NGC 1701 | |
---|---|
Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
Constellation | Caelum |
Right ascension | 04h 55m 50s |
Declination | -29° 52’ 59” |
Redshift | 0.019467 |
Heliocentric radial velocity | 5,836 km/s |
Distance | 282 Mly (86.46 Mpc) |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.8 |
Apparent magnitude (B) | 13.6 |
Surface brightness | 22.65 mag/arcsec^2 |
Characteristics | |
Type | SAb |
Size | 171,000 ly |
Apparent size (V) | 1.2' x 0.9' |
Other designations | |
PGC 16352, ESO 422-11, MCG -05-012-10, IRAS 04539-2957 |
NGC 1701, also known as the Trekkie Galaxy,[1] is a large spiral galaxy located in the constellation Caelum. Its speed relative to the cosmic microwave background is 5,836 ± 24 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 86.1 ± 6.0 Mpc (∼281 million ly).[2] It was discovered by the British astronomer John Herschel in 1834.[2][3][4]
The luminosity class of NGC 1701 is II and it has a broad HI line.[2]
The galaxy got its nickname due to its technical name (NGC 1701) being very similar to the designation of Star Trek's Starship Enterprise (NCC-1701).[1]