NGC 55

NGC 55, is a Magellanic type barred spiral galaxy located about 6.5 million light-years away in the constellation Sculptor. 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.[7] It has an estimated mass of (2.0 ± 0.4) × 1010 M☉.[8]

NGC 55
Irregular Galaxy NGC 55 (La Silla Observatory)
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationSculptor[1]
Right ascension00h 14m 53.6s[2]
Declination−39° 11′ 48″[2]
Redshift129 ± 2 km/s[2]
Distance6.5 ± 0.65 Mly
(2.00 ± 0.2 Mpc)[3][4] [a]
Apparent magnitude (V)7.87[5][6]
Characteristics
TypeSB(s)m[2]
Mass(2.0 ± 0.4) × 1010 M☉
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]

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.[9]

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[10] 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.[11]

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

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. "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 55. Retrieved 2006-10-17.
  3. 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. 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. "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. "New General Catalog Objects: NGC 50 - 99". cseligman.com. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  8. 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. doi:10.1093/mnras/stt1271.
  9. 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.
  10. Jones, K. G. (1981). Webb Society Deep-Sky Observer's Handbook. Enslow Publishers. ISBN 978-0-89490-134-8. OL 8249797M.
  11. 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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