Astronomy:NGC 4666

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NGC 4666
The superwind galaxy NGC 4666
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationVirgo
Right ascension 12h 45m 08.676s[1]
Declination−00° 27′ 42.88″[1]
Helio radial velocity1,517 km/s[2]
Distance54.89 ± 0.65 Mly (16.83 ± 0.20 Mpc)[3]
Apparent magnitude (V)10.8[4]
Characteristics
TypeSABc[2]
Size115,730 ly (35.50 kpc) (diameter; D25 isophote)[5]
Apparent size (V)4′.6 × 1'.3[2]
Notable featuresStarburst
Other designations
PMN J1245-0027, UZC J124508.0-002744, IRAS F12425-0011, UGC 7926, MCG+00-33-008, PGC 42975[6]

NGC 4666 is a spiral galaxy in the equatorial constellation of Virgo, located at a distance of approximately 55 megalight-years from the Milky Way.[3] It was discovered by the German-born astronomer William Herschel on February 22, 1784. It is a member of the Virgo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the southern edge of the Virgo Supercluster.[7][8] John L. E. Dreyer described it as "bright, very large, much extended 45°±, pretty suddenly brighter middle".[9] It is a member of an interacting system with NGC 4668 and a dwarf galaxy,[10] and belongs to a small group that also includes NGC 4632,[2] that is known as the NGC 4666 Group.[11][12]

Enlarged view of the center of NGC 4666 by the Hubble Space Telescope

The morphological classification of this galaxy is SABc, which indicates a weak bar around the nucleus with moderately wound spiral arms. Viewed nearly edge-on, its galactic plane is inclined at an angle of 85°± to the line of sight from the Earth, with the major axis aligned along a position angle of 40°. There is an active galactic nucleus that shows a modest level of activity and is most likely heavily obscured by gas and dust. The central point source has been detected in the radio and X-ray bands.[2]

This is a starburst galaxy that is noteworthy for its vigorous star formation, which creates an unusual superwind[13] of out-flowing gas. This wind is not visible at optical wavelengths, but is prominent in X-rays, and has been observed by the ESA XMM-Newton space telescope.[14] The estimated star formation rate is 7.3 M yr–1, with a density of 8.9×10−3 M yr−1 kpc−2. Unlike in many other starburst galaxies, the star formation is spread across the disk rather than being more concentrated.[2]

Supernovae

Three supernovae have been observed in NGC 4666:

  • SN 1965H (Type IIP, mag. 14) was discovered by Enrique Chavira on 23 May 1965.[15][16]
  • ASASSN-14lp (Type Ia, mag. 14.3) was discovered by ASAS-SN on 9 December 2014; it was located 12 from the center of the galaxy.[17][18]
  • SN 2019yvr (Type Ib, mag. 15.882) was discovered by ATLAS on 27 December 2019.[19][20] It has a 0.005 redshift. Images of the location of the supernova before the explosion showed the progenitor star was ~19M.[21]

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Skrutskie, Michael F. et al. (1 February 2006). "The Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS)". The Astronomical Journal 131 (2): 1163–1183. doi:10.1086/498708. ISSN 0004-6256. Bibcode2006AJ....131.1163S. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Stein, Y. et al. (March 2019). "CHANG-ES. XIII. Transport processes and the magnetic fields of NGC 4666: indication of a reversing disk magnetic field". Astronomy & Astrophysics 623: 21. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201834515. A33. Bibcode2019A&A...623A..33S. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 Tully, R. Brent et al. (October 2013), "Cosmicflows-2: The Data", The Astronomical Journal 146 (4): 25, doi:10.1088/0004-6256/146/4/86, 86, Bibcode2013AJ....146...86T 
  4. "The Interactive NGC Catalog Online". Results for NGC 4666. https://spider.seds.org/ngc/ngc.cgi?NGC+4666. 
  5. "NED Results for NGC 4666". https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/byname?objname=Ngc+4666&hconst=67.8&omegam=0.308&omegav=0.692&wmap=4&corr_z=1. 
  6. "NGC 4666". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=NGC+4666. 
  7. "The Virgo II Groups". http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/galgrps/virii.html. 
  8. Tully, R. Brent (1988). Nearby galaxies catalog (1. publ ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-35299-4. 
  9. Seligman, Courtney. "New General Catalogue objects: NGC 4650 - 4699". https://cseligman.com/text/atlas/ngc46a.htm#4666. 
  10. Walter, Fabian et al. (May 2004). "The Superwind Galaxy NGC 4666: Gravitational Interactions and the Influence of the Resulting Starburst on the Interstellar Medium". The Astrophysical Journal 606 (1): 258–270. doi:10.1086/382774. Bibcode2004ApJ...606..258W. 
  11. Fouque, P.; Gourgoulhon, E.; Chamaraux, P.; Paturel, G. (May 1992). "Groups of galaxies within 80 Mpc. II. The catalogue of groups and group members." (in en). Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series 93: 211–233. ISSN 0365-0138. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1992A&AS...93..211F/abstract. 
  12. Garcia, A. M. (July 1993). "General study of group membership. II. Determination of nearby groups." (in en). Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series 100: 47–90. ISSN 0365-0138. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1993A&AS..100...47G/abstract. 
  13. "The Superwind Galaxy". ESO. 1 September 2010. https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1036/. 
  14. "Extra-planar Hot Gas and Magnetic Fields in the Superwind Galaxy NGC 4666". ESA. 24 February 2011. http://xmm.esac.esa.int/external/xmm_science/gallery/public/level3.php?id=313. 
  15. Haro, G.; Chavira, Enrique (26 May 1965). Gingerich, Owen. ed. "SUPERNOVA IN NGC 4666". Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory) 1908: 1. http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/IAUCs/IAUC1908.jpg. Retrieved 1 December 2024. 
  16. "SN 1965H". IAU. https://www.wis-tns.org/object/1965H. 
  17. Holoien, T. W. -S. et al. (1 December 2014). "ASAS-SN Discovery of a Bright Probable Supernova in NGC 4666". The Astronomer's Telegram 6795: 1. Bibcode2014ATel.6795....1H. https://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=6795. 
  18. Bishop, David. "Supernovae ASASSN-14lp in NGC 4666". https://www.rochesterastronomy.org/sn2014/snasassn14lp.html. 
  19. Smith, K. W. et al. (2019). "ATLAS19benc (AT2019yvr): Discovery of a candidate SN in NGC 4666 (26 MPC)". Transient Name Server Astronote 161: 1. Bibcode2019TNSAN.161....1S. 
  20. "SN 2019yvr". IAU. https://www.wis-tns.org/object/2019yvr. 
  21. Kilpatrick, Charles (2021-03-30). "A Cool and Inflated Progenitor Candidate for the Type Ib Supernova 2019yvr at 2.6 Years Before Explosion". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 504 (2): 2073–2093. doi:10.1093/mnras/stab838. 

Coordinates: Sky map 12h 45m 08.676s, −00° 27′ 42.88″