NGC 5668
Galaxy in the constellation Virgo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NGC 5668 is a nearly face-on spiral galaxy, visual magnitude about 11.5,[4] located about 81[2] million light years away in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered on 29 April 1786 by William Herschel.[4]
| NGC 5668 | |
|---|---|
NGC 5668 imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Right ascension | 14h 33m 24.331s[1] |
| Declination | +04° 27′ 01.75″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.005280 |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 1,582 ± 5[2] km/s |
| Distance | 80.9 ± 5.5 million light years (24.8 ± 1.7 Mpc)[2] |
| Group or cluster | NGC 5638 Group, NGC 5746 Group, Virgo III Groups |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SA(s)d[2] |
| Mass | 5.7×1010[2] M☉ |
| Size | ~48,400 ly (14.84 kpc) (estimated) |
| Apparent size (V) | 3.0′ × 3.0′ |
| Other designations | |
| IRAS 14309+0440, UGC 9363, MCG +01-37-028, PGC 52018, CGCG 047-090[3] | |
NGC 5668 is a member of the NGC 5638 Group of galaxies, itself one of the Virgo III Groups strung out to the east of the Virgo Supercluster of galaxies.[5] In addition, A.M. Garcia listed NGC 5668 in the 31 member NGC 5746 galaxy group (also known as LGG 386).[6]
As seen from the Earth, it is inclined by an angle of 18° to the line of sight along a position angle of 145°. The morphological classification in the De Vaucouleurs system is SA(s)d,[2] indicating a pure spiral structure with loosely wound arms.[7] However, optical images of the galaxy indicate the presence of a weak bar structure spanning an angle of 12″ across the nucleus. There is a dwarf galaxy located around 650×103 ly (200 kpc) to the southeast of NGC 5668, and the two may be gravitationally interacting.[2]
Supernovae
Three supernovae have been observed in this galaxy:
- SN 1952G (type unknown, mag. 17.9) was discovered by Fritz Zwicky on 18 April 1952.[8][9]
- SN 1954B (Type Ia, mag. 12.3) was discovered by Paul Wild on 4 May 1954.[10] [Note: Some sources incorrectly list the discovery date as 27 April 1954.][11]
- SN 2004G (Type II, mag. 17.2) was discovered by Reiki Kushida on 19 January 2004.[12][13][14] It was initially imaged at 43" to the west and 12".5 south of the galaxy core.[13]
High velocity clouds of neutral hydrogen have been observed in NGC 5668, which may have their origin in supernova explosions and strong stellar winds.[15]
Gallery
NGC 5668 (SDSS DR14)
GALEX image of NGC 5668
