NGC 2442 and NGC 2443
Galaxy in the constellation Volans
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NGC 2442 and NGC 2443 are two parts of a single intermediate spiral galaxy, commonly known as the Meathook Galaxy or the Cobra and Mouse.[3] It is about 50 million light-years away in the constellation Volans. It was discovered by Sir John Herschel on December 23, 1834 during his survey of southern skies with a 18.25 inch diameter reflecting telescope (his "20-foot telescope") from an observatory he set up in Cape Town, South Africa.[4] Associated with this galaxy is HIPASS J0731-69, a cloud of gas devoid of any stars.[5] It is likely that the cloud was torn loose from NGC 2442 by a companion.[5]
| NGC 2442 / 2443 | |
|---|---|
NGC 2442 (upper spiral structure) and NGC 2443 (lower horizontal spiral arm)[1] | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Volans |
| Right ascension | 07h 36m 23.8s[2] |
| Declination | −69° 31′ 51″[2] |
| Redshift | 1466 ± 5 km/s[2] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 11.2[2] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SAB(s)bc pec[2] |
| Size | ~160,000 ly (48.94 kpc) (estimated)[2] |
| Apparent size (V) | 5′.5 × 4′.9[2] |
| Notable features | SW part is NGC 2442 while NE part is NGC 2443 |
| Other designations | |
| PGC 21373[2] | |
When John Louis Emil Dreyer compiled the New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars he used William Herschel's earlier observations that described two objects in a "double nebula", giving the northern most the designation NGC 2443 and the southernmost most the designation NGC 2442. Herschel's later observations noted that the two objects were actually a single large nebula.[4][1]
Supernovae
Two, or perhaps three, supernovae have been observed in NGC 2442:
- SN 1999ga (Type II, mag. 18) was discovered by the Perth Astronomical Research Group on 19 November 1999.[6][7]
- SN 2015F (Type Ia, mag. 16.8) was discovered by Berto Monard on 9 March 2015.[8][9] It reached magnitude 12.9, making it the brightest supernova of 2015.[10]
- Gaia16cfr, also known as AT 2016jbu,[11][12] was a supernova imposter that occurred in NGC 2442 on 1 December 2016. It reached a Gaia apparent magnitude of 19.3 and absolute magnitude of about −12.[13] However, a paper published in August 2022 suggested that this was a genuine, but strange, supernova.[14]
