NGC 3115
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| Observation data: J2000 epoch | |
|---|---|
| Constellation: | Sextans |
| Right ascension: | 10h 05m 14.0s[1] |
| Declination: | -7° 43′ 07″[1] |
| Redshift: | 663 ± 4 km/s[1] |
| Distance: | 31.6 ± 1.3 Mly (9.7 ± 0.4 Mpc)[2] |
| Type: | S0[1] |
| Apparent dimensions (V): | 7′.2 × 2′.5[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V): | 9.9[1] |
| Notable features: | |
| Other designations | |
| Spindle Galaxy, UGCA 199, PGC 29265[1] | |
| See also: Galaxy, List of galaxies | |
NGC 3115 (also called the Spindle Galaxy) is a lenticular (S0) galaxy in the constellation Sextans. The galaxy was discovered by William Herschel on February 22, 1787.[3] At about 32 million light-years away from us it is several times bigger than our Milky Way.
In 1992, John Kormendy of the University of Hawaii and Douglas Richstone of the University of Michigan announced what was observed to be a supermassive black hole in the galaxy. It was one of the largest found at that time (2 billion times the mass of the Sun). It appears to have mostly old stars and little or no activity. The growth of its black hole has also stopped.
[edit] See also
- NGC 5866 - another lenticular galaxy sometimes referred to as the Spindle Galaxy
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Results for NGC 3115. Retrieved on 2006-10-12.
- ^ J. L. Tonry, A. Dressler, J. P. Blakeslee, E. A. Ajhar, A. B. Fletcher, G. A. Luppino, M. R. Metzger, C. B. Moore (2001). "The SBF Survey of Galaxy Distances. IV. SBF Magnitudes, Colors, and Distances". Astrophysical Journal 546 (2): 681-693.
- ^ O'Meara, Stephen James (2002). The Caldwell Objects. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 211. ISBN 0-521-82796-5.
