NGC 1614
| NGC 1614 | |
|---|---|
| File:Hubble Interacting Galaxy NGC 1614 (2008-04-24).jpg
Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 1614
|
|
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Right ascension | 04h 34m 00.027s |
| Declination | −08° 34′ 44.57″ |
| Redshift | 0.015938±0.000033[1] |
| Helio radial velocity | 4,778[2] |
| Distance | 211.3 Mly (64.78 Mpc)[2] |
| Type | SB(s)c pec.[1] |
| Notable features | Starburst galaxy with an active galactic nucleus |
| Other designations | |
| 2MASX J04340002-0834445, APG 186, IRAS 04315-0840, Mrk 0617, II Zw 015 | |
NGC 1614 is the New General Catalogue identifier for a spiral galaxy in the equatorial constellation of Eridanus. It was discovered on December 29, 1885 by American astronomer Lewis Swift, who described it in a shorthand notation as: pretty faint, small, round, a little brighter middle.[3] The nebula was then catalogued by Danish-Irish astronomer J. L. E. Drayer in 1888.[4] When direct photography became available, it was noted that this galaxy displayed some conspicuous peculiarities. American astronomer Halton Arp included it in his 1966 Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies.[5] In 1971, Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky described it as a "blue post-eruptive galaxy, compact patchy core, spiral plumes, long blue jet SSW".[6]
In the De Vaucouleurs system for classifying galaxies, NGC 1614 has a galaxy morphological classification of SB(s)c pec. The SB indicates this is a barred spiral galaxy, while the '(s)' means it lacks a ring-like structure around the nucleus. The trailing 'c' describes the spiral arm structure as being loosely wound. The peculiar nature of the galaxy is noted with the 'pec.' abbreviation.[1] The galaxy is bright at the center, with two nearly symmetrical inner spiral arms.[7] It is a luminous infrared source,[8] ranking 55th in the 2003 IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample,[9] and is the second most luminous galaxy within 75 Mpc.[10]
This galaxy is undergoing a minor merger event with a gas-rich, low-mass companion galaxy, located in a tidal tail to the southwest of the nucleus. The main galaxy is estimated to be around 3−5 times as massive as the merging object. The interaction between the two galaxies is triggering a burst of star formation in NGC 1614,[8] although not apparently an active galactic nucleus.[11] It is described as "one of the most extreme nearby starbursts".[10]
In the core region, a 230 pc radius ring feature has formed around the nucleus within the last 5−10 million years from an inflow of gas caused by the merger event, and this structure is the site of the intense star forming activity known as a starburst region.[7] This activity is bright enough that it is masking whatever weak nuclear emission there is coming from the core.[10] The nucleus itself displays evidence of an older starburst event.[7] The starburst activity is presumed to be driving an observed outflow of cold molecular gas that has a combined mass of around 32 million times the mass of the Sun.[11]
References
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- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
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