NGC 2655 | |
---|---|
Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
Constellation | Camelopardalis |
Right ascension | 08h 55m 37.7s[1] |
Declination | +78° 13′ 03″[1] |
Redshift | 1400 ± 1 km/s[1] |
Distance | 63 Mly (19.5 Mpc)[1] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 10.1 |
Characteristics | |
Type | SAB(s)0/a [1] |
Apparent size (V) | 4.9′ × 4.1′[1] |
Other designations | |
Arp 225, UGC 4637, PGC 25069[1] |
NGC 2655 is a lenticular galaxy in the constellation Camelopardalis. It is at a distance of 60 million light years from Earth. NGC 2655 is a Seyfert galaxy. The galaxy has asymmetric dust lanes in the centre of the galaxy, tidal arms and extended neutral hydrogen gas and may have recently experienced a merger. The complex dynamics of the HI and optical tails suggest the galaxy may have undergone more mergers in the past. A weak bar has been detected in infrared H band. The diameter of the disk of the galaxy is estimated to be 60 Kpc (195,000 ly).[2]
William Herschel discovered NGC 2655 in September 26, 1802 and described it as very bright and considerably large. The galaxy can be glimpsed with a 4-inch telescope under dark skies nearly 10° from the north celestial pole.[3] One supernova has been observed in NGC 2655, SN 2011B,[4] a type Ia with peak magnitude 12.8.[5]
NGC 2655 is the brightest member of the NGC 2655 group, which also contains the Sc galaxy NGC 2715, NGC 2591, and NGC 2748.[6][7] One of the gas structures of NGC 2655 is trailing off toward the small galaxy UGC 4714.[2]