NGC 55

NGC 55
Magellanic barred spiral galaxy NGC 55 imaged by the La Silla Observatory
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationSculptor
Right ascension00h 14m 53.6s
Declination−39° 11′ 47.9″
Redshift0.000437
Heliocentric radial velocity131 ± 2 km/s
Distance6.5 ± 0.65 Mly
(2.00 ± 0.2 Mpc) [a]
Apparent magnitude (V)7.87
Characteristics
TypeSB(s)m
Mass(2.0 ± 0.4) × 1010 M☉
Size~68,500 ly (20.99 kpc) (estimated)
Apparent size (V)32.4′ × 5.6′
Other designations
PGC 1014, Caldwell 72, 2MASS J00145360-3911478, IRAS F00124-3929, ESO 293-50, MCG -07-01-013

NGC 55, also known as the String of Pearls Galaxy, 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. 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. It has an estimated mass of (2.0 ± 0.4) × 1010 M☉.

Nearby galaxies and group information

NGC 55 and the spiral galaxy NGC 300 have traditionally been identified as members of the Sculptor Group or LGG 4, 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.

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

Visual appearance

The Webb Society Deep-Sky Observer's Handbook 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. In September 1897, the famous New York comet hunter Lewis Swift observed the galaxy from Echo Mountain, California with a 16-inch refractor. He mistook the galaxy's faint eastern section as a new find (even though John Herschel had drawn it) and that is how it got cataloged as IC 1537.

See also

Notes

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

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. ↑ Garcia, A. M. (1993). "General study of group membership. II. Determination of nearby groups". Astronomy & Astrophysics Supplement Series. 100: 47–90. Bibcode:1993A&AS..100...47G.
  11. ↑ 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.
  12. ↑ Jones, K. G. (1981). Webb Society Deep-Sky Observer's Handbook. Enslow Publishers. ISBN 978-0-89490-134-8. OL 8249797M.
  13. ↑ Robert Burnham Jr. (1978). Burnham's Celestial Handbook. Vol. III. New York: Dover. p. 1733. ISBN 978-0-486-24065-7.
  14. ↑ Swift, L. (1898-09-01). "Catalogue No. 11 of Nebulae". Astronomische Nachrichten. 147 (13): 209–220. Bibcode:1898AN....147..209S. doi:10.1002/asna.18981471302. ISSN 0004-6337.