| NGC 5251 | |
|---|---|
NGC 5251 imaged by SDSS | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Boötes |
| Right ascension | 13h 37m 24.7565s |
| Declination | +27° 25′ 09.993″ |
| Redshift | 0.036558 |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 10960 ± 3 km/s |
| Distance | 538.9 ± 37.7 Mly (165.22 ± 11.57 Mpc) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 13.9 |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | S? |
| Size | ~183,100 ly (56.14 kpc) (estimated) |
| Apparent size (V) | 0.7′ × 0.7′ |
| Other designations | |
| IRAS F13351+2740, 2MASX J13372485+2725097, MCG +05-32-044, PGC 48119, CGCG 161-090 | |
NGC 5251 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Boötes. Its velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background is 11202 ± 17 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 165.22 ± 11.57 Mpc (~539 million light-years). It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 11 April 1785.
The SIMBAD database lists NGC 5251 as a LINER galaxy, i.e. a galaxy whose nucleus has an emission spectrum characterized by broad lines of weakly ionized atoms.
One supernova has been observed in NGC 5251.