Lenticular galaxy

"S0s" redirects here. For other uses, see S0.
The Spindle Galaxy (NGC 5866), a lenticular galaxy in the constellation Draco. This image shows that lenticular galaxies may retain a considerable amount of dust in their disk. However, there is little to no gas, and thus they are considered deficient in interstellar matter.

A lenticular galaxy (denoted S0) is a type of galaxy intermediate between an elliptical (denoted E) and a spiral galaxy in galaxy morphological classification schemes.[1] It contains a large-scale disc but does not have large-scale spiral arms. Lenticular galaxies are disc galaxies that have used up or lost most of their interstellar matter and therefore have very little ongoing star formation.[2] They may, however, retain significant dust in their disks. As a result, they consist mainly of aging stars (like elliptical galaxies). Despite the morphological differences, lenticular and elliptical galaxies share common properties like spectral features and scaling relations. Both can be considered early-type galaxies that are passively evolving, at least in the local part of the Universe. Connecting the E galaxies with the S0 galaxies are the ES galaxies with intermediate-scale discs.[3]

  1. ^ R. J. Buta; H. G. Corwin, Jr.; S. C. Odewahn (2007s). The de Vaucouleurs Atlas of Galaxies. Cambridge: Cambridge University. ISBN 978-0521820486.
  2. ^ DeGraaff, Regina Barber; Blakeslee, John P.; Meurer, Gerhardt R.; Putman, Mary E. (December 2007). "A Galaxy in Transition: Structure, Globular Clusters, and Distance of the Star-Forming S0 Galaxy NGC 1533 in Dorado". The Astrophysical Journal. 671 (2): 1624–1639. arXiv:0710.0893. Bibcode:2007ApJ...671.1624D. doi:10.1086/523640. S2CID 14312626.
  3. ^ Liller, M.H. (1966), The Distribution of Intensity in Elliptical Galaxies of the Virgo Cluster. II