NGC 3311 explained

NGC 3311
Epoch:J2000
Type:cD2, E+2[1]
Dist Ly:57Mpc
H Radial V:3825 km/s
Z:0.012759
Appmag V:12.65
Stars:more than 1 trillion
Size V:3.5 x 2.9
Notes:Massive globular cluster population
Constellation Name:Hydra
Names:ESO 501-38, AM 1034-271, MCG -4-25-36, PGC 31478
Size:~70kpc (estimated)

NGC 3311 is a super-giant[2] elliptical galaxy[3] (a type-cD galaxy) located about 190 million light-years away[4] in the constellation Hydra.[5] The galaxy was discovered by astronomer John Herschel on March 30, 1835.[6] [7] NGC 3311 is the brightest[8] [9] member of the Hydra Cluster[10] and forms a pair with NGC 3309 which along with NGC 3311, dominate the central region of the Hydra Cluster.[11]

NGC 3311 is surrounded by a rich and extensive globular cluster system rivaling that of Messier 87 in the Virgo Cluster.

Physical characteristics

The central region of NGC 3311 is obscured by a dust cloud with an estimated diameter of 0.53kpc.[12] It has an amorphous and complex structure and its small size and disturbed morphology suggests that the cloud originated from a merger event with another galaxy that occurred within the past 10 million years. Oddly though, there are no shells or isophote distortions in the outer regions of NGC 3311 that would have been the result of such a recent merger. Other scenarios for the origin of the dust cloud are by a cooling flow or by galactic wind failure.

The total estimated mass of the dust cloud is 4,600 solar masses (M☉).[13]

In NGC 3311, it has been detected that there is an excess blue population in the central region of the galaxy. The spectrum of the galaxy appears to resemble that of an H II region. This suggests that the excess blue population represents an ongoing formation of young bright stars.

Outer halo

The outer halo of NGC 3311 appears to have formed from the accretion and mergers of massive satellite galaxies in vicinity of the galaxy. The halo is made up of intra-cluster stars with a dominant part of these stars coming from the outskirts of bright early-type galaxies and the rest originating from dwarf galaxies.[14] However, the build-up of its extended halo is still ongoing due to the infall of a group of 14 dwarf galaxies including the galaxies HCC 026 and HCC 007 that are currently being tidally disputed and adding their stars to the outer halo.[15] [16] [17] In contrast, the inner galaxy formed from the mergers of gas-rich lumps reminiscent of the first phase of galaxy formation.

Stellar populations

The stars in the central region of NGC 3311 and in the halo are very old, with ages of over 10 Gyrs. However the stars in the central galaxy have a higher metallicity than the halo suggesting the stars in the stars in the central galaxy formed in a rapid but short period of star formation that occurred early on though a gas-rich dissipative collapse while the stars in halo formed in smaller accreted satellite galaxies with more extended star formation.[18]

Off-centered envelope

NGC 3311 contains an off centered-envelope that was first detected by Arnaboldi et al. The off centered-envelope has a higher metallicity than the outer halo and is located close to the infalling group of dwarf galaxies.

The envelope appears to have been offset from the center of NGC 3311 by a tidal interaction with the dark matter halos of the infalling group of dwarf galaxies or halo associated with NGC 3309. This tidal interaction would have also stripped gas and dust from the outer halo of NGC 3311.

Intracluster planetary nebulae

Around 60 intracluster planetary nebulae have been detected surrounding NGC 3311.[19]

Supermassive black hole

NGC 3311 is host to a supermassive black hole with an estimated mass of 126 million solar masses .[20]

Dark matter halo

NGC 3311 appears to have a cored dark matter halo.

Radio source

NGC 3311 has a weak radio source with a total 6-cm flux density of 0.3 mJy.[21] [22]

Although NGC 3311 has a weak radio source, it is bright in X-rays.[23]

Globular clusters

NGC 3311 has one of the largest globular cluster systems known in the local universe. With an estimated population of about globular clusters, NGC 3311's globular cluster system rivals that of Messier 87's, which has about 13,000 globular clusters.[24] NGC 3309, another nearby giant elliptical has an unusually low number of globular clusters. This suggests that NGC 3311 stripped part of NGC 3309's globular clusters, with some of its globular clusters becoming members of NGC 3311's system.[25]

NGC 3311's globular cluster system was initially detected in 1976[26] and was found by Harris et al. in 1983 to contain a massive globular cluster system similar to Messier 87.[27]

An analysis by Secker et al. in 1995 using Washington photometry from the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory concluded that NGC 3311 had the most metal-rich globular cluster system known, with a complete absence of populations of metal-poor and intermediate-metallicity globular clusters.[28] However, Brodie et al. and Wehner et al. determined that the globular cluster system shows a bimodal color distribution with equal numbers of metal-rich and metal-poor clusters.[29]

Ultra-compact dwarf galaxies

A large population of about 50 ultra-compact dwarf galaxies (UDCs)[30] have been detected in the Hydra Cluster,[31] with most of them being dynamically associated to NGC 3311. It appears that the ultra-compact dwarf galaxies, especially the brighter and more massive ones such as HUCD1 with a mass of 5 and a half-light radius of 25.4pc are the remnant nuclei of dwarf galaxies whose stellar envelopes were stripped off during an interaction with another galaxy or the cluster itself.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Results for NGC 3311. 2018-05-22.
  2. Book: A Question and Answer Guide to Astronomy. Bely. Pierre-Yves. Christian. Carol. Roy. Jean-René. 2010-03-11. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-18066-5. en.
  3. Web site: Detailed Object Classifications. ned.ipac.caltech.edu. 2018-05-24.
  4. Web site: Your NED Search Results. ned.ipac.caltech.edu. 2018-05-24.
  5. Web site: Revised NGC Data for NGC 3311. spider.seds.org. 2018-05-24.
  6. Web site: Astronomy-Mall: Adventures In Deep Space NGC objects 3001-3999. Gottlieb. Steve. Astronomy-Mall. 2018-04-27.
  7. Web site: New General Catalog Objects: NGC 3300 - 3349. cseligman.com. en-US. 2018-05-04.
  8. Barbosa. C. E.. Arnaboldi. M.. Coccato. L.. Gerhard. O.. Mendes de Oliveira. C.. Hilker. M.. Richtler. T.. January 2018. Sloshing in its cD halo: MUSE kinematics of the central galaxy NGC 3311 in the Hydra I cluster. Astronomy & Astrophysics. en. 609. A78. 10.1051/0004-6361/201731834. 0004-6361. 1710.08941. 2018A&A...609A..78B. 73534240.
  9. News: NGC 3311. 2018-05-26.
  10. Richter. O.-G.. February 1989. The Hydra I cluster of galaxies. V - A catalogue of galaxies in the cluster area. Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series. 77. 237–256. 1989A&AS...77..237R.
  11. Kotanyi. C.. November 1990. NGC 3309: an S-shaped radio galaxy in a nearby cluster.. Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica. 21. 173–176. 1990RMxAA..21..173K.
  12. van Dokkum. P. G.. Franx. M.. 1995-11-01. Dust in the Cores of Early-Type Galaxies. The Astronomical Journal. 110. 2027. 10.1086/117667. 0004-6256. astro-ph/9507101. 1995AJ....110.2027V. 118939047.
  13. Grillmair. Carl J.. Faber. S. M.. Lauer. Tod R.. Baum. William A.. Lynds. Roger C.. O'Neil. Earl J. Jr.. Shaya. Edward J.. July 1994. The nuclear regions of NGC 3311 and NGC 7768 imaged with the Hubble Space Telescope Planetary Camera. The Astronomical Journal. en. 108. 102. 10.1086/117049. 0004-6256. 1994AJ....108..102G.
  14. Coccato. L.. Gerhard. O.. Arnaboldi. M.. Ventimiglia. G.. 2011-09-01. Stellar population and the origin of intra-cluster stars around brightest cluster galaxies: the case of NGC 3311. Astronomy and Astrophysics. 533. A138. 10.1051/0004-6361/201117546. 0004-6361. 1108.3834. 2011A&A...533A.138C. 119237962.
  15. Barbosa. C. E.. Arnaboldi. M.. Coccato. L.. Hilker. M.. Mendes de Oliveira. C.. Richtler. T.. 2016-04-26. The Hydra I cluster core. Astronomy & Astrophysics. en. 589. A139. 10.1051/0004-6361/201628137. 0004-6361. 1603.02202. 2016A&A...589A.139B. 55391140.
  16. Ventimiglia. G.. Arnaboldi. M.. Gerhard. O.. 2011-04-01. The unmixed kinematics and origins of diffuse stellar light in the core of the Hydra I cluster (Abell 1060). Astronomy and Astrophysics. 528. A24. 10.1051/0004-6361/201015982. 1101.3786. 2011A&A...528A..24V. 0004-6361. free.
  17. Arnaboldi. M.. Ventimiglia. G.. Iodice. E.. Gerhard. O.. Coccato. L.. 2012-09-01. A tale of two tails and an off-centered envelope: diffuse light around the cD galaxy NGC 3311 in the Hydra I cluster. Astronomy and Astrophysics. 545. A37. 10.1051/0004-6361/201116752. 1205.5289. 2012A&A...545A..37A. 0004-6361. free.
  18. Johnston. Evelyn J.. Merrifield. Michael. Aragón-Salamanca. Alfonso. 2018-08-01. Spectroscopic decomposition of the galaxy and halo of the cD galaxyNGC 3311. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 478. 3. 4255–4267. 10.1093/mnras/sty1342. 1805.06913. 2018MNRAS.478.4255J. 0035-8711.
  19. Ventimiglia. G.. Arnaboldi. M.. Gerhard. O.. November 2008. Intracluster Planetary Nebulae in the Hydra I cluster. Astronomische Nachrichten. en. 329. 9–10. 1057–1060. 10.1002/asna.200811090. 0004-6337. 0901.1197. 2008AN....329.1057V. 15025946.
  20. Pellegrini. S.. 2010-07-01. The Nuclear X-ray Emission of Nearby Early-type Galaxies. The Astrophysical Journal. 717. 2. 640–652. 10.1088/0004-637X/717/2/640. 1005.2344. 2010ApJ...717..640P. 0004-637X. free.
  21. Lindblad. P. O.. Jorsater, S.. S.. Sandqvist. Aa.. March 1985. The nuclear radio sources in the elliptical galaxies NGC 3309 and NGC 3311 in the cluster Abell 1060. Astronomy and Astrophysics. 144. 496–501. 1985A&A...144..496L.
  22. Vasterberg. A. R.. Jorsater. S.. Lindblad. P. O.. July 1991. An optical study of the cD galaxy NGC 3311 and the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 3309 in the cluster Hydra I. Astronomy and Astrophysics. 247. 335–347. 1991A&A...247..335V.
  23. McMahon. P. M.. van Gorkom. J. H.. Richter. O.-G.. Ferguson. H. C.. February 1992. H I imaging of NGC 3312 and NGC 3314a - A foreground group to the Hydra cluster?. The Astronomical Journal. en. 103. 399. 10.1086/116068. 0004-6256. 1992AJ....103..399M.
  24. Wehner. Elizabeth M. H.. Harris. William E.. Whitmore. Bradley C.. Rothberg. Barry. Woodley. Kristin A.. 2008. The Globular Cluster Systems around NGC 3311 and NGC 3309. The Astrophysical Journal. en. 681. 2. 1233. 10.1086/587433. 0004-637X. 0802.1723. 2008ApJ...681.1233W. 119241756.
  25. Richtler. T.. Salinas. R.. Misgeld. I.. Hilker. M.. Hau. G. K. T.. Romanowsky. A. J.. Schuberth. Y.. Spolaor. M.. 2011-06-24. The dark halo of the Hydra I galaxy cluster: core, cusp, cosmological?. Astronomy & Astrophysics. en. 531. A119. 10.1051/0004-6361/201015948. 0004-6361. 1103.2053. 2011A&A...531A.119R. 119210109.
  26. Smith. M. G.. Weedman. D. W.. 1976-05-01. Globular clusters in the Hydra I cluster of galaxies.. The Astrophysical Journal. 205. 709–715. 10.1086/154326. 1976ApJ...205..709S. 0004-637X.
  27. Harris. W. E.. Smith. M. G.. Myra. E. S.. 1983-09-01. Globular cluster systems in the Hydra I elliptical galaxies. II. The Astrophysical Journal. 272. 456–472. 10.1086/161313. 1983ApJ...272..456H. 0004-637X. free.
  28. Secker. Jeff. Geisler. Doug. McLaughlin. Dean E.. Harris. William E.. 1995-03-01. Washington photometry of the globular cluster system around NGC 3311. 1: Analysis of the metallicities. The Astronomical Journal. 109. 1019–1032. 10.1086/117338. 1995AJ....109.1019S. 0004-6256. free.
  29. Brodie. J. P.. Larsen. S. S.. Kissler-Patig. M.. 2000-11-01. A New Look at Globular Cluster Colors in NGC 3311 and the Case for Exclusively Metal-rich Globular Cluster Systems. The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 543. 1. L19–L22. 10.1086/318166. astro-ph/0008345. 2000ApJ...543L..19B. 11123192. 0004-637X.
  30. Misgeld. I.. Mieske. S.. Hilker. M.. Richtler. T.. Georgiev. I. Y.. Schuberth. Y.. 2011-07-01. A large population of ultra-compact dwarf galaxies in the Hydra I cluster. Astronomy and Astrophysics. 531. A4. 10.1051/0004-6361/201116728. 1103.5463. 2011A&A...531A...4M. 0004-6361. free.
  31. Wehner. Elizabeth M. H.. Harris. William E.. 2007-10-01. Ultracompact Dwarf Candidates in the Hydra Cluster. The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 668. 1. L35–L38. 10.1086/522305. 0004-637X. 0708.1514. 2007ApJ...668L..35W. 121214293 .

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