satellites of Nearby LMC Analogs from MADCASH". The Astrophysical Journal. 909 (2): 211. arXiv: 2012.09174 . Bibcode:2021ApJ...909..211C. doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/abe040 . S2CID   229297953.