Circinus Galaxy
| Circinus Galaxy | |
|---|---|
 A Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of the Circinus Galaxy. Credit: HST/NASA/ESA. |
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| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Circinus |
| Right ascension | 14h 13m 9.9s[1] |
| Declination | -65° 20′ 21″[1] |
| Redshift | 426 ± 25 km/s |
| Distance | 13 Mly |
| Type | SA(s)b[1] |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 6′.9 × 3′.0[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.1[1] |
| Other designations | |
| ESO 97-G13,[1] LEDA 50779 | |
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See also: Galaxy, List of galaxies |
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The Circinus Galaxy (ESO 97-G13) is a Seyfert Galaxy[2] in the Circinus constellation - and the closest to our Milky Way.[3] It is only 4 degrees below the Galactic plane, and 13 million light-years away. The galaxy is undergoing tumultuous changes, as rings of gas are being ejected from the galaxy. The outermost ring is 700 light-years from the center of the galaxy and the inner ring is 130 light-years out. The Circinus galaxy can be seen using a small telescope, however it was not noticed until 25 years ago because it was obscured by material from our own galaxy. The Circinus Galaxy is a Type II Seyfert galaxy and is one of the closest known active galaxies to the Milky Way, though it is probably slightly further away than Centaurus A.
Circinus Galaxy was a home for SN 1996cr, that has been identified over a decade after it exploded. The supernova was first singled out in 2001 as a bright, variable object in a Chandra image, but it was not confirmed as a supernova until years later.
References [edit]
- ^ a b c d e f "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for ESO 97-13. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
- ^ "SIMBAD Astronomical Database". Results for ESO 97-13. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
- ^ Maiolino, R.; Krabbe, A.; Thatte, N.; Genzel, R. (1998). "Seyfert Activity and Nuclear Star Formation in the Circinus Galaxy". The Astrophysical Journal 493 (2): 650–65.
