NGC 1253 explained

NGC 1253
Epoch:J2000
Type:SAB(rs)cd [1]
Dist Ly:69 ± 15.8 Mly (21.2 ± 4.85 Mpc)
Z:0.005713 ± 0.000002
H Radial V:1,713 ± 1 km/s
Appmag V:11.7[2]
Size V:5.2 × 2.3
Constellation Name:Eridanus
Notes:Interacting galaxy
Names:UGCA 62, Arp 279, MCG -01-09-018, IRAS 03116-0300, PGC 12041

NGC 1253 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Eridanus. The galaxy lies about 70 million light years away from Earth, which means, given its apparent dimensions, that NGC 1253 is approximately 110,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on September 20, 1784.[3]

NGC 1253 is categorised as having a having a bar, however its spiral arms are similar to that of Whirlpool Galaxy. The galaxy has two spiral arms, probably as a result of interaction with its satellite.[4] The spiral arms end in what looks like a ring of hydrogen gas, while the inner area of the galaxy appears to be hydrogen poor. The velocity pattern indicates that the ring lies at the outer Lindblad resonance. The highest hydrogen density is observed at the northwest part of the ring. The largest HII regions of the galaxy lie along that ring.[4] The supermassive black hole located in the centre of the galaxy is estimated to have a mass of 106.99 ± 0.53 (3 − 33 millions) .[5]

NGC 1253 forms an interacting pair with NGC 1253A, a Magellanic spiral galaxy which lies 3.7 arcminutes away,[6] which corresponds to a projected distance of 25 kiloparsecs. The two galaxies share a common hydrogen envelope. The hydrogen envelope has an extension at its eastern side to the north that could be a tidal tail.[4] The two galaxies belong in the same galaxy cloud as Messier 77 and its group.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database . Results for NGC 1253 . 2024-03-26 .
  2. Web site: Revised NGC Data for NGC 1253 . spider.seds.org . 30 March 2024.
  3. Web site: Seligman . Courtney . NGC 1253 (= PGC 12041, and with PGC 12053 = Arp 279) . Celestial Atlas . 19 November 2018.
  4. Clemens . M. S. . Alexander . P. . The pattern speed of the spiral galaxy NGC 1253 . Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society . 11 February 2001 . 321 . 1 . 103–110 . 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2001.03977.x. free . 2001MNRAS.321..103C .
  5. Davis . Benjamin L. . Berrier . Joel C. . Johns . Lucas . Shields . Douglas W. . Hartley . Matthew T. . Kennefick . Daniel . Kennefick . Julia . Seigar . Marc S. . Lacy . Claud H. S. . The Black Hole Mass Function Derived from Local Spiral Galaxies . The Astrophysical Journal . 20 June 2014 . 789 . 2 . 124 . 10.1088/0004-637X/789/2/124. 1405.5876 . 2014ApJ...789..124D .
  6. de Vaucouleurs . G. . de Vaucouleurs . A. . Corwin . J. R. . Second reference catalogue of bright galaxies . Second Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies . 1 January 1976 . 1976 . 1976RC2...C......0D .
  7. Dmitry Makarov. Igor Karachentsev. Galaxy groups and clouds in the local (z∼ 0.01) Universe. MNRAS. 2011. 412. 4. 2498–2520. 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.18071.x. free . 1011.6277. 2011MNRAS.412.2498M. 119194025.