Circinus Galaxy

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Circinus Galaxy

A Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of the Circinus Galaxy.
Credit: HST/NASA/ESA.
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Circinus
Right ascension 14h 13m 9.9s[1]
Declination −65° 20′ 21″[1]
Redshift 426 ± 25 km/s
Distance 13 Mly
Type SA(s)b[1]
Apparent dimensions (V) 6′.9 × 3′.0[1]
Apparent magnitude (V) 12.1[1]
Other designations
ESO 97-G13,[1] LEDA 50779
See also: Galaxy, List of galaxies

The Circinus Galaxy (ESO 97-G13) is a Seyfert galaxy[2] in the Circinus constellation - and the closest to our Milky Way.[3] It is only 4 degrees below the Galactic plane, and 13 million light-years away. The galaxy is undergoing tumultuous changes, as rings of gas are being ejected from the galaxy. The outermost ring is 700 light-years from the center of the galaxy and the inner ring is 130 light-years out. The Circinus galaxy can be seen using a small telescope, however it was not noticed until 25 years ago because it was obscured by material from our own galaxy. The Circinus Galaxy is a Type II Seyfert galaxy and is one of the closest known active galaxies to the Milky Way, though it is probably slightly further away than Centaurus A.

Circinus Galaxy was a home for SN 1996cr, that has been identified over a decade after it exploded. The supernova was first singled out in 2001 as a bright, variable object in a Chandra image, but it was not confirmed as a supernova until years later.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for ESO 97-13. Retrieved 2007-04-20. 
  2. ↑ "SIMBAD Astronomical Database". Results for ESO 97-13. Retrieved 2007-04-20. 
  3. ↑ Maiolino, R.; Krabbe, A.; Thatte, N.; Genzel, R. (1998). "Seyfert Activity and Nuclear Star Formation in the Circinus Galaxy". The Astrophysical Journal 493 (2): 650–65. arXiv:astro-ph/9709091. Bibcode:1998ApJ...493..650M. doi:10.1086/305150. 

External links

Coordinates: 14h 13m 9.9s, −65° 20′ 21″

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