NGC 55

spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor

NGC 55 is a Magellanic type barred spiral galaxy located about 6.5 million light years away in the constellation Sculptor. Along with its neighbor NGC 300, it is one of the closest galaxies to the Local Group, probably lying between the Milky Way and the Sculptor Group.[1] It has an estimated mass of (2.0 ± 0.4) × 1010 M.[2]

NGC 55
Irregular Galaxy NGC 55 (La silla observatory)
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationSculptor
Right ascension00h 14m 53.6s[3]
Declination-39° 11' 48"
Distance6.5 million ly
Apparent magnitude (V)7.87
Characteristics
TypeSB(s)m
Mass(2.0 ± 0.4) × 1010 M
Apparent size (V)32′.4 × 5′.6
Other designations
PGC 1014, Caldwell 72, 2MASS J00145360-3911478, IRAS F00124-3929, ESO 293-50, MCG-07-01-013
See also: Galaxy, List of galaxies

Nearby galaxies and group information change

NGC 55 and the spiral galaxy NGC 300 have permanently been identified as members of the Sculptor Group, a nearby group of galaxies in the constellation of Sculptor. However, recent distance measurements point to that the two galaxies actually lie in the foreground.[4]

It is likely that NGC 55 and NGC 300 form a gravitationally bound pair.[5]

References change

  1. "New General Catalog Objects: NGC 50 - 99". cseligman.com. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
  2. "Gas and dark matter in the Sculptor group: NGC 55". academic.oup.com. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
  3. "Home | NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". ned.ipac.caltech.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  4. Karachentsev, I. D.; Grebel, E. K.; Sharina, M. E.; Dolphin, A. E.; Geisler, D.; Guhathakurta, P.; Hodge, P. W.; Karachentseva, V. E.; Sarajedini, A.; Seitzer, P. (2003). "Distances to Nearby Galaxies in Sculptor". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 404 (1): 93–111. arXiv:astro-ph/0302045. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20030170. ISSN 0004-6361. S2CID 54977869.
  5. Steene, G. C. Van de; Jacoby, G. H.; Praet, C.; Ciardullo, R.; Dejonghe, H. (2006-09-01). "Distance determination to NGC 55 from the planetary nebula luminosity function". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 455 (3): 891–896. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20053475. ISSN 0004-6361. S2CID 124545598.