List of nearest galaxies
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
It has been suggested that Milky Way's satellite galaxies be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) |
This is a list of galaxies nearest to Earth. The reader should be aware that there are certain unavoidable difficulties with this list.
- It is probably incomplete. Previously unknown objects are being discovered all the time. The reader will see that even some of the closest items are among the latest found. Satellite galaxies of the Milky Way located at the far side of our galaxy are extremely difficult to discern through the bulk of our home system. In fact it is possible for any galaxy to mask another located beyond it. Additionally, small, dim galaxies that would be placed at the bottom of the list are also difficult to observe. There is thus no reason to believe that new discoveries will not be made in the future.
- Although the editors have combed the literature, it is certainly possible that already discovered galaxies have escaped our notice and, thus, not yet been listed.
- Distance estimates are continually being refined. The list includes what are considered to be the latest and the best, but these are not to be taken as final. Not only may the distances, themselves, be expected to be updated in the future, but these changes may well alter the order in which the galaxies are listed.
- The galaxies' distances are far too great to be measured directly via parallax. Other, less precise methods, such as using cepheid variables, are employed. This leads to an inevitable margin for error, in some cases rising as high as 50%.
- A galaxy is an immense object. The distances from the closest edge – an ill-defined spot in itself – to the galactic core spans thousands, possibly up to a quarter million, lightyears. The distance estimates, therefore, are merely to some spot within the galaxies.
- Please note that these distances are from Earth. A satellite galaxy of the Milky Way on our side of our galaxy may well be listed as closer than one on the far side which is actually orbiting closer in to the Galactic core. This discrepancy might be compounded for a dwarf galaxy embedded in, and being cannibalized by, the Milky Way.
| Galaxy | Distance lightyears |
Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milky Way Galaxy | 0 | Home galaxy of Earth | |
| 2 | Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy | 25,000 | Satellite of Milky Way | |
| 3 | Virgo Stellar Stream | 30,000 | [1] | Discovered October 2005 |
| 4 | Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy | 81,000 | Satellite of Milky Way | |
| 5 | Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) | 168,000 | Satellite of Milky Way | |
| 6 | Boötes Dwarf Galaxy | 197,000 | Satellite of Milky Way | |
| 7 | Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) | 200,000 | Satellite of Milky Way | |
| 8 | Ursa Minor Dwarf Galaxy | 240,000 | Satellite of Milky Way | |
| 9 | Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy | 254,000 | Satellite of Milky Way | |
| 10 | Draco Dwarf Galaxy | 280,000 | Satellite of Milky Way | |
| 11 | Sextans Dwarf Galaxy | 320,000 | Satellite of Milky Way | |
| 12 | Ursa Major Dwarf | 330,000 | Satellite of Milky Way | |
| 13 | Carina Dwarf Galaxy | 360,000 | Satellite of Milky Way | |
| 14 | Fornax Dwarf Galaxy | 460,000 | Satellite of Milky Way | |
| 15 | Leo II Dwarf Galaxy | 701,000 | [2] | |
| 16 | Leo I Dwarf Galaxy | 820,000 | [2] | |
| 17 | Phoenix Dwarf Galaxy | 1,300,000 | [2] | |
| 18 | Barnard's Galaxy (NGC 6822) | 1,630,000 | [2] | |
| 19 | NGC 185 | 2,010,000 | [3] | Satellite of Andromeda |
| 20 | Andromeda II | 2,130,000 | [3] | Satellite of Andromeda |
| 21 | NGC 147 | 2,200,000 | [3] | Satellite of Andromeda |
| 22 | Leo A | 2,250,000 | [2] | |
| 23 | IC 1613 | 2,350,000 | [2] | |
| 24 | Andromeda I | 2,430,000 | [3] | Satellite of Andromeda |
| 25 | Andromeda III | 2,440,000 | [3] | Satellite of Andromeda |
| 26 | Cetus Dwarf | 2,460,000 | [3] | |
| 27 | M32 (NGC 221) | 2,480,000 | [2] | Satellite of Andromeda |
| 28 | Andromeda VII | 2,490,000 | [3] | |
| 29 | Andromeda IX | 2,500,000 | [3] | |
| 30 | LGS 3 | 2,510,000 | [3] | Satellite of Triangulum |
| 31 | Andromeda V | 2,520,000 | [3] | |
| 32 | Andromeda VI | 2,550,000 | [3] | |
| 33 | Andromeda Galaxy (M31) | 2,560,000 | [3] | |
| 34 | Triangulum Galaxy (M33) | 2,640,000 | [3] | Most distant naked eye object |
| 35 | M110 (NGC 205) | 2,690,000 | [3] | Satellite of Andromeda |
| 36 | Andromeda VIII | 2,700,000 | ||
| 37 | Tucana Dwarf Galaxy | 2,840,000 | ||
| 38 | Andromeda X | 2,900,000 | ||
| 39 | Pegasus Dwarf Irregular Galaxy | 3,000,000 | [3] | |
| 40 | Wolf-Lundmark-Melotte Galaxy (WLM) | 3,040,000 | [3] | |
| 41 | Aquarius Dwarf Galaxy | 3,490,000 | [3] | |
| 42 | IC 10 | 4,200,000 | ||
| 43 | Sagittarius Dwarf Irregular Galaxy | 4,200,000 | ||
| 44 | Sextans A | 4,310,000 | [4] | |
| 45 | NGC 3109 | 4,500,000 | ||
| 46 | Antlia Dwarf | 4,600,000 | ||
| 47 | Sextans B | 4,700,000 | ||
| 48 | UGCA 92 | 4,700,000 | ||
| 49 | UKS 2323-326 | 4,700,000 | ||
| 50 | IC 5152 | 5,800,000 | ||
| 51 | NGC 55 | 5,870,000 | [6] | member of the Sculptor group? |
| 52 | UGCA 86 | 6,200,000 | ||
| 53 | ESO 294-010 | 6,260,000 | [6] | member of the Sculptor group |
| 54 | ESO 410-G005 | 6,260,000 | [6] | member of the Sculptor group |
| 55 | Camelopardalis A | 6,500,000 | ||
| 56 | IC 5152 | 6,750,000 | [6] | member of the Sculptor group? |
| 57 | NGC 300 | 7,010,000 | [6] | member of the Sculptor group |
| 58 | UGCA 438 (ESO 407-018) | 7,270,000 | [6] | member of the Sculptor group |
| 59 | NGC 1560 | 7,500,000 | ||
| 60 | NGC 1569 | 7,500,000 | ||
| 61 | GR 8 | 7,900,000 | ||
| 62 | NGC 404 | 8,000,000 | ||
| 63 | UGC 8508 | 8,350,000 | [5] | |
| 64 | NGC 3741 | 10,210,000 | [5] | |
| 65 | NGC 2366 | 10,400,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 66 | DDO 44 | 10,400,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 67 | UGC 4483 | 10,470,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 68 | UGCA 105 | 10,630,000 | [5] | |
| 69 | NGC 2403 | 10,760,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 70 | Camelopardalis B | 10,800,000 | [5] | |
| 71 | DDO 6 (ESO 540-031) | 10,900,000 | [6] | member of the Sculptor group |
| 72 | NGC 1560 | 10,960,000 | [5] | |
| 73 | Holmberg II (DDO 50, UGC 4305) | 11,060,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 74 | ESO 540-030 (KDG 2) | 11,100,000 | [6] | member of the Sculptor group |
| 75 | FM1 | 11,150,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 76 | ESO 540-032 | 11,200,000 | [6] | member of the Sculptor group |
| 77 | KK 77 | 11,350,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 78 | DDO 71 | 11,420,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 79 | M82 | 11,510,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 80 | KDG 52 | 11,580,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 81 | NGC 2976 | 11,610,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 82 | DDO 53 (UGC 4459) | 11,610,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 83 | KDG 61 | 11,740,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 84 | M81 | 11,840,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 85 | UGC 5442 (KDG 64) | 12,070,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 86 | KDG 73 | 12,070,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 87 | DDO 78 | 12,130,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 88 | F8D1 | 12,300,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 89 | BK5N | 12,330,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 90 | Camelopardalis A | 12,330,000 | [5] | |
| 91 | NGC 3077 | 12,460,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 92 | Holmberg I (DDO 63, UGC 5139) | 12,520,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 93 | BK6N | 12,560,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 94 | NGC 7793 | 12,800,000 | [6] | member of the Sculptor group |
| 95 | KKH57 | 12,820,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 96 | NGC 253 | 12,900,000 | [6] | member of the Sculptor group |
| 97 | UGC 6541 | 12,920,000 | [5] | |
| 98 | DDO 82 (UGC 5692) | 13,050,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 99 | BK3N | 13,110,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 100 | IC 2574 (DDO 81) | 13,110,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group |
| 101 | NGC 247 | 13,300,000 | [6] | member of the Sculptor group |
| 102 | Sculptor Dwarf Irregular Galaxy | 13,400,000 | [6] | member of the Sculptor group |
| 103 | UGC 7298 | 13,600,000 | [5] | |
| 104 | Sc 22 | 13,700,000 | [6] | member of the Sculptor group |
| 105 | ESO 471-06 (UGCA 442) | 13,900,000 | [6] | member of the Sculptor group |
| 106 | UGC 7242 | 14,000,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group? |
| 107 | ESO 245-005 | 14,400,000 | [6] | member of the Sculptor group |
| 108 | UGC 6456 | 14,450,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group? |
| 109 | NGC 4236 | 14,510,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group? |
| 110 | NGC 5204 | 14,510,000 | [5] | |
| 111 | DDO 165 (UGC 8201) | 14,910,000 | [5] | member of the M81 group? |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ astro-ph/0510589
- ^ van den Bergh, Sidney (April 2000). "Updated Information on the Local Group". The Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 112 (770): 529–536.
- ^ McConnachie, A. W. et al. (2005). "Distances and Metallicities for 17 Local Group Galaxies". MNRAS 356: 979. doi:. arXiv:astro-ph/0410489.
- ^ Dolphin, Andrew E. et al. (March 2003). "Deep Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of Sextans A. II. Cepheids and Distance". The Astronomical Journal 125: 1261. doi:.
- ^ Karachentsev, I. D. et al. (2002). "The M 81 group of galaxies: New distances, kinematics and structure". Astronomy and Astrophysics 383: 125–136. doi:.
- ^ Karachentsev, I. D. et al. (June 2003). "Distances to Nearby Galaxies in Sculptor". Astronomy and Astrophysics 404: 93. doi:. arXiv:astro-ph/0302045.
