NGC 6621

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NGC 6621
Hubble Interacting Galaxy NGC 6621 (2008-04-24).jpg
Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 6621 (center) and NGC 6622 (left)
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Draco
Right ascension 18h 12m 55s [1]
Declination +68° 21′ 48″ [1]
Redshift 0.020652 ± 0.000007 [2]
Heliocentric radial velocity 6191 ± 2 [2]
Distance 265 Mly (81 Mpc) [3]
Apparent magnitude  (B)13.6 [1]
Characteristics
Type Sb pec [2]
Apparent size  (V)1.9′ × 0.7′ [2]
Other designations
UGC 11175, Arp 81, VV 247a, CGCG 322-036, MCG +11-22-030, PGC 61582

NGC 6621 is an interacting spiral galaxy in the constellation Draco. It lies at a distance of circa 260 million light-years. NGC 6621 interacts with NGC 6622, with their closest approach having taken place about 100 million years before the moment seen now. [4] 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. [5] 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 6621 is the larger of the two, and is a very disturbed spiral galaxy. The encounter has pulled a long tail out of NGC 6621 that has now wrapped at the north behind its body. The collision has also triggered extensive star formation between the two galaxies. The most intense star formation takes place in the region between the two nuclei, where a large population of luminous clusters, also known as super star clusters, has been observed. At this region is observed the most tidal stress. Many large clusters are also observed in the tail and the nucleus of NGC 6621. [4] [6] The brightest and bluest clusters are less than 100 million years old, with the youngest being less than 10 million years old. The side of the galaxy further from the companion features noticeably less star formation activity. [4]

NGC 6621 is characterised as a luminous infrared galaxy, with its infrared luminosity being 1011.24 L☉. [7] NGC 6621 contributes nearly all of the radio and far infrared flux of the pair. When observed in H-alpha, the centre of the galaxy has two bright sources separated by 3 arcseconds, with the southwest being brighter while the northeastern one coincides with the nucleus of NGC 6621. [8]

One supernova has been detected in NGC 6621, SN 2010hi. It was discovered on September 1.893 (UTC) at magnitude 18.0 lying 30" east and 4" north of the center of the galaxy. [9]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 6946</span> Galaxy in the constellations Cepheus & Cygnus

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1316</span> Lenticular radio galaxy in the constellation Fornax

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<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 7552</span> Galaxy in the constellation Grus

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3631</span> Galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 2623</span> Interacting galaxy in the constellation Cancer

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3256</span> Peculiar galaxy in the constellation Vela

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 7469</span> Galaxy located in the constellation Pegasus

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 7674</span> Galaxy located in the constellation Pegasus

NGC 7674 is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Pegasus. It is located at a distance of circa 350 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 7674 is about 125,000 light years across. It was discovered by John Herschel on August 16, 1830.

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1142</span> Interacting and distorted spiral galaxy in the constellation Cetus

NGC 1142 is a distorted spiral galaxy in the constellation of Cetus. It is located about 370 million light years away from Earth, which means, given its apparent dimensions, that NGC 1142 is approximately 170,000 light years across. It is a type 2 Seyfert galaxy. It interacts with the elliptical galaxy NGC 1141.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "NGC 6621". SIMBAD . Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg . Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 6621. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
  3. ↑ Theureau, G.; Hanski, M. O.; Coudreau, N.; Hallet, N.; Martin, J.-M. (19 December 2006). "Kinematics of the Local Universe". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 465 (1): 71–85. arXiv: astro-ph/0611626 . Bibcode:2007A&A...465...71T. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20066187. S2CID   14251529.
  4. 1 2 3 Keel, William C.; Borne, Kirk D. (September 2003). "Massive Star Clusters in Ongoing Galaxy Interactions: Clues to Cluster Formation". The Astronomical Journal. 126 (3): 1257–1275. arXiv: astro-ph/0307025 . Bibcode:2003AJ....126.1257K. doi:10.1086/377482. S2CID   14991984.
  5. ↑ Seligman, Courtney. "NGC 6621 (= PGC 61579, and with NGC 6622 = Arp 81)". Celestial Atlas. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  6. ↑ "HubbleSite: Image - Hubble Interacting Galaxy NGC 6621". hubblesite.org. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  7. ↑ Lu, Nanyao; Zhao, Yinghe; Díaz-Santos, Tanio; Xu, C. Kevin; Gao, Yu; Armus, Lee; Isaak, Kate G.; Mazzarella, Joseph M.; van der Werf, Paul P.; Appleton, Philip N.; Charmandaris, Vassilis; Evans, Aaron S.; Howell, Justin; Iwasawa, Kazushi; Leech, Jamie; Lord, Steven; Petric, Andreea O.; Privon, George C.; Sanders, David B.; Schulz, Bernhard; Surace, Jason A. (3 May 2017). "A Herschel Space Observatory Spectral Line Survey of Local Luminous Infrared Galaxies from 194 to 671 Microns". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 230 (1): 1. arXiv: 1703.00005 . Bibcode:2017ApJS..230....1L. doi: 10.3847/1538-4365/aa6476 . S2CID   28421031.
  8. ↑ Hattori, T.; Yoshida, M.; Ohtani, H.; Sugai, H.; Ishigaki, T.; Sasaki, M.; Hayashi, T.; Ozaki, S.; Ishii, M.; Kawai, A. (February 2004). "A Study of the Distribution of Star-forming Regions in Luminous Infrared Galaxies by Means of H Imaging Observations". The Astronomical Journal. 127 (2): 736–757. arXiv: astro-ph/0311179 . Bibcode:2004AJ....127..736H. doi:10.1086/381060. S2CID   18181421.
  9. ↑ "SUPERNOVA 2010hi IN NGC 6621". Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. International Astronomical Union. 3 September 2010.
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