NGC 5264, also known as DDO 242, is an irregular galaxy in the constellation Hydra. It is part of the M83 subgroup of the Centaurus A/M83 Group,[3] located some 15 million light years (4.5 megaparsecs) away.[2] The galaxy was discovered on 30 March 1835 by John Herschel, and it was described as "very faint, pretty large, round, very little brighter middle" by John Louis Emil Dreyer, the compiler of the New General Catalogue.[6]

NGC 5264
NGC 5264, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationHydra
Right ascension13h 41m 36.683s[1]
Declination−29° 54′ 47.25″[1]
Redshift0.001594[2]
Heliocentric radial velocity478 km/s[2]
Distance14.82 ± 0.84 Mly (4.545 ± 0.258 Mpc)[2]
Group or clusterCentaurus A/M83 Group
(M83 subgroup)
Apparent magnitude (V)12.39[3]
Apparent magnitude (B)12.96[3]
Characteristics
TypeIB(s)m[2]
Number of stars1 billion[5]
Size11000 × 6500 ly
(3300 × 2000 pc)[4]
Apparent size (V)2.5 × 1.5[4]
Other designations
DDO 242, UGCA 370, MCG-05-32-066, PGC 48467

NGC 5264 was imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2016. The galaxy is relatively small: it is a dwarf galaxy, a type of galaxy much smaller than normal spiral galaxies and elliptical galaxies. In fact, it is only 11000 light years (3300 parsecs) wide at its widest;[4] our own galaxy, Milky Way, in comparison, is about ten times larger.[7] Dwarf galaxies like these usually have about a billion stars. NGC 5264 also is relatively blue-coloured; this is from it interacting with other galaxies, supplying it with gas for star formation.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b Cutri, Roc M.; Skrutskie, Michael F.; Van Dyk, Schuyler D.; Beichman, Charles A.; Carpenter, John M.; Chester, Thomas; Cambresy, Laurent; Evans, Tracey E.; Fowler, John W.; Gizis, John E.; Howard, Elizabeth V.; Huchra, John P.; Jarrett, Thomas H.; Kopan, Eugene L.; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Light, Robert M.; Marsh, Kenneth A.; McCallon, Howard L.; Schneider, Stephen E.; Stiening, Rae; Sykes, Matthew J.; Weinberg, Martin D.; Wheaton, William A.; Wheelock, Sherry L.; Zacarias, N. (2003). "VizieR Online Data Catalog: 2MASS All-Sky Catalog of Point Sources (Cutri+ 2003)". CDS/ADC Collection of Electronic Catalogues. 2246: II/246. Bibcode:2003yCat.2246....0C.
  2. ^ a b c d e "NED results for object NGC 5264". National Aeronautics and Space Administration / Infrared Processing and Analysis Center. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  3. ^ a b c "NGC 5264". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  4. ^ a b c López-Sánchez, Á. R.; Koribalski, B. S.; van Eymeren, J.; Esteban, C.; Kirby, E.; Jerjen, H.; Lonsdale, N. (2012). "The intriguing H I gas in NGC 5253: an infall of a diffuse, low-metallicity H I cloud?". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 419 (2): 1051–1069. arXiv:1109.0806. Bibcode:2012MNRAS.419.1051L. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.19762.x. S2CID 118503447.
  5. ^ a b "An irregular island | ESA/Hubble". spacetelescope.org. 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  6. ^ Seligman, Courtney. "New General Catalogue objects: NGC 5250 - 5299". cseligman.com. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  7. ^ Elizabeth Howell (January 20, 2015). "How Big Is The Milky Way?". Universe Today. Archived from the original on October 15, 2014.
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