NGC 6340

NGC 6340
NGC 6340 (center) in a 32 in (81 cm) telescope
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationDraco[1]
Right ascension17h 10m 24.835s[2]
Declination+72° 18′ 15.92″[2]
Redshift0.003996(20)[3]
Heliocentric radial velocity1,217 km/s[4]
Distance55 Mly (17 Mpc)h−1
0.73[5]
Apparent magnitude (V)11.9[6]
Characteristics
TypeSA(s)0/a[6]
Apparent size (V)3.2′ × 3.0′[7]
Other designations
NGC 6340, UGC 10762, PGC 59742[8][4]

NGC 6340 is an unbarred spiral galaxy in the northern constellation of Draco. It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on June 6, 1788.[9] The galaxy is located approximately 55 million light-years (17 Mpc) away,[5] and is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 1,217 km/s.[4] It is the largest member of a triplet of galaxies known as the NGC 6340 group.[6]

The morphological classification of NGC 6340 is SA(s)0/a,[6] indicating a lenticular or spiral galaxy with no central bar (SA), no ring structure (s), and tightly wound spiral arms. It is being viewed nearly face on, with an inclination of about 20° to the plane of the sky. There is a prominent central bulge with little in the way of spiral structure in the outer disk.[10] The nucleus is chemically distinct, having a higher metallicity than the surroundings. There is a polar ring orbiting the nucleus with a radius of about 1.6 kly (0.5 kpc).[11]

Velocity measurements show that there are separate components with the inner and outer parts of the galaxy. This may have been created through a merger of two galaxy, with one possibly elliptical and the other a spiral.[6][5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference sinnott1988 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference edr3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference de_Vaucouleurs_et_al_1991 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Tully_2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Chilingarian_et_al_2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference König_Binnewies_2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference ned was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference SIMBAD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference CSeligman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bottema_1989 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sil'chenko 2000 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).