| NGC 5949 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) A
Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of NGC 5949 | |
| Observation data ( J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Draco |
| Right ascension | 15h 28m 0.70s [1] |
| Declination | 64° 45′ 48.0″ [1] |
| Redshift | 0.001414±0.000073 [1] |
| Distance | 44 Mly (13.49 M pc) [1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.1 [1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SA(r)bc [1] |
| Size | 30,000 ly (diameter) [1] |
| Apparent size (V) | 1.9 x .89[ citation needed] |
| Notable features | Bright hot blue stars make up most of the galaxy |
| Other designations | |
| LEDA 55165, SDSS J152800.67+644547.4, Z 319-16, IRAS F15273+6456, 2MASX J15280067+6445473, TC 847, Z 1527.4+6455, IRAS 15273+6456, MCG+11-19-008, UGC 9866, K73 682, PSCz Q15273+6456, UZC J152800.7+644547 | |
NGC 5949 is a dwarf spiral galaxy located around 44 million light-years away in the constellation Draco. [2] [3] [4] NGC 5949 was discovered in 1801 by William Herschel, and it is 30,000 light-years across. NGC 5949 is not known to have an Active galactic nucleus, and it is not known for much star-formation. [3]
Characteristics
With a mass of about a hundredth that of the Milky Way, NGC 5949 is a relatively bulky example of a dwarf galaxy. Its classification as a dwarf is due to its relatively small number of constituent stars, but the galaxy’s loosely-bound spiral arms also place it in the category of barred spirals. This structure is just visible in the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image, which shows the galaxy as a bright yet ill-defined pinwheel. Despite its small proportions, NGC 5949’s proximity has meant that its light can be picked up by fairly small telescopes, as discovered by William Herschel. [4]
Astronomers have run into several cosmological quandaries when it comes to dwarf galaxies like NGC 5949. For example, the distribution of dark matter within dwarfs is quite puzzling (the “ cuspy halo” problem), and our simulations of the Universe predict that there should be many more dwarf galaxies than we see around us (the “ missing satellites” problem). [4]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "NGC 5949". simbad.u-strasbg.fr. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ "The New General Catalogue (NGC) in Draco".
- ^ a b "By Name | NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". ned.ipac.caltech.edu. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
- ^ a b c ESA/Hubble & NASA (7 August 2017). "Small but significant". www.spacetelescope.org. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
External links
- "NGC 5949". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
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NGC 5949 at Wikimedia Commons
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