Kathryn's Wheel
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| Kathryn's Wheel | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Image of the Kathryn's Wheel galaxy Cerro-Tololo InterAmerican Observatory 4 meter telescope in Chile. | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Ara |
| Right ascension | 16:47:19.7 |
| Declination | −57:26:31 |
| Distance | 30 million |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | Ring galaxy |
| Mass | 6.6x10^9 M☉ |
| Size | 6.1 kiloparsecs |
| Notable features | Closest ring galaxy and one of the smallest |
| Other designations | |
| ESO 179-13 | |
The Kathryn's Wheel (also designated as ESO 179-13) is the closest collisional ring galaxy to the Milky Way Galaxy located at a distance of only ~10 mpc placing it within the nearby galactic neighborhood. The entire galaxy including its rings has a diameter of 6.1 kpc. This makes the Kathryn's Wheel galaxy among the smallest collisional ring galaxies discovered to date and classed as a dwarf galaxy. The mass of the galaxy including the stars and Hi regions total to 6.6 billion solar masses.[1][2]
It got its ring shape due to a head on collision with another galaxy that it is currently interacting with. Like most collisional ring galaxies, it is located in a region of space with a low number of major galaxies that are spread apart.[1][3]
It has scientific value due to its small size which is not seen in other collisional ring galaxies that are larger. Because dwarf galaxies outnumber regular large galaxies, it is expected that collision dwarf galaxies may outnumber larger ring galaxies.[1]