NGC 5996 | |
---|---|
Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
Constellation | Serpens |
Right ascension | 15h 46m 58.9s [1] |
Declination | +17° 53′ 03″ [1] |
Redshift | 0.010998 ± 0.000007 [1] |
Heliocentric radial velocity | 3,297 ± 2 km/s [1] |
Distance | 127 ± 15 Mly (38.9 ± 4.6 Mpc) [1] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.5 [2] |
Characteristics | |
Type | SBc [1] |
Apparent size (V) | 1.58′ × 0.69′ [1] |
Notable features | Interacting galaxy |
Other designations | |
UGC 10033, Arp 72, VV 16a, MRK 691, MCG +03-40-039, IRAS 15447+1802, PGC 56023 |
NGC 5996 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Serpens. The galaxy lies about 125 million light years away from Earth, which means, given its apparent dimensions, that NGC 5996 is approximately 65,000 light years across. [1] It was discovered by William Herschel on March 21, 1784. [3]
NGC 5996 forms a pair with a smaller companion galaxy, NGC 5994, which lies at a distance of about 40,000 light years. The galaxy pair is known as Arp 72. The interaction of the two galaxies has created a long and faint tidal tail about 3.8 arcminutes long curving away from the northern edge of the disk of NGC 5996 towards the east and south. [4] [5] A hydrogen bridge has been observed between the two galaxies and hydrogen emission is also observed west of NGC 5994. [4] The interaction has possibly induced star formation activity in NGC 5996 both in the nucleus and the disk, with a star formation rate of 1.43 M☉ per year. [4] The brightest star cluster in the galaxy is estimated to be 5 million years old. [6]
The galaxy pair is part of the NGC 5996 Group, which also includes UGC 10044 and IC 1135. [7]
One supernova has been observed in NGC 5996, ASASSN-15db, which was discovered when it had an apparent magnitude of 16.7 [8] and it was categorised as a type Ia supernova five days before maximum. [9] [10]
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.
Messier 63 or M63, also known as NGC 5055 or the seldom-used Sunflower Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici with approximately 400 billion stars. M63 was first discovered by the French astronomer Pierre Méchain, then later verified by his colleague Charles Messier on 14 June 1779. The galaxy became listed as object 63 in the Messier Catalogue. In the mid-19th century, Anglo-Irish astronomer Lord Rosse identified spiral structures within the galaxy, making this one of the first galaxies in which such structure was identified.
NGC 5195 is a dwarf galaxy that is interacting with the Whirlpool Galaxy. Both galaxies are located approximately 25 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici. Together, the two galaxies are one of the most famous interacting galaxy pairs.
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 3226 is a dwarf elliptical galaxy that is interacting with the spiral galaxy NGC 3227. The two galaxies are one of several examples of a spiral with a dwarf elliptical companion that are listed in the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies. Both galaxies may be found in the constellation Leo. It is a member of the NGC 3227 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.
NGC 520, also known as the Flying Ghost, is a pair of colliding spiral galaxies about 105 million light-years away in the constellation Pisces. They were discovered by astronomer William Herschel on 13 December 1784.
NGC 2207 and IC 2163 are a pair of colliding spiral galaxies about 80 million light-years away in the constellation Canis Major. Both galaxies were discovered by John Herschel in 1835.
NGC 2608 is a barred spiral galaxy located 93 million light-years away in the constellation Cancer. It is 62,000 light-years across, and about 60% of the width of the Milky Way. It is considered a grand design spiral galaxy and is classified as SB(s)b, meaning that the galaxy's arms wind moderately around the prominent central bar.
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 5829 is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Boötes. It is 281 million light-years away from Earth and was discovered by astronomer, Edouard Stephan in May 1882.
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.
ASASSN-15lh is an extremely luminous astronomical transient event discovered by the All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN), with the appearance of a superluminous supernova event. It was first detected on June 14, 2015, located within a faint galaxy in the southern constellation Indus, and was the most luminous supernova-like object ever observed. At its peak, ASASSN-15lh was 570 billion times brighter than the Sun, and 20 times brighter than the combined light emitted by the Milky Way Galaxy. The emitted energy was exceeded by PS1-10adi.
NGC 5917 is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation of Libra. It was discovered by English astronomer John Herschel on 16 July 1835. This galaxy is located at a distance of 90.4 ± 6.2 million light-years (27.73 ± 1.90 Mpc) from the Milky Way, and is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 1,934.1 km/s. It is interacting with the neighboring galaxy, PGC 54817, at an angular separation of 4.2′. Tidal tails extend from PGC 54817 to the halo of NGC 5917.
NGC 3631 is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major. It is located at a distance of about 35 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 3631 is about 60,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on April 14, 1789. It is a grand design spiral galaxy seen face on.
NGC 5468 is an intermediate spiral galaxy located in the constellation Virgo. It is located at a distance of about 140 million light-years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 5468 is about 110,000 light-years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on March 5, 1785.
NGC 6621 is an interacting spiral galaxy in the constellation Draco. It lies at a distance of about 260 million light-years. NGC 6621 interacts with NGC 6622, with their closest approach having taken place about 100 million years ago. The pair was discovered by Edward D. Swift and Lewis A. Swift on June 2, 1885. Originally NGC 6621 was assigned to the southeast galaxy, but now it refers to the northern one. NGC 6621 and NGC 6622 are included in the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies as Arp 81 in the category "spiral galaxies with large high surface brightness companions".
NGC 3583 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major. It is located at a distance of circa 90 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 3583 is about 85,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on February 5, 1788.
NGC 3448 is an irregular galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy lies about 75 million light years away from Earth, which means, given its apparent dimensions, that NGC 3448 is approximately 125,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on April 17, 1789.
NGC 4096 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy lies about 35 million light years away from Earth, which means, given its apparent dimensions, that NGC 4096 is approximately 80,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on March 9, 1788.