NGC 1369
Galaxy of the Fornax Cluster
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NGC 1369 is a barred lenticular galaxy located 59 million light years away[4] in constellation of Eridanus. The galaxy was discovered by astronomer Julius Schmidt on January 19, 1865,[5] and is a member of the Fornax Cluster.[6] NGC 1369 is a host to a supermassive black hole with an estimated mass of 1.8 million solar masses.[7]
| NGC 1369 | |
|---|---|
legacy surveys image of NGC 1369. | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Eridanus (constellation) |
| Right ascension | 03h 36m 45.2737s[1] |
| Declination | −36° 15′ 22.660″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.004763[1] |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 1428 km/s[1] |
| Distance | 64.2 ± 4.5 Mly (19.69 ± 1.38 Mpc)[1] |
| Group or cluster | Fornax Cluster |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 13.74[1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SB0/a(rs)[1] |
| Mass | 0.68×1010 (Stellar mass) [2]/3.5×1010 (Total Mass)[3] M☉ |
| Size | ~25,800 ly (7.91 kpc) (estimated)[1] |
| Apparent size (V) | 1.5 x 1.4[1] |
| Other designations | |
| ESO 358- G 034, FCC 176, MCG -06-09-004, PGC 13330[1] | |
Surrounding NGC 1369 is a population of a least 11 known globular clusters.[8]
Physical characteristics
In the disk of NGC 1369, there are two bright, diffuse spiral arms which break of a relatively weak bar structure. These arms quickly fade in the diffuse outer disk.[9] Despite the presence of spiral arms, the galaxy is very red which actually makes NGC 1369 a lenticular galaxy.[10] Also, the galaxy is devoid of atomic and molecular gas,[11] and does not show any indications of ionised-gas emission as a result of star formation. Observations in X-rays have shown that it is infalling in a transional region of the Fornax Cluster between the high and low-density regions of the cluster where the X-ray emission is still present. As a result, ram-pressure stripping would have acted to stop star formation once the galaxy entered into the cluster core,[12] causing it to transion from a spiral galaxy to a lenticular galaxy.[11]
