NGC 3597

NGC 3597
Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 3597
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationCrater
Right ascension11h 14m 41.97s[1]
Declination−23° 43′ 39.58″[1]
Redshift0.011725[1]
Heliocentric radial velocity3494 km/s[1]
Distance150,000,000 light-years (46,000,000 pc)
Apparent magnitude (B)13.62[1]
Characteristics
TypeS0[1]
Notable featuresElliptical galaxy in making
Other designations
FLASH J111441.93-234340, MCG-04-27-005, VVD 11, PGC 34266[1]
The location of NGC 3597 (circled in red)

NGC 3597 is a galaxy located approximately 150 million light-years away in the constellation of Crater.[2][3] It was discovered by John Herschel on March 21, 1835.[4]

Characteristics

Close view with HST

NGC 3597 is thought to be the product of the collision of two large galaxies, and it appears to be slowly evolving to become an elliptical galaxy. Because of this, NGC 3597 is interesting to astronomers. Galaxies smashing together pool their available gas and dust, triggering new rounds of star birth. Some of this material ends up in dense pockets initially called proto-globular clusters, dozens of which festoon NGC 3597. These pockets will go on to collapse and form globular clusters, packed tightly full of millions of stars.[5][6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "NGC 3597". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
  2. ^ "Hubble Views a Galactic Mega-merger". images.nasa.gov. U.S.: NASA. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
  3. ^ "New Photo Shows 2 Galaxies Colliding". Time. New York City, U.S.: Time. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
  4. ^ "New General Catalog Objects: NGC 3550 - 3599". cseligman.com. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  5. ^ "Galactic habitable zone: Topics by Science.gov". Science.gov. U.S.: US Department of Energy Office of Science. Retrieved 26 July 2019. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ^ "A galactic mega-merger". www.spacetelescope.org. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
  • Media related to NGC 3597 at Wikimedia Commons