NGC 5957
Galaxy in the constellation of Serpens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NGC 5957 is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Serpens. It lies at a distance of about 100 million light years from Earth based on redshift-independent methods, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 5957 is about 75,000 light years across.[1] It was discovered by Heinrich d'Arrest on April 29, 1865.[3]
| NGC 5957 | |
|---|---|
NGC 5957 imaged by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Serpens |
| Right ascension | 15h 35m 23.2342s[1] |
| Declination | +12° 02′ 51.203″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.006051 ± 0.000009 [1] |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 1,814 ± 3 km/s[1] |
| Distance | 104 ± 7.2 Mly (31.8 ± 2.2 Mpc)[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.1[2] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | (R')SAB(r)b [1] |
| Size | ~75,000 ly (23.1 kpc) (estimated)[1] |
| Apparent size (V) | 2.8′ × 2.6′[1] |
| Other designations | |
| IRAS 15330+1212, UGC 9915, MCG +02-40-004, PGC 55520, CGCG 078-018[1] | |
NGC 5957 has a bar which is 0.96 arcminutes across. At the end of the bar lies an inner ring with a diameter of 0.94 arcminutes.[4] From the ring emerge multiple spiral arms[5] which form an outer ring with a diameter of 2.38 arcminutes.[4] The nucleus of the galaxy has been found to be active and has been identified as a LINER. The nucleus emits H-alpha that can't be resolved.[6]
One supernova has been discovered in NGC 5957, SN 2025fvw. It was discovered by Kōichi Itagaki on 26 March 2025 at an apparent magnitude of 17.4. It was identified as a Type Ia supernova.[7]
NGC 5957 forms a pair with NGC 5956. A. M. Garcia considers NGC 5970 a member of the group, naming it LGG 401.[8] Other nearby galaxies include NGC 5953, NGC 5954, and NGC 5962.[9]
