NGC 5668

NGC 5668
GALEX image of NGC 5668
Observation data
Constellation	Virgo
Right ascension	14^h 33^m 24.331^s[1]
Declination	+04° 27′ 01.75″[1]
Helio radial velocity	1,582 ± 5[2] km/s
Distance	80.9 ± 5.5 million light years (24.8 ± 1.7 Mpc)[2]
Type	SA(s)d[2]
Mass	5.7×10^10[2] M☉
Other designations
UGC 9363[3]

NGC 5668 is a nearly face-on spiral galaxy located about 81^[2] million light years away in the constellation Virgo. As seen from the Earth, it is inclined by an angle of 18° to the line of sight along a position angle of 145°. The morphological classification in the De Vaucouleurs system is SA(s)d,^[2] indicating a pure spiral structure with loosely wound arms.^[4] However, optical images of the galaxy indicate the presence of a weak bar structure spanning an angle of 12″ across the nucleus. There is a dwarf galaxy located around 650×10³ ly (200 kpc) to the southeast of NGC 5668, and the two may be gravitationally interacting.^[2]

Three supernovae have been observed in this galaxy: SN 1952G, SN 1954B, and SN 2004G.^[5] The last, a type II supernova,^[6] was initially imaged on January 19, 2004, at 43" to the west and 12".5 south of the galaxy core.^[5] High velocity clouds of neutral hydrogen have been observed in NGC 5668, which may have their origin in supernova explosions and strong stellar winds.^[7]

References

1. Skrutskie, M. F.; et al. (February 2006), "The Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS)", The Astronomical Journal 131 (2): 1163–1183, Bibcode:2006AJ....131.1163S, doi:10.1086/498708.
2. R. A., Marino; et al. (July 2012), "Integral Field Spectroscopy and Multi-wavelength Imaging of the nearby Spiral Galaxy NGC 5668: An Unusual Flattening in Metallicity Gradient", The Astrophysical Journal 754 (1): 61, arXiv:1205.5051, Bibcode:2012ApJ...754...61M, doi:10.1088/0004-637X/754/1/61.
3. "NGC 5668 -- Galaxy", SIMBAD Astronomical Database (Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg), retrieved 2013-07-11.
4. Buta, Ronald J.; et al. (2007), Atlas of Galaxies, Cambridge University Press, pp. 13–17, ISBN 0521820480.
5. Nakano, S.; et al. (2004), "Supernova 2004G in NGC 5668", IAU Circular 8272: 1, Bibcode:2004IAUC.8272....1N.
6. Elias-Rosa, N.; et al. (2004), "Supernova 2004G in NGC 5668", IAU Circular 8273: 2, Bibcode:2004IAUC.8273....2E.
7. Jiménez-Vicente, J.; Battaner, E. (June 2000), "Vertical motions in the disk of NGC 5668 as seen with optical Fabry-Perot spectroscopy", Astronomy and Astrophysics 358: 812–818, arXiv:astro-ph/0004295, Bibcode:2000A&A...358..812J.

Coordinates: 14^h 33^m 24.331^s, +04° 27′ 01.75″