NGC 55

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NGC 55
Irregular Galaxy NGC 55 (ESO 0914a).jpg
Irregular Galaxy NGC 55 imaged by the La Silla Observatory
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Sculptor [1]
Right ascension 00h 14m 53.6s [2]
Declination −39° 11′ 47.9″ [2]
Redshift 0.000437 [2]
Heliocentric radial velocity 131 ± 2 km/s [2]
Distance 6.5 ± 0.65 Mly
(2.00 ± 0.2 Mpc) [3] [4] [a]
Apparent magnitude  (V)7.87 [5] [6]
Characteristics
Type SB(s)m [2]
Mass (2.0 ± 0.4) × 1010  M☉
Size~68,500  ly (20.99  kpc) (estimated) [2]
Apparent size  (V)32.4′ × 5.6′ [2]
Other designations
PGC 1014, [2] Caldwell  72, 2MASS J00145360-3911478, IRAS F00124-3929, ESO 293-50, MCG -07-01-013 [5]

NGC 55, also known as the String of Pearls Galaxy, [7] is a Magellanic type barred spiral galaxy located about 6.5 million light-years away in the constellation Sculptor. It was discovered on 7 July 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop. [8] Along with its neighbor NGC 300, it is one of the closest galaxies to the Local Group, probably lying between the Milky Way and the Sculptor Group. [8] It has an estimated mass of (2.0 ± 0.4) × 1010M☉. [9]

Contents

Nearby galaxies and group information

NGC 55 and the spiral galaxy NGC 300 have traditionally been identified as members of the Sculptor Group, a nearby group of galaxies in the constellation of the same name. However, recent distance measurements indicate that the two galaxies actually lie in the foreground. [10]

It is likely that NGC 55 and NGC 300 form a gravitationally bound pair. [4]

Visual appearance

The Webb Society Deep-Sky Observer's Handbook [11] writes the following about NGC 55: "Nearly edge-on and appears asymmetrical with some signs of dust near the bulge, which is diffuse, broad and somewhat elongated with the south edge sharp; southeast of the bulge it is strongly curved and lined with 4 or 5 faint knots; north edge of the curve is sharp." Burnham calls it "one of the outstanding galaxies of the southern heavens", somewhat resembling a smaller version of the Large Magellanic Cloud. [12]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ average(6.9 ± 0.7, [3] 7.5 ± 1.1 [4] ) = ((6.9 + 7.5) / 2) ± ((0.72 + 1.12)0.5 / 2) = 7.2 ± 0.7

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 300</span> Galaxy in the constellation Sculptor

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☉.

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sculptor Galaxy</span> Intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor

The Sculptor Galaxy is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor. The Sculptor Galaxy is a starburst galaxy, which means that it is currently undergoing a period of intense star formation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sculptor Dwarf Irregular Galaxy</span> Irregular galaxy in the constellation Sculptor

The Sculptor Dwarf Irregular Galaxy (SDIG) is an irregular galaxy in the constellation Sculptor. It is a member of the NGC 7793 subgroup of the Sculptor Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UGCA 86</span> Magellanic spiral galaxy in the constellation Camelopardalis

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 247</span> Galaxy in the constellation Cetus

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4236</span> Galaxy in the constellation Draco

NGC 4236 is a barred Magellanic spiral galaxy located in the constellation Draco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4605</span> Galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major

NGC 4605 is a dwarf barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major, located at a distance of 18.1 ± 0.3 megalight-years from the Milky Way. Physically it is similar in size and in B-band absolute magnitude to the Large Magellanic Cloud. It is a member of the M81 Galaxy Group, along with Messier 81 and Messier 101.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 6340</span> Galaxy in the constellation Draco

NGC 6340 is an unbarred spiral galaxy in the northern constellation of Draco. It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on June 6, 1788. The galaxy is located approximately 55 million light-years (17 Mpc) away, and is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 1,217 km/s. It is the largest member of a triplet of galaxies known as the NGC 6340 group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 45</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Cetus

NGC 45 is a low surface brightness spiral galaxy in the equatorial constellation of Cetus. It was discovered on 11 November 1835 by the English astronomer John Herschel. The galaxy is located at a distance of 22 million light years and is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 466 km/s. It is located in the vicinity of the Sculptor Group, but is most likely a background galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3669</span> Galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major

NGC 3669 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by William Herschel on March 18, 1790. The galaxy is seen edge-on and appears to be slightly warped. It has a small bulge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3642</span> Galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major

NGC 3642 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy has a low-ionization nuclear emission-line region. It is located at a distance of circa 30 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 3642 is about 50,000 light years across. The galaxy is characterised by an outer pseudoring, which was probably formed after the accretion of a gas rich dwarf galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4274</span> Galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3726</span> Galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major

NGC 3726 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major. It is located at a distance of circa 45 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 3726 is about 85,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on February 5, 1788.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 7723</span> Galaxy in the constellation Aquarius

NGC 7723 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Aquarius. It is located at a distance of circa 90 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 7723 is about 95,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on November 27, 1785. The galaxy is included in the Herschel 400 Catalogue. It lies 1.5 degrees north-northwest from Omega1 Aquarii. It can be seen with a 4-inch telescope under dark skies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 5965</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Draco

NGC 5965 is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Draco. It is located at a distance of circa 150 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 5965 is about 260,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on May 5, 1788.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 5982</span> Galaxy in the constellation Draco

NGC 5982 is an elliptical galaxy located in the constellation Draco. It is located at a distance of circa 130 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 5982 is about 100,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on May 25, 1788.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3729</span> Galaxy in the constellation of Ursa Major

NGC 3729 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major. It is located at a distance of circa 65 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 3729 is about 60,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on April 12, 1789.

<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.

References

  1. ↑ R. W. Sinnott, ed. (1988). The Complete New General Catalogue and Index Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters by J. L. E. Dreyer. Sky Publishing Corporation and Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-933346-51-2.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 55. Retrieved 2006-10-17.
  3. 1 2 Karachentsev, I. D.; Kashibadze, O. G. (2006). "Masses of the local group and of the M81 group estimated from distortions in the local velocity field". Astrophysics . 49 (1): 3–18. Bibcode:2006Ap.....49....3K. doi:10.1007/s10511-006-0002-6. S2CID   120973010.
  4. 1 2 3 van de Steene, G. C.; et al. (2006). "Distance determination to NGC 55 from the planetary nebula luminosity function". Astronomy and Astrophysics . 455 (3): 891–896. Bibcode:2006A&A...455..891V. doi: 10.1051/0004-6361:20053475 .
  5. 1 2 "NGC 55". SIMBAD . Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg . Retrieved 2009-11-29.
  6. ↑ Armando, Gil de Paz; et al. (2007). "The GALEX Ultraviolet Atlas of Nearby Galaxies". Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series . 173 (2): 185–255. arXiv: astro-ph/0606440 . Bibcode:2007ApJS..173..185G. doi:10.1086/516636. S2CID   119085482.
  7. ↑ Stoyan, Ronald; Schurig, Stephan (2014). interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas. Erlangen: Cambridge University Press; Oculum-Verlag GmbH. ISBN   978-1-107-50338-0. OCLC   920437579.
  8. 1 2 "New General Catalog Objects: NGC 50 - 99". cseligman.com. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  9. ↑ Westmeier, T.; Koribalski, B. S.; Braun, R. (2013). "Gas and dark matter in the Sculptor group: NGC 55". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 434 (4): 3511–3525. arXiv: 1307.2962 . doi: 10.1093/mnras/stt1271 .
  10. ↑ I. D. Karachentsev; et al. (2003). "Distances to nearby galaxies in Sculptor". Astronomy and Astrophysics . 404 (1): 93–111. arXiv: astro-ph/0302045 . Bibcode:2003A&A...404...93K. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20030170. S2CID   54977869.
  11. ↑ Jones, K. G. (1981). Webb Society Deep-Sky Observer's Handbook . Enslow Publishers. ISBN   978-0-89490-134-8. OL   8249797M.
  12. ↑ Robert Burnham Jr. (1978). Burnham's Celestial Handbook. Vol. III. New York: Dover. p.  1733. ISBN   978-0-486-24065-7.
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