NGC 4567 and NGC 4568

NGC 4567 and NGC 4568

The Siamese Twins with NGC 4567 (top) and NGC 4568 (bottom)
Observation data (J2000.0 epoch)
Constellation Virgo
Right ascension 12h 36m 34.3s
Declination +11° 14 17
Distance 59.4 Mly (18.2 Mpc)[1]
Type SA(rs)bc / SA(rs)bc
Apparent dimensions (V) 4.6' × 2.1'
Apparent magnitude (V) +10.9
Absolute magnitude (V) -13.3
Notable features colliding galaxies
Other designations
NGC 4567/8, UGC 7776, PGC 42064/9, VV 219
NGC 4567 and 4568 imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope

NGC 4567 and NGC 4568 (nicknamed the Siamese Twins or the Butterfly Galaxies) are a set of spiral galaxies about 60 million light-years away[1] in the constellation Virgo. They were both discovered by William Herschel in 1784. They are part of the Virgo cluster of galaxies. Only one supernova (SN 2004cc) has been observed in the Siamese Twins.

These galaxies are in the process of colliding and merging with each other, as studies of their distributions of neutral and molecular hydrogen show, with the highest star formation activity in the part where they overlap. However the system is still in an early phase of interaction.[2]

They were named "Siamese Twins" because they appear to be connected.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Distance Results for NGC 4568". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  2. "Molecular Gas in the Early Stage of Interacting Galaxies: The NGC 4567/8 Pair". Retrieved 2012-05-14.

External links


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, July 19, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.