NGC 5474

NGC 5474

An ultraviolet image of NGC 5474 taken with GALEX.
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Ursa Major[1]
Right ascension 14h 05m 01.6s[2]
Declination +53° 39′ 44″[2]
Redshift 273 ± 9 km/s[2]
Distance 22 Mly (6.8 Mpc)[3]
Type SA(s)cd pec[2]
Apparent dimensions (V) 4′.8 × 4′.3[2]
Apparent magnitude (V) 11.3[2]
Other designations
UGC 9013,[2] PGC 50216[2]
See also: Galaxy, List of galaxies

NGC 5474 is a peculiar dwarf galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. It is one of several companion galaxies of the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101), a grand-design spiral galaxy[4][3]. Among the Pinwheel Galaxy's companions, this galaxy is the closest to the Pinwheel Galaxy itself[3]. The gravitational interaction between NGC 5474 and the Pinwheel Galaxy have strongly distorted the galaxy. As a result, the disk is offset relative to the nucleus[3][5]. The star formation in this galaxy (as traced by hydrogen spectral line emission) is also offset from the nucleus[5]. NGC 5474 shows some signs of a spiral structure. As a result, this galaxy is often classified as a dwarf spiral galaxy, a relative rare group of dwarf galaxies.

References

  1. ^ R. W. Sinnott, editor (1988). The Complete New General Catalogue and Index Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters by J. L. E. Dreyer. Sky Publishing Corporation and Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-933-34651-4. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 5474. http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/. Retrieved 2006-09-20. 
  3. ^ a b c d Drozdovsky, I. O; Karachentsev, I. D (2000). "Photometric distances to six bright resolved galaxies". Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement 142 (3): 425–432. Bibcode 2000A&AS..142..425D. doi:10.1051/aas:2000155. 
  4. ^ A. Sandage, J. Bedke (1994). Carnegie Atlas of Galaxies. Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Institution of Washington. ISBN 0-87279-667-1. 
  5. ^ a b R. M. Gonzalez Delgado, E. Perez, C. Tadhunter J. M. Vilchez, J. M. Rodriguez-Espinosa (2000). "H II Region Population in a Sample of Nearby Galaxies with Nuclear Activity. I. Data and General Results". Astrophysical Journal Supplement 108 (1): 155. Bibcode 1997ApJS..108..155G. doi:10.1086/312951.