NGC 4194

Last updated • 1 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
NGC 4194
Snakes and Stones NGC 4194.jpg
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Ursa Major
Right ascension 12h 14m 09.64s [1]
Declination +54° 31′ 34.60″ [1]
Redshift 0.008433 [2]
Heliocentric radial velocity 2,511±12 km/s [3]
Distance 128  Mly (39.1  Mpc) [4]
Apparent magnitude  (V)13.30 [5]
Apparent magnitude  (B)13.79 [5]
Characteristics
Type Imeger [2]
Apparent size  (V)0.14′ × 0.13′ [6]
Notable featuresInteracting, starburst
Other designations
Medusa galaxy merger, NGC 4194, Arp 160, UGC 7241, Mrk 201, PGC 39068 [7]

NGC 4194, the Medusa merger, is a galaxy merger in the constellation Ursa Major about 128 million light-years (39.1  Mpc ) away. [4] It was discovered on April 2, 1791 by German-British astronomer William Herschel. [8] Due to its disturbed appearance, it is object 160 in Halton Arp's 1966 Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies . [7]

Contents

A black hole in Medusa's tail A Black Hole in Medusa's Hair A galaxy lies about 110 million light years away..jpg
A black hole in Medusa's tail

The morphological classification of NGC 4194 is Imeger, [2] indicating an irregular form. This galaxy consists of a brighter central region spanning an angular size 9″ across, with an accompanying system of loops and arcs. Additional material is thinly spread out to a radius of 75″ from the central region. [9] There is a tidal tail and regions undergoing high levels of star formation, making this a starburst galaxy. It is a source for strong infrared and radio emission. [10] [11] These features indicate NGC 4194 is a late-stage galaxy merger. [12] A region of extreme star formation 500 ly (150 pc) across exists in the center of the Eye of Medusa, the central gas-rich region. [13]

Within 1.2 kpc (3.9 kly) of the dynamic center of NGC 4194, star formation is occurring at a rate of 8  M☉ ·yr−1. The star forming regions in this volume range from 5 to 9 million years in age, with the youngest occurring in areas of the highest star formation rate. [14] As of 2014, no galactic nucleus has been detected based on radio emissions, nor have the respective nuclei of the merger galaxies. [15] However, X-ray emission from a black hole in the tidal tail was detected by Chandra in 2009. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 404</span> Galaxy in the constellation Andromeda

NGC 404 is a field galaxy located about 10 million light years away in the constellation Andromeda. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1784, and is visible through small telescopes. NGC 404 lies just beyond the Local Group and does not appear gravitationally bound to it. It is located within 7 arc-minutes of second magnitude star Mirach, making it a difficult target to observe or photograph and granting it the nickname "Mirach's Ghost".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 59</span> Elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo

Messier 59 or M59, also known as NGC 4621, is an elliptical galaxy in the equatorial constellation of Virgo. It is a member of the Virgo Cluster, with the nearest fellow member 8′ away and around 5 magnitudes fainter. The nearest cluster member of comparable brightness is the lenticular galaxy NGC 4638, which is around 17′ away. It and the angularly nearby elliptical galaxy Messier 60 were both discovered by Johann Gottfried Koehler in April 1779 when observing comet seeming close by. Charles Messier listed both in the Messier Catalogue about three days after Koehler's discovery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eyes Galaxies</span> Pair of galaxies in the constellation Virgo

The Eyes Galaxies are a pair of galaxies about 52 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. The pair are members of the string of galaxies known as Markarian's Chain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4536</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4536 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 24 January 1784.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1808</span> Galaxy in the constellation Columba

NGC 1808 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the southern constellation of Columba, about two degrees to the south and east of Gamma Caeli. It was discovered on 10 May 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop, who described it as a "faint nebula". The galaxy is a member of the NGC 1808 group, which is part of the larger Dorado Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 5962</span> Galaxy in the constellation Serpens

NGC 5962 is a spiral galaxy in the equatorial constellation of Serpens Caput. It was discovered by the Anglo-German astronomer William Herschel on March 21, 1784. The NGC 5962 galaxy is located at a distance of 120 million light years and is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 1,957 km/s. It is the brightest member of the eponymously-named NGC 5962 group, which overlaps with the nearby NGC 5970 group; the two groups may be gravitationally bound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4102</span> Galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major

NGC 4102 is an intermediate barred spiral galaxy located in the northern constellation of Ursa Major. It is visible in a small telescope and has an apparent visual magnitude of 11.2. The galaxy was discovered April 12, 1789 by William Herschel. J. L. E. Dreyer described it as "bright, pretty small, round, brighter middle and bright nucleus". This galaxy is located at a distance of 60 million light years and is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 837 km/s. It is a member of the Ursa Major group of galaxies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haro 11</span> Galaxy in the constellation Sculptor

Haro 11 (H11) is a small galaxy at a distance of 300,000,000 light-years (redshift z=0.020598). It is situated in the southern constellation of Sculptor. Visually, it appears to be an irregular galaxy, as the ESO image to the right shows. H11 is named after Guillermo Haro, a Mexican astronomer who first included it in a study published in 1956 about blue galaxies. H11 is a starburst galaxy that has 'super star clusters' within it and is one of nine galaxies in the local universe known to emit Lyman continuum photons (LyC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4388</span> Galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4388 is an active spiral galaxy in the equatorial constellation of Virgo. It was discovered April 17, 1784 by Wilhelm Herschel. This galaxy is located at a distance of 57 million light years and is receding with a radial velocity of 2,524km/s. It is one of the brightest galaxies of the Virgo Cluster due to its luminous nucleus. NGC 4388 is located 1.3° to the west of the cluster center, which translates to a projected distance of ≈400 kpc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1614</span> Galaxy in the constellation Eridanus

NGC 1614 is the New General Catalogue identifier for a spiral galaxy in the equatorial constellation of Eridanus. It was discovered on December 29, 1885 by American astronomer Lewis Swift, who described it in a shorthand notation as: pretty faint, small, round, a little brighter middle. The nebula was then catalogued by Danish-Irish astronomer J. L. E. Drayer in 1888. When direct photography became available, it was noted that this galaxy displayed some conspicuous peculiarities. American astronomer Halton Arp included it in his 1966 Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies. In 1971, Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky described it as a "blue post-eruptive galaxy, compact patchy core, spiral plumes, long blue jet SSW".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1792</span> Galaxy in the constellation Columba

NGC 1792 is a spiral galaxy located in the southern Columba constellation. It was discovered by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop on October 4, 1826. This galaxy is located at a distance of about 36.4 million light-years and is receding from the Milky Way with a heliocentric radial velocity of 1,208 km/s. NGC 1792 is a member of the NGC 1808 cluster of galaxies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3610</span> Elliptical galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major

NGC 3610 is an elliptical galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered on 8 April 1793 by German-British astronomer William Herschel. This galaxy is located at a distance of 106 million light-years (32.5 Mpc) from the Milky Way, and is receding with a galacto-centric radial velocity of 1,819 km/s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3311</span> Galaxy in the constellation Hydra

NGC 3311 is a super-giant elliptical galaxy located about 190 million light-years away in the constellation Hydra. The galaxy was discovered by astronomer John Herschel on March 30, 1835. NGC 3311 is the brightest member of the Hydra Cluster and forms a pair with NGC 3309 which along with NGC 3311, dominate the central region of the Hydra 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 536</span> Galaxy in the constellation Andromeda

NGC 536 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Andromeda. It is located at a distance of circa 200 million light-years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 536 is about 180,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on September 13, 1784. It is a member of Hickson Compact Group 10, which also includes the galaxies NGC 529, NGC 531, and NGC 542. It belongs to the Perseus–Pisces Supercluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4302</span> Galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices

NGC 4302 is an edge-on spiral galaxy located about 55 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 8, 1784 and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3175</span> Galaxy in the constellation Antlia

NGC 3175 is a spiral galaxy located in the far eastern part of the southern constellation of Antlia at an approximate distance of 54 million light-years. NGC 3175 was discovered on March 30, 1835 by English astronomer John Herschel, whose notes described it as, "considerably bright, large, much extended NE-SW, very gradually little brighter middle". This galaxy is the namesake of the NGC 3175 group of galaxies, which includes the spiral galaxy NGC 3137.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 7679</span> Galaxy in the constellation Pisces

NGC 7679 is a lenticular galaxy with a peculiar morphology in the constellation Pisces. It is located at a distance of about 200 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 7679 is about 60,000 light years across. It was discovered by Heinrich d'Arrest on September 23, 1864. The total infrared luminosity is 1011.05 L☉, and thus it is categorised as a luminous infrared galaxy. NGC 7679 is both a starburst galaxy and a Seyfert galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4324</span> Galaxy in the constellation of Virgo

NGC 4324 is a lenticular galaxy located about 85 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by astronomer Heinrich d'Arrest on March 4, 1862. NGC 4324 has a stellar mass of 5.62 × 1010M☉, and a baryonic mass of 5.88 × 1010M☉. The galaxy's total mass is around 5.25 × 1011M☉. NGC 4324 is notable for having a ring of star formation surrounding its nucleus. It was considered a member of the Virgo II Groups until 1999, when its distance was recalculated and it was placed in the Virgo W Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4123</span> Galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4123 is a modest-sized, strongly-barred spiral galaxy located 75 million light-years away in the equatorial constellation of Virgo. It was discovered February 25, 1784 by William Herschel. This is a member of the Virgo cluster, and it belongs to a group of three galaxies. A companion galaxy, NGC 4116, lies at an angular separation of 14′ to the southwest. There is no indication of an interaction between the two galaxies. The third member of the group is NGC 4179.

References

  1. 1 2 Samsonyan, Anahit; et al. (September 2016). "Neon and [C II] 158 μm Emission Line Profiles in Dusty Starbursts and Active Galactic Nuclei". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 226 (1). id. 11. arXiv: 1608.02277 . Bibcode:2016ApJS..226...11S. doi: 10.3847/0067-0049/226/1/11 .
  2. 1 2 3 Ann, H. B.; et al. (2015). "A Catalog of Visually Classified Galaxies in the Local (z ~ 0.01) Universe". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 217 (2): 27–49. arXiv: 1502.03545 . Bibcode:2015ApJS..217...27A. doi:10.1088/0067-0049/217/2/27. S2CID   119253507.
  3. ↑ Falco, Emilio E.; et al. (April 1999). "The Updated Zwicky Catalog (UZC)". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 111 (758): 438. arXiv: astro-ph/9904265 . Bibcode:1999PASP..111..438F. doi:10.1086/316343. S2CID   14298026.
  4. 1 2 Lianou, S.; et al. (November 2019). "Dust properties and star formation of approximately a thousand local galaxies". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 631: 19. arXiv: 1906.02712 . Bibcode:2019A&A...631A..38L. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201834553. S2CID   174801441. A38.
  5. 1 2 Véron-Cetty, M.-P.; Véron, P. (2010). "A catalogue of quasars and active nuclei: 13th edition". Astronomy & Astrophysics . 518 (A10): A10. Bibcode:2010A&A...518A..10V. doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/201014188 .
  6. ↑ "Results for NGC 4194". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. January 12, 2007. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  7. 1 2 "NGC 4194". SIMBAD . Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg . Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  8. ↑ Seligman, Courtney. "NGC Objects: NGC 4150 - 4199". Celestial Atlas. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  9. ↑ Demoulin, Marie-Helene (April 1969). "The Peculiar Galaxy NGC 4194". Astrophysical Journal. 156: 325. Bibcode:1969ApJ...156..325D. doi:10.1086/149967.
  10. ↑ Weistrop, D.; et al. (March 2004). "Looking Closely at Medusa: Star-forming Knots at the Center of NGC 4194". The Astronomical Journal. 127 (3): 1360–1370. Bibcode:2004AJ....127.1360W. doi:10.1086/382092.
  11. ↑ Hancock, M.; et al. (December 2003). "A Spectroscopic Study of the Star-Forming Properties of the Center of NGC 4194". The Astronomical Journal. 131 (1): 1394. Bibcode:2003AAS...20311515H. doi:10.1086/497969.
  12. ↑ Joseph, R. D.; Wright, G. S. (May 1985). "Recent star formation in interacting galaxies - II. Super starbursts in merging galaxies". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 214 (2): 87–95. Bibcode:1985MNRAS.214...87J. doi: 10.1093/mnras/214.2.87 .
  13. ↑ "Unknown extreme star formation discovered". Space Daily. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  14. ↑ Weistrop, D.; et al. (April 2012). "Characteristics of Star-forming Regions in the Advanced Minor-merger, Luminous Infrared Galaxy NGC 4194". The Astronomical Journal. 143 (4). id. 98. Bibcode:2012AJ....143...98W. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/143/4/98.
  15. ↑ Beck, Sara C.; et al. (May 2014). "Ionized Gas Kinematics at High Resolution. IV. Star Formation and a Rotating Core in the Medusa (NGC 4194)". The Astrophysical Journal. 787 (1). id. 85. arXiv: 1404.1562 . Bibcode:2014ApJ...787...85B. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/787/1/85.
  16. ↑ "NGC 4194: A Black Hole in Medusa's Hair". Chandra Photo Album. March 11, 2009. Retrieved 2024-04-01.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.