II Zwicky 28
Galaxy
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II Zwicky 28 is an interacting ring galaxy at a distance of approximately 390 million light-years. The sparkling pink and purple loop in Zw II 28 is not a typical ring galaxy because it does not seem to have the usual visible central companion.[2] For many years it was thought to be a lone circle on the sky, but observations using the Hubble Space Telescope have shown that there may be a possible companion lurking just inside the ring, where the loop appears to double back on itself.[2]
| II Zwicky 28 | |
|---|---|
Ring galaxy II Zwicky 28 imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Orion |
| Right ascension | 05h 01m 42.0s |
| Declination | +03° 34′ 28″ |
| Redshift | 0.028630 +/- 0.000060[1] |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 8583 +/-18 km/s [1] |
| Distance | 390 Mly (120 mpc)[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 15.5 |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | S pec (Ring) |
| Apparent size (V) | 0.3' x 0.3'[1] |
| Other designations | |
| VV 790b, 2MASX J05014205+0334278, PGC 016572 | |
The galaxy is only a faint IRAS source, which may indicate a lower level of star formation than other rings, however it has a high Hα luminosity, similar to other ring galaxies. It displays strong Balmer absorption lines interior to the ring, and it is possible that a major burst of star formation has recently occurred, using up a large fraction of the galaxy's molecular reservoir, and depleting its dust content.[3]
The bright foreground star is not associated to Zwicky; it is in our own galaxy, about 1,585 light-years away from the sun.
