Messier 74 Explained

Messier 74
Epoch:J2000
Constellation Name:Pisces[1]
Type:SA(s)c
Dist Ly:30 ± 6 Mly
Z:657 km/s
Stars:100 billion (1×1011)
Appmag V:9.4[2]
Size V:10′.5 × 9′.5
Names:NGC 628, UGC 1149, PGC 5974
Size:95,000 ly (diameter)[3]

Messier 74 (also known as NGC 628 and Phantom Galaxy) is a large spiral galaxy in the equatorial constellation Pisces. It is about 32 million light-years away from Earth.[4] The galaxy contains two clearly defined spiral arms and is therefore used as an archetypal example of a grand design spiral galaxy.[5] The galaxy's low surface brightness makes it the most difficult Messier object for amateur astronomers to observe.[6] [7] Its relatively large angular (that is, apparent) size and the galaxy's face-on orientation make it an ideal object for professional astronomers who want to study spiral arm structure and spiral density waves. It is estimated that M74 hosts about 100 billion stars.[4]

Observation history

M74 was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780. He then communicated his discovery to Charles Messier, who listed the galaxy in his catalog. In July 2022, it was observed by the James Webb Space Telescope.

Structure

M74 has two spiral arms that wind counterclockwise from the galaxy's center. The spiral arms widen as they get farther from M74's center, but one of the arms narrows at the end. The arms deviate slightly from a constant angle.[8]

Supernovae

Three supernovae are known to have taken place within it:[9] SN 2002ap,[10] SN 2003gd,[11] and SN 2013ej (the numbers denote the year).[12] The latter was bright as 10th magnitude when viewed from the surface of Earth, so visible from almost all modern telescopes in a good night sky.

SN 2002ap was one of few Type Ic supernovae (which denotes hypernovae) recorded within 10 Mpc every century.[13] [14] [15] This explosion has been used to test theories on the origins of others further away and theories on the emission by supernovae of gamma ray bursts.

SN 2003gd is a Type II-P supernova.[16] Type II supernovae have known luminosities, so they can be used to accurately measure distances. The distance measured to M74 using SN 2003gd is 9.6 ± 2.8 Mpc, or 31 ± 9 million ly.[17] For comparison, distances measured using the brightest supergiants are 7.7 ± 1.7 Mpc and 9.6 ± 2.2 Mpc. Ben Sugerman found a "light echo"  - a later reflection of the explosion  - associated with SN 2003gd.[18] This is one of the few supernovae in which such a reflection has been found. This reflection appears to be from dust in a sheet-like cloud that lies in front of the supernova, and it can be used to determine the composition of the interstellar dust.[19]

In addition to these supernovae, the astronomical transient AT 2019krl was discovered on 6 July 2019 and classified as either a type IIn supernova or an LBV in outburst.[20] Later analysis argued that it was consistent with known examples of giant LBV eruptions and SN 2008S-like objects.[21]

Galaxy group

This is the brightest member of the M74 Group, a group of 5 to 7 galaxies that also includes the peculiar spiral galaxy NGC 660 and a few irregular galaxies.[22] [23] [24] Different group membership identification methods (ranging from a clear, to likely, to perhaps historic gravitational tie) identify several objects of the group in common, and a few galaxies whose exact status within such groupings is currently uncertain.

Suspected black hole

In 2005[25] the Chandra X-ray Observatory announced its observation of an ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) in M74, radiating more X-ray power than a neutron star, in periodic intervals of around two hours. It has an estimated mass of . This is an indicator of an intermediate-mass black hole. This would be a rather uncommon class, in between in size of stellar black holes and the massive black holes theorized to be in the center of many galaxies. Such an object is believed to form from lesser ("stellar") black holes within a star cluster. The source has been given identification number CXOU J013651.1+154547.

Amateur astronomy observation

Messier 74 is 1.5° east-northeast of Eta Piscium. This galaxy has the second-lowest Earth-surface brightness of any Messier object. (M101 has the lowest.) It requires a good night sky. This galaxy may be best viewed under low magnification; when highly magnified, the diffuse emission becomes more extended and appears too faint to be seen by many people. Additionally, M74 may be more easily seen when using averted vision when the eyes are fully dark adapted.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: R. W. Sinnott . The Complete New General Catalogue and Index Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters by J. L. E. Dreyer . 1988 . . 978-0-933346-51-2.
  2. Web site: Messier 74 . 30 April 2022 . SEDS Messier Catalog . 27 June 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230627172303/https://www.messier.seds.org/m/m074.html . dead .
  3. Web site: Messier Object 74.
  4. M74: The Perfect Spiral. 2011-04-07. 2011-04-06.
  5. Book: A. Sandage . J. Bedke . 1994 . Carnegie Atlas of Galaxies . . 978-0-87279-667-6.
  6. Book: S. J. O'Meara . 1998 . The Messier Objects . . 978-0-521-55332-2 . registration .
  7. Book: K. G. Jones . 1991 . 2nd . Messier's Nebulae and Star Clusters . . Cambridge . 978-0-521-37079-0.
  8. Honig . Z.N. . Reid . M.J. . Characteristics of Spiral Arms in Late-type Galaxies . The Astrophysical Journal . February 2015 . 800 . 1 . 5387–5394 . 10.1088/0004-637X/800/1/53 . 53 . November 10, 2022. 1412.1012 . 2015ApJ...800...53H . 118666575 .
  9. Web site: NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database . Results for NGC 628 . 2006-08-12.
  10. Nakano . S. . Hirose . Y. . Kushida . R. . Kushida . Y. . Li . W. . 2002 . Supernova 2002ap in M74 . IAU Circular . 7810 . 1 . 2002IAUC.7810....1N.
  11. R. Evans . R. H. McNaught . Supernova 2003gd in M74 . . 2003 . 8150 . 2 . 2003IAUC.8150....2E .
  12. News: Bright supernova in M74. 2013-07-29. Sky & Telescope. en-US. 2019-11-22.
  13. P. A. Mazzali . J. Deng . K. Maeda . K. Nomoto . H. Umeda . K. hatano . K. Iwamoto . Y. Yoshii . Y. Kobayashi . T. Minezaki . M. Doi . K. Enya . H. Tomita . S. J. Smartt . K. Kinugasa . H. Kawakita . K. Ayani . T. Kawabata . H. Yamaoka . Y. L. Qiu . K. Motohara . C. L. Gerardy . R. Fesen . K. S. Kawabata . M. Iye . N. Kashikawa . G. Kosugi . Y. Ohyama . M. Takada-Hidai . G. Zhao . R. Chornock . A. V. Filippenko . S. Benetti . M. Turatto . 6 . 2002 . The Type Ic Hypernova SN 2002ap . . 572 . 1 . L61–L65 . 2002ApJ...572L..61M . 10.1086/341504. free .
  14. S. J. Smartt . P. M. Vreeswijk . E. Ramirez-Ruiz . G. F. Gilmore . W. P. S. Meikle . A. M. N. Ferguson . J. H. Knapen . 6 . 2002 . On the Progenitor of the Type Ic Supernova 2002ap . . 572 . 2 . L147–L151 . 2002ApJ...572L.147S . 10.1086/341747. astro-ph/0205241 . 2130591 .
  15. A. Gal-Yam . E. O. Ofek . O. Shemmer . 2002 . Supernova 2002ap: The first month . . 332 . 4 . L73–L77 . 2002MNRAS.332L..73G . 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2002.05535.x. free . astro-ph/0204008 . 119332396 .
  16. S. D. Van Dyk . W. Li . A. V. Filippenko . 2003 . On the Progenitor of the Type II-Plateau Supernova 2003gd in M74 . . 115 . 813 . 1289–1295 . 2003PASP..115.1289V . 10.1086/378308. astro-ph/0307226 . 119521479 .
  17. M. A. Hendry . S. J. Smartt . J. R. Maund . A. Pastorello . L. Zampieri . S. Benetti . M. Turatto . E. Cappellaro . W. P. S. Meikle . R. Kotak . M. J. Irwin . P. G. Jonker . L. Vermaas . R. F. Peletier . H. van Woerden . K. M. Exter . D. L. Pollacco . S. Leon . S. Verley . C. R. Benn . G. Pignata . 6 . 2005 . A study of the Type II-P supernova 2003gd in M74 . . 359 . 3 . 906–926 . 2005MNRAS.359..906H . 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.08928.x. free . astro-ph/0501341 . 119479585 .
  18. B. E. K. Sugerman . 2005 . Discovery of a Light Echo from SN 2003gd . . 632 . 1 . L17–L20 . 2005ApJ...632L..17S . 10.1086/497578. astro-ph/0509009 . 11853657 .
  19. S. D. Van Dyk . W. Li . A. V. Filippenko . 2006 . The Light Echo around Supernova 2003gd in Messier 74 . . 118 . 841 . 351–357 . 2006PASP..118..351V . 10.1086/500225. astro-ph/0508684 . 1852671 .
  20. Web site: Spectroscopic classification of AT2019krl as a IIn or LBV-outburst . Andrews . Jennifer . 9 July 2019 . The Astronomer's Telegram . 17 August 2024.
  21. Andrews . Jennifer E. . Jencson . Jacob E. . Van Dyk . Schuyler D. . Smith . Nathan . Neustadt . Jack M. M. . Sand . David J. . Kreckel . K. . Kochanek . C. S. . Valenti . S. . Strader . Jay . Bersten . M. C. . Blanc . Guillermo A. . Bostroem . K. Azalee . Brink . Thomas G. . Emsellem . Eric . Filippenko . Alexei V. . Folatelli . Gastón . Kasliwal . Mansi M. . Masci . Frank J. . McElroy . Rebecca . Milisavljevic . Dan . Santoro . Francesco . Szalai . Tamás . The Blue Supergiant Progenitor of the Supernova Imposter AT 2019krl . The Astrophysical Journal . 917 . 1 . 67 . 2021 . 10.3847/1538-4357/ac09e1. free . 2009.13541 . 2021ApJ...917...63A .
  22. Book: R. B. Tully . 1988 . Nearby Galaxies Catalog . . 978-0-521-35299-4.
  23. A. Garcia . 1993 . General study of group membership. II – Determination of nearby groups . . 100 . 47–90 . 1993A&AS..100...47G.
  24. G. Giuricin . C. Marinoni . L. Ceriani . A. Pisani . 2000 . Nearby Optical Galaxies: Selection of the Sample and Identification of Groups . . 543 . 1 . 178–194 . 2000ApJ...543..178G . 10.1086/317070. astro-ph/0001140 . 9618325 .
  25. http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2005/m74/index.html Chandra : Photo Album and details of observation: M74 : 22 Mar 05

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