NGC 3607

NGC 3607
The nuclear dust disk of NGC 3607 as imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationLeo
Right ascension11h 16m 54.657s[1]
Declination+18° 03′ 06.51″[1]
Heliocentric radial velocity930 km/s[2]
Distance73.4 Mly (22.49 Mpc)[2]
Group or clusterLeo II Group[3]
Apparent magnitude (V)10.8[4]
Characteristics
TypeSA(s)0*[5]
Apparent size (V)4.9′ × 2.5′[4] (Optical)
Other designations
2MASX J11165465+1803065, NGC 3607, UGC 6297, PGC 34426, SDSS J111654.63+180306.3, SDSS J111654.63+180306.3[6]

NGC 3607 is a small but fairly bright[7] lenticular galaxy[3] in the equatorial constellation of Leo, about 2.5° south of the prominent star Delta Leonis.[8] The galaxy was discovered March 14, 1784 by William Herschel. Dreyer described it as "very bright, large, round, very much brighter middle, 2nd of 3".[9] It is located at a distance of 73 million light years and is receding with a radial velocity of 930 km/s.[2] The galaxy lies southwest of NGC 3626 at an angular separation of ~50′.[7] It occupies the center of the Leo II Group of galaxies, forming one of its two brightest members – the other being NGC 3608.[3] It is a member of the NGC 3607 Group of galaxies, which is a member of the Leo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the right edge of the Virgo Supercluster.[10]

The morphological class of NGC 3607 is SA(s)0*,[5] matching a lenticular galaxy (SA0) with no inner ring structure (s). It is an intermediate mass galaxy[3] that is being viewed at an inclination of 34°,[5] showing an ellipticity of 0.13 with the major axis oriented along a position angle of 125°.[3] The galaxy has an outer dusty disk with a second perpendicular disk that is falling inward toward the center of the galaxy.[3] X-ray emission from hot gas has been detected in the interior and from all around the galaxy.[5]

A system of 46 confirmed globular clusters have been identified around NGC 3607, which are orbiting within an effective radius of 14.2±2.0 kpc. In contrast, the stellar component of the galaxy has an effective radius of 4.2±1 kpc.[3] Orbital motions of this cluster system[11] imply an unusual poverty of dark matter: perhaps 16%±44% of the total mass within 5 effective radii. Its central black hole has a mass of M• = (1.2±0.4)×108 M☉[12] The core region of the galaxy is kinematically distinct from the remainder of the galaxy and shows an enhancement of magnesium.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Skrutskie, Michael F.; et al. (February 1, 2006). "The Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS)". The Astronomical Journal. 131 (2): 1163–1183. Bibcode:2006AJ....131.1163S. doi:10.1086/498708. ISSN 0004-6256. S2CID 18913331.
  2. ^ a b c Tully, R. Brent; et al. (2016). "Cosmicflows-3". The Astronomical Journal. 152 (2): 21. arXiv:1605.01765. Bibcode:2016AJ....152...50T. doi:10.3847/0004-6256/152/2/50. S2CID 250737862. 50.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Kartha, Sreeja S.; et al. (May 2016). "The SLUGGS survey*: exploring the globular cluster systems of the Leo II group and their global relationships". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 458 (1): 105–126. arXiv:1602.01838. Bibcode:2016MNRAS.458..105K. doi:10.1093/mnras/stw185.
  4. ^ a b "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 3607. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
  5. ^ a b c d e Afanasiev, V. L.; Silchenko, O. K. (August 2007). "Leo II Group: decoupled cores of NGC 3607 and NGC3608". Astronomical & Astrophysical Transactions. 26 (4): 311–337. arXiv:astro-ph/0612348. Bibcode:2007A&AT...26..311A. doi:10.1080/10556790701553524. S2CID 16140170.
  6. ^ "NGC 3607". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  7. ^ a b O'Meara, Steve (2007). Herschel 400 Observing Guide. Cambridge University Press. p. 131. ISBN 9780521858939.
  8. ^ Sinnott, Roger W.; Perryman, Michael A. C. (1997). Millennium Star Atlas. Vol. 2. Sky Publishing Corporation and the European Space Agency. p. 994. ISBN 0-933346-83-2.
  9. ^ Seligman, Courtney. "NGC 3607 (= PGC 34426)". Celestial Atlas. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  10. ^ "The Leo III Groups". Atlas of the Universe. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  11. ^ Alabi, Adebusola B.; et al. (2016-05-20). "The SLUGGS survey: the mass distribution in early-type galaxies within five effective radii and beyond". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 460 (4): 3838–3860. arXiv:1605.06101. Bibcode:2016MNRAS.460.3838A. doi:10.1093/mnras/stw1213.
  12. ^ Gultekin, Kayhan (2009). "A Quintet of Black Hole Mass Determinations". The Astrophysical Journal. 695 (2): 1577–1590. arXiv:0901.4162. Bibcode:2009ApJ...695.1577G. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/695/2/1577. S2CID 14365610.