Messier 58
| Messier 58 | |
|---|---|
 An infrared image of M58 taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope (SST). Credit: SST/NASA/JPL. |
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| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Virgo[1] |
| Right ascension | 12h 37m 43.5s[2] |
| Declination | +11° 49′ 05″[2] |
| Redshift | 0.00506[2] |
| Helio radial velocity | 1517 ± 1 km/s[2] |
| Distance | 62 Mly (19.1 Mpc) (NED)[3] 68 Mly[4] |
| Type | SAB(rs)b[2] |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 5′.9 × 4′.7[2] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | +10.5[2] |
| Other designations | |
| NGC 4579, UGC 7796, PGC 42168, VCC 1727[2] | |
| See also: Galaxy, List of galaxies | |
Messier 58 (also known as M58 and NGC 4579) is a barred spiral galaxy located within the constellation Virgo, approximately 68 million light-years away from Earth.[5][6] It was discovered by Charles Messier on April 15, 1779 and is one of four barred spiral galaxies that appear in Messier's catalogue.[7][8][9][10][11][12] M58 is one of the brightest galaxies in the Virgo Cluster.[10][13] From 1779 it was arguably (though unknown at that time) the farthest known astronomical object[citation needed] until the release of the New General Catalogue in the 1880s and even more so the publishing of redshift values in the 1920s.
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[edit] Early observations
Charles Messier discovered Messier 58, along with the elliptical galaxies Messier 59 and Messier 60, on April 15, 1779.[10] M58 was reported on the chart of the Comet of 1779 as it was almost on the same parallel as the star Epsilon Virginis.[7][14] Messier described M58 as a very faint nebula in Virgo which would disappear in the slightest amount of light he used to illuminate the micrometer wires.[7][15] This description was later contradicted by John Herschel’s observations in 1833 where he described it as a very bright galaxy, especially towards the middle. Herschel’s observations were also similar to the descriptions of both John Dreyer and William Henry Smyth who said that M58 was a bright galaxy, mottled, irregularly round and very much brighter toward the middle.[7]
[edit] Supernovae
Two supernovae have been studied in the M58 galaxy.[2] A type II supernova dubbed as SN 1988A was discovered by Kaoru Ikeya on January 18, 1988.[10] It had an apparent magnitude of 13.5 from its center. A Type I supernova dubbed as SN 1989M was then found on June 28, 1989 by Kimeridze.[10] This one had an apparent magnitude of 12.2 from its nucleus.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ R. W. Sinnott, editor (1988). The Complete New General Catalogue and Index Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters by J. L. E. Dreyer. Sky Publishing Corporation and Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-933-34651-4.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for MESSIER 058. http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/nph-objsearch?objname=Messier+58&img_stamp=yes. Retrieved 2006-10-05.
- ^ "Distance Results for MESSIER 058". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/nDistance?name=MESSIER+058. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
- ^ G. Gavazzi, A. Boselli, M. Scodeggio, D. Pierini and E. Belsole (1999). "The 3D structure of the Virgo cluster from H-band Fundamental Plane and Tully-Fisher distance determinations". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 304 (3): 595–610. arXiv:astro-ph/9812275. Bibcode 1999MNRAS.304..595G. doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.1999.02350.x.
- ^ "Messier 58 Galaxy". Solarius. http://www.solarius.net/assets/finder_charts/messier_58.pdf. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
- ^ "M 58 -- LINER-type Active Galaxy Nucleus". SIMBAD. http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=M+58&jsessionid=4412FDA6F60FA262F9963C434A94E239. Retrieved 2010-02-23.
- ^ a b c d "Messier 58: Observations and Descriptions". SEDS. http://seds.org/MESSIER/Mdes/dm058.html. Retrieved 2010-02-23.[dead link]
- ^ Burnham, Robert Jr (1978). Burnham's Celestial Handbook: Volume Three, Pavo Through Vulpecula. Dover. pp. 2086–2088. ISBN 0-486-23673-0. http://books.google.com/?id=PJzIt3SIlkUC&pg=PA2086.
- ^ William Liller (1992). The Cambridge guide to astronomical discovery. Cambridge University Press. p. 29. ISBN 0521418399. http://books.google.com/?id=khtT0QAXI9QC&pg=PA29.
- ^ a b c d e "Messier 58". SEDS. http://seds.org/MESSIER/m/m058.html. Retrieved 2010-02-23.[dead link]
- ^ "Oceanside Photo and Telescope". http://www.optcorp.com/edu/articleListEDU.aspx?cid=103. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- ^ The other barred spiral galaxies in Messier's catalogue are Messier 91, Messier 95 and Messier 109
- ^ "Messier Catalog M51 - M60". SEASKY. http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy_messier_51to60.html. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- ^ "Charles Messier's Catalog of Nebulae and Star Clusters". SEDS: Charles Messier's Catalog. http://seds.org/messier/xtra/history/m-cat.html. Retrieved 2010-02-23.
- ^ "Catalog of Nebulae and Star Clusters.". SEDS: Observed at Paris by M. Messier. http://seds.org/MESSIER/xtra/history/m-cat.html#M58. Retrieved 2010-02-23.[dead link]
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Messier 58 |
- SEDS Messier: M58
- Spitzer Space Telescope page on Messier 58
- Messier 58 on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images
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