Astronomy:NGC 3370

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NGC 3370
A spiral galaxy occupies most of the image. It is a slightly tilted disc of stars, yellow-white in the centre and blue in the outskirts, showing light from different stars in the galaxy. Its spiral arms curl outwards from the centre, speckled with blue star clusters. Dark reddish threads of dust swirl around the galaxy’s centre. The backdrop is four medium-sized and many small, distant galaxies on a black background.
NGC 3370 imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationLeo
Right ascension 10h 47m 04.0832s[1]
Declination+17° 16′ 25.603″[1]
Helio radial velocity1279 ± 4 km/s[1]
Distance (comoving)82.19 ± 5.871 Mly (25.2 ± 1.8 Mpc)h−10.6774
Distance78 Mly (23.91 Mpc)h−10.6774
(Light-travel)
Group or clusterNGC 3370 Group
Apparent magnitude (V)12.3[1]
Characteristics
TypeSA(s)c[1] III
Size49,930 to 77,270 ly
(15.31 to 23.69 kpc)
(diameter; 2MASS K-band total and D25.0 B-band isophotes)[1]
Apparent size (V)3.2 × 1.8[1]
Notable featuresDusty
Other designations
Silverado Galaxy[citation needed], IRAS 10444+1732, UGC 5887, MCG+03-28-008, PGC 32207

NGC 3370 (also known as UGC 5887 or Silverado Galaxy[2]) is a spiral galaxy about 82.2 ± 5.9 million light-years (25.2 ± 1.8 megaparsecs) away in the constellation Leo. It is nearly comparable to our Milky Way both in diameter with a D25 isophotal size about 77,300 ly (23.69 kpc) comparing to the Milky Way Galaxy's 87,400 ly (26.8 kpc) diameter, and as well as in mass (1011 M).[citation needed] NGC 3370 exhibits an intricate spiral arm structure surrounding a poorly defined nucleus. It is a member of the NGC 3370 Group of galaxies, which is a member of the Leo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the right edge of the Virgo Supercluster.[3]

History

NGC 3370 was discovered by William Herschel on 21 March 1784, who provided it with the designation II 81.[4][5] His son John later designated it 750. William Herschel cataloged I 80 to NGC 3348[5] before and II 82 to NGC 3455 after NGC 3370.[5]

The object has a surface brightness of 13 and a position angle (PA) of 140°.

Supernova

The image on the left, taken in 1994, shows SN 1994ae. It was not visible in 2003 when the Hubble Space Telescope imaged the galaxy.

On November 14, 1994, Schuyler D. Van Dyk and the Leuschner Observatory Supernova Search discovered a supernova in NGC 3370 at 10h 44m 21.52s +17° 32 20.7″, designated SN 1994ae.[6] It was a Type Ia supernova, and one of the nearest and best observed since the advent of modern digital detectors.[7] The maximal light of the supernova was estimated to have occurred between November 30 and December 1, peaking at visual magnitude 13.[8]

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 3370. http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/. 
  2. Sparrow, Giles (2006). Cosmos. Booksales. ISBN 978-1-905204-29-8. 
  3. "The Leo III Groups". Atlas of the Universe. http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/galgrps/leoii.html. 
  4. Seligman, Courtney. "New General Catalogue Objects: NGC 3370". https://cseligman.com/text/atlas/ngc33a.htm#3370. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 William Herschel's Deepsky Objects (The Herschel 2500 list)
  6. van Dyk, S. D.; Treffers, R. R.; Richmond, M. W.; Filippenko, A. V.; Paik, Y. B. (1994-11-01). "Supernova 1994ae in NGC 3370". International Astronomical Union Circular (6105): 1. Bibcode1994IAUC.6105....1V. http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/iauc/06100/06105.html#Item1. 
  7. "Celestial Composition". ESA/Hubble. http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/opo0324a/. 
  8. Patat, F.; Vician, Z.; Szentasko, L. (1994). "Supernova 1994ae in NGC 3370". International Astronomical Union Circular (6111): 2. Bibcode1994IAUC.6111....2P. http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/iauc/06100/06111.html#Item2. 

Coordinates: Sky map 10h 47m 04.0832s, +17° 16′ 25.603″