Jump to content

PGC 6240

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Pikador (talk | contribs) at 19:34, 18 May 2015 (observed not discovered, first mentioned probably by Malin 1983). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

White Rose Galaxy
Petal-like shells of the giant early-type galaxy PGC 6240
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationHydrus
Right ascension01h 41m 30.906s[1]
Declination−65° 36′ 56.4″[1]
Distance345,000 kly (106,000 kpc)
Characteristics
TypeS0d
Other designations
6dFGS gJ014131.0-653656, AM 0139-655

PGC 6240, also known as AM 0139-655 or the White Rose Galaxy, is a very large and old galaxy in the southern constellation of Hydrus,[2] about 345 million light years away from Earth.

Appearing like a white rose in the sky, the galaxy has foggy shells of stars that rotate around a luminous center with few shells lying close to it while others at a distance. Those distant from the center appear disconnected from the white rose.[3]

The 'White Rose' galaxy intrigues astronomers because the differing ages of its globular clusters;[4] there are a population of relatively young globular clusters around 400 million years old, another group of older ones around 1 billion years old, and older ones still. The ages of the younger two align with the ages of the shells around the galaxy proper. This suggests that the younger clusters and shells formed in bouts of starburst star formation following the merger of the galaxy with another.[2]

Notes and References

References

  1. ^ a b 6dFGS gJ014131.0-653656 -- Galaxy
  2. ^ a b Maybhate 2007, pp. 139−655
  3. ^ Lazaro 2013
  4. ^ Malin 1983, pp. 534–540

Bibliography

  • Malin, DF; Carter D (1983). "A catalog of elliptical galaxies with shells". Astrophysical Journal. 274. 1: 534–540. Bibcode:1983ApJ...274..534M. doi:10.1086/161467. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  • Maybhate, Aparna (2007). "Evidence for Three Subpopulations of Globular Clusters in the Early-Type Poststarburst Shell Galaxy AM". Astronomical Journal. 1729. 134: 139–655. arXiv:0707.3133. Bibcode:2007AJ....134.1729M. doi:10.1086/521817.
  • Lazaro, Enrico de (Oct 11, 2013). "PGC 6240: Astronomers Spot Distant 'White Rose' Galaxy". sci-news.com. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=PGC_6240&oldid=662979395"