NGC 3115

NGC 3115
Composite image of NGC 3115 from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Very Large Telescope
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationSextans
Right ascension10h 05m 14.0s[1]
Declination−7° 43′ 07″[1]
Redshift663 ± 4 km/s[1]
Distance31.6 ± 1.3 Mly (9.7 ± 0.4 Mpc)[2]
Apparent magnitude (V)9.9[1]
Characteristics
TypeS0−[3]
Apparent size (V)7.2′ × 2.5′[1]
Other designations
Spindle Galaxy, UGCA 199, PGC 29265,[1] Caldwell 53
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NGC 3115 (also called the Spindle Galaxy or Caldwell 53) is a field lenticular (S0) galaxy in the constellation Sextans. The galaxy was discovered by William Herschel on February 22, 1787.[4][5] At about 32 million light-years away from Earth, it is several times bigger than the Milky Way. It is a lenticular (S0) galaxy because it contains a disk and a central bulge of stars, but without a detectable spiral pattern. NGC 3115 is seen almost exactly edge-on, but was nevertheless mis-classified as elliptical. There is some speculation that NGC 3115, in its youth, was a quasar.

One supernova has been observed in NGC 3115: SN 1935B (type and mag. unknown).[6][7]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 3115. Retrieved October 12, 2006.
  2. ^ J. L. Tonry; A. Dressler; J. P. Blakeslee; E. A. Ajhar; et al. (2001). "The SBF Survey of Galaxy Distances. IV. SBF Magnitudes, Colors, and Distances". Astrophysical Journal. 546 (2): 681–693. arXiv:astro-ph/0011223. Bibcode:2001ApJ...546..681T. doi:10.1086/318301. S2CID 17628238.
  3. ^ Tomita, Akihiko; Aoki, Kentaro; Watanabe, Masaru; Takata, Tadafumi; Ichikawa, Shin-Ichi (2000). "The Central Gas Systems of Early-Type Galaxies Traced by Dust Features, Based on the Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 Archival Images". The Astronomical Journal. 120 (1): 123–130. arXiv:astro-ph/0003431. Bibcode:2000AJ....120..123T. doi:10.1086/301440. S2CID 9684945.
  4. ^ O'Meara, Stephen James (2002). The Caldwell Objects. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-521-82796-6.
  5. ^ Materne, J. (April 1979). "The structure of nearby groups of galaxies - Quantitative membership probabilities". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 74 (2): 235–243. Bibcode:1979A&A....74..235M.
  6. ^ Transient Name Server entry for SN 1935B. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  7. ^ Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams list of Supernovae. Retrieved 28 March 2023.