| NGC 1439 | |
| Epoch: | J2000 |
| Type: | E1[1] |
| Dist Ly: | 23.5 Mpc (76.6 Mly) |
| H Radial V: | 1668 ± 8 km/s |
| Appmag V: | 11.4 |
| Size V: | 2.4 × 2.2 |
| Constellation Name: | Eridanus |
| Names: | [2] |
NGC 1439 is an elliptical galaxy located in constellation of Eridanus. Situated about 77 million light years away, it is a member of the Eridanus cluster of galaxies, a cluster of about 200 galaxies. It was discovered by William Herschel on 9 December 1784.
NGC 1439 has a Hubble classification of E1, which indicates it is an elliptical galaxy with no extensions. It is moving away from the Milky Way at a rate of 1,668 km/s. Its size on the night sky is 2.4' x 2.2' which is proportional to its real size of 54 000 ly.
NGC 1439 is an early-type galaxy. Despite their name, early-type galaxies are much older than spiral galaxies, and mostly comprise old, red-colored stars. Very little star formation occurs in these galaxies; the lack of star formation in elliptical galaxies appears to start at the center and then slowly propagates outward.[3]
Most of the galaxies like NGC 1439 are dust poor. However, NGC 1439 contains more dust than usual.[4]