Circinus Galaxy

Circinus Galaxy

A Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of the Circinus Galaxy.
Credit: HST/NASA/ESA.
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Circinus
Right ascension 14h 13m 9.9s[1]
Declination −65° 20 21[1]
Redshift 426 ± 25 km/s
Distance 13 Mly
Apparent magnitude (V) 12.1[1]
Characteristics
Type SA(s)b[1]
Apparent size (V) 6.9 × 3.0[1]
Other designations
ESO 97-G13,[1] LEDA 50779

The Circinus Galaxy (ESO 97-G13) is a Seyfert galaxy[2] in the Circinus constellation. It is located 4 degrees below the Galactic plane, and, at a distance of 13 million light-years, it is one of the closest to the Milky Way.[3] The galaxy is undergoing tumultuous changes, as rings of gas are being ejected from the galaxy. The outermost ring is 700 light-years from the center of the galaxy and the inner ring is 130 light-years out. Although the Circinus galaxy can be seen using a small telescope, it was not noticed until 1977[4] because it lies close to the plane of the Milky Way and is obscured by galactic dust. The Circinus Galaxy is a Type II Seyfert galaxy and is one of the closest known active galaxies to the Milky Way, though it is probably slightly further away than Centaurus A.

Circinus Galaxy was a home for SN 1996cr, that has been identified over a decade after it exploded. The supernova was first singled out in 2001 as a bright, variable object in a Chandra X-ray Observatory image, but it was not confirmed as a supernova until years later.

The Circinus Galaxy is one of twelve large galaxies (the "Council of Giants") surrounding the Local Group in the Local Sheet.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for ESO 97-13. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  2. "SIMBAD Astronomical Database". Results for ESO 97-13. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  3. Maiolino, R.; Krabbe, A.; Thatte, N.; Genzel, R. (1998). "Seyfert Activity and Nuclear Star Formation in the Circinus Galaxy". The Astrophysical Journal. 493 (2): 650–65. arXiv:astro-ph/9709091Freely accessible. Bibcode:1998ApJ...493..650M. doi:10.1086/305150.
  4. Inglis, Mike (2004). Astronomy of the Milky Way: Observer's Guide to the Southern Sky. New York, New York: Springer. p. 31. ISBN 1-85233-742-7.

External links

Coordinates: 14h 13m 9.9s, −65° 20′ 21″

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