NGC 5996

NGC 5996
NGC 5996 by Hubble Space Telescope
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationSerpens
Right ascension15h 46m 58.9s[1]
Declination+17° 53′ 03″[1]
Redshift0.010998 ± 0.000007 [1]
Heliocentric radial velocity3,297 ± 2 km/s[1]
Distance127 ± 15 Mly (38.9 ± 4.6 Mpc)[1]
Apparent magnitude (V)12.5[2]
Characteristics
TypeSBc [1]
Apparent size (V)1.58′ × 0.69′[1]
Notable featuresInteracting galaxy
Other designations
UGC 10033, Arp 72, VV 16a, MRK 691, MCG +03-40-039, IRAS 15447+1802, PGC 56023

NGC 5996 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Serpens. The galaxy lies about 125 million light years away from Earth, which means, given its apparent dimensions, that NGC 5996 is approximately 65,000 light years across.[1] It was discovered by William Herschel on March 21, 1784.[3]

NGC 5996 forms a pair with a smaller companion galaxy, NGC 5994, which lies at a distance of about 40,000 light years. The galaxy pair is known as Arp 72. The interaction of the two galaxies has created a long and faint tidal tail about 3.8 arcminutes long curving away from the northern edge of the disk of NGC 5996 towards the east and south.[4][5] A hydrogen bridge has been observed between the two galaxies and hydrogen emission is also observed west of NGC 5994.[4] The interaction has possibly induced star formation activity in NGC 5996 both in the nucleus and the disk, with a star formation rate of 1.43 M☉ per year.[4] The brightest star cluster in the galaxy is estimated to be 5 million years old.[6]

The galaxy pair is part of the NGC 5996 Group, which also includes UGC 10044 and IC 1135.[7]

One supernova has been observed in NGC 5996, ASASSN-15db, which was discovered when it had an apparent magnitude of 16.7[8] and it was categorised as a type Ia supernova five days before maximum.[9][10]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 5996. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
  2. ^ "Revised NGC Data for NGC 5996". spider.seds.org. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  3. ^ Seligman, Courtney. "NGC 5996 (= PGC 12041, and with PGC 12053 = Arp 279)". Celestial Atlas. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  4. ^ a b c Sengupta, Chandreyee; Saikia, D. J.; Dwarakanath, K. S. (11 February 2012). "H i in Arp 72 and similarities with M51-type systems: H i in Arp 72 and M51-type systems". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 420 (1): 2–9. arXiv:1109.2741. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.19767.x.
  5. ^ "Hubble Peers at Pair of Closely Interacting Galaxies". science.nasa.gov. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  6. ^ Chandar, Rupali; Leitherer, Claus; Tremonti, Christy A.; Calzetti, Daniela; Aloisi, Alessandra; Meurer, Gerhardt R.; de Mello, Duilia (20 July 2005). "The Stellar Content of Nearby Star-forming Galaxies. III. Unravelling the Nature of the Diffuse Ultraviolet Light". The Astrophysical Journal. 628 (1): 210–230. arXiv:astro-ph/0505024. Bibcode:2005ApJ...628..210C. doi:10.1086/430592.
  7. ^ Dmitry Makarov; Igor Karachentsev (2011). "Galaxy groups and clouds in the local (z∼ 0.01) Universe". MNRAS. 412 (4): 2498–2520. arXiv:1011.6277. Bibcode:2011MNRAS.412.2498M. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.18071.x. S2CID 119194025.
  8. ^ Holoien, T. W. -S.; Stanek, K. Z.; Kochanek, C. S.; Danilet, A. B.; Simonian, G.; Basu, U.; Goss, N.; Beacom, J. F.; Shappee, B. J.; Prieto, J. L.; Bersier, D.; Dong, Subo; Wozniak, P. R.; Falco, E.; Brimacombe, J.; Szczygiel, D.; Pojmanski, G. (1 February 2015). "ASAS-SN Discovery of A Probable Supernova in NGC 5996". The Astronomer's Telegram. 7078: 1. Bibcode:2015ATel.7078....1H.
  9. ^ Zhang, Jujia; Wang, Xiaofeng (1 February 2015). "Spectroscopic Classification of ASASSN-15db as a Type Ia Supernova". The Astronomer's Telegram. 7086: 1. Bibcode:2015ATel.7086....1Z.
  10. ^ Ochner, P.; Pastorello, A.; Benetti, S.; Cappellaro, E.; Elias-Rosa, N.; Tartaglia, L.; Terreran, G.; Tomasella, L.; Turatto, M. (1 February 2015). "Asiago spectroscopic classification of ASASSN-15db". The Astronomer's Telegram. 7089: 1. Bibcode:2015ATel.7089....1O.