Astronomy:NGC 128

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Short description: Elliptical galaxy in Pisces
NGC 128
NGC 128 Mount Lemmon Sky Center.jpg
NGC 128 with smaller galaxies NGC 130 (left) and NGC 127 (right)
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationPisces
Right ascension 00h 29m 15.047s[1]
Declination+02° 51′ 50.60″[1]
Redshift0.01466[1]
Helio radial velocity4363 km/s[1]
Distance190 Mly (58 Mpc)[2]
Apparent magnitude (V)11.63[3]
Apparent magnitude (B)12.65[3]
Characteristics
TypeS0[1]
Other designations
UGC 292, MCG+00-02-051, PGC 1791[1]

NGC 128 is a lenticular galaxy in the constellation Pisces. It is approximately 190 million light-years from the Sun and has a diameter of about 165,000 light-years.[2]

Discovery

NGC 128 was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on 25 December 1790 using a reflecting telescope with an aperture of 18.7 inches. At the time of discovery, its coordinates were recorded as 00h 22m 05s, +87° 54.6′ -20.0″.[4] It was later observed by John Herschel on 12 October 1827.[2]

Visual appearance

The galaxy is described as "pretty bright", "very small" with a "brighter middle". It is approximately 165,000 light years in diameter and is elongated.[5][2] The galaxy is famous for its (peanut shell)-shaped bulge, and in 2016 it was discovered that there are two such nested structures, possibly associated with two stellar bars.[6]

Galaxy group information

NGC 128 is the largest member, and the namesake of, the NGC 128 group which also includes the galaxies NGC 127 and NGC 130. NGC 128 has a strong tidal bridge with NGC 127 and there is evidence of interaction between all three galaxies in the group. NGC 128 has a noticeable peanut shape that is likely to be caused by gravitational effects of the other two galaxies.[7]

Gallery

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "NGC 128". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=NGC+128. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "New General Catalog Objects: NGC 100 - 149". Celestial Atlas. http://cseligman.com/text/atlas/ngc1.htm#128. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Search specification: NGC 128". HyperLeda. Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1. http://leda.univ-lyon1.fr/ledacat.cgi?o=NGC%20128. Retrieved 2021-02-12. 
  4. "NGC 128". http://www.ngcicproject.org/pubdb.htm. 
  5. Aranda,Ted (2011). 3,000 Deep-Sky Objects: An Annotated Catalogue. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 54. ISBN 9781441994196. 
  6. Bogdan C. Ciambur; Alister W. Graham (2016), Quantifying the (X/peanut)-shaped structure in edge-on disc galaxies: length, strength, and nested peanuts
  7. Jarvis, B (1990). "The NGC 128 Group of Galaxies". Dynamics and Interactions of Galaxies. Springer-Verlag Berlin. pp. 416–417. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-75273-5_104. ISBN 978-3-642-75275-9. 

External links

Coordinates: Sky map 00h 29m 15.0s, +02° 51′ 51″