NGC 1404

NGC 1404
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Fornax
Right ascension 03h 38.9m[1]
Declination −35° 35[1]
Type E1[1]
Apparent dimensions (V) 2.5 × 2.3[1]
Apparent magnitude (V) 10.3[1]

NGC 1404 is an elliptical galaxy in the Southern constellation Fornax.[1] It lies at a distance of 65 million light years from the Milky Way and it is one of the brightest members of the Fornax Cluster.[2]

Characteristics

As usual with most elliptical galaxies, NGC 1404 is rich in globular clusters, with a population of them that has been estimated to be around 725;[3] however it has been proposed it could have lost most of its globular clusters due to gravitational interactions with NGC 1399, the brightest galaxy of the Fornax Cluster.[4]

Studies with the help of the X-Ray telescope Chandra show too how ram-pressure stripping caused by the motion of NGC 1404 through Fornax' intracluster medium is stripping this galaxy it of its hot gas,[5] leaving behind a large trail.[6]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Dunlop, Storm (2005). Atlas of the Night Sky. Collins. ISBN 0-00-717223-0.
  2. Blakeslee, J. P.; Jordan, A.; Mei, S.; Cote, P.; Ferrarese, L.; Infante, L.; Tonry, J. L. (March 2009). "The ACS Fornax Cluster Survey. V. Measurement and Recalibration of Surface Brightness Fluctuations and a Precise Value of the Fornax-Virgo Relative Distance". The Astrophysical Journal 694 (1): 556–572. arXiv:0901.1138. Bibcode:2009ApJ...694..556B. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/694/1/556.
  3. Forbes, D. A.; Grillmair, C. J.; Williger, G. M.; Emerson, R. A. W.; Brodie, J. P. (January 1998). "HST imaging of the globular clusters in the Fornax cluster - NGC 1399 and NGC 1404". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 293: 325. arXiv:astro-ph/9708025. Bibcode:1998MNRAS.293..325F. doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.1998.01202.x.
  4. Bekki, K.; Forbes, D. A.; Beasley, M. A.; Couch, W. J. (October 2003). "Dynamical evolution of globular cluster systems in clusters of galaxies - I. The case of NGC 1404 in the Fornax cluster". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 334 (4): 1334–1344.
  5. Machaceck, M.; Dosaj., A.; Forman, W.; Jones, C.; Markevitch, M.; Vikhlinin, A.; Warmflash, A.; Kraft, R. (March 2009). "Infall of the Elliptical Galaxy NGC 1404 into the Fornax Cluster". The Astrophysical Journal 621 (2): 663–672. arXiv:astro-ph/0408159. Bibcode:2005ApJ...621..663M. doi:10.1086/427548. Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  6. http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2004/fornax/ Fornax Cluster: Motions of Nearby Galaxy Cluster Reveal Presence of Hidden Superstructure