NGC 5850 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo. Its speed relative to the cosmic microwave background is 2,735 ± 13 km/s,[2] which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 40.3 ± 2.8 Mpc (~131 million ly).[3] NGC 5850 was discovered by German-British astronomerWilliam Herschel on 24 February 1786.[4]
Characteristics
The luminosity class of NGC 5850 is II and it has a broad HI1 line.[5] It is also classified a LINER galaxy; a galaxy whose nucleus presents an emission spectrum characterized by broad lines of weakly ionized atoms.[6][7]
To date, seven non-redshift measurements yield a distance of 18.7 ± 1.75 Mpc (~61 million ly), which is far outside the Hubble distance values.[1] Note that it is with the average value of independent measurements, when they exist, that the NASA/IPAC database calculates the diameter of a galaxy and that consequently the diameter of NGC 5850 could be approximately 58.7 kpc (~191,000 ly) if we used the Hubble distance to calculate it.[8]
Morphology
NGC 5850 was used by Gérard de Vaucouleurs as a galaxy of morphological type SB(r)b in his galaxy atlas.[9][10] It is classified as a prototype double-barred system early-type spiral galaxy by other studies as well.[11][12]
In 2002, Eskridge, Frogel and Pogge published a paper, describing the morphology of 205 closely spaced spiral galaxies. The observations were carried out in the H band of infrared and in the B band (blue). According to Eskridge and his colleagues, NGC 5850 is a spiral galaxy of type SB(r)ab in the B band and type SB(r)0/a in the H band. The isophotes of the outer bulb are almost circular. The nucleus appears elliptical. The bulb is crossed by a very long bar with ansae at its end. The bar is inclined at 60 degrees to the interior bulb. A complete inner ring is formed at the end of the bar and beyond there is a faint spiral structure. The spiral arms appear to form an incomplete outern pseudo-ring.[13] One of these spiral arms of NGC 5850 appears broken, likely caused by an interaction with a north-west object.[14]
NGC 5850 is close to its neighbor, NGC 5846. However, the distance between them is exactly 40 million light-years. Although they not a physical pair, it is possible that the two galaxies might have experienced a high-speed encounter around 200 million years ago.[15]
Supernova
One supernova has been observed in NGC 5850: SN 1987B (typeII, mag. 15) was discovered by Robert Evans on 24 February 1987, shining 71" west and 145" south of the nucleus of the galaxy.[16][17] Spectral analysis indicated that it was a non-conventional type II supernova.[18]
See also
NGC 5846, thought to have caused creation of NGC 5850[5]
^Bremer, M.; Scharwächter, J.; Eckart, A.; Zuther, J.; Fischer, S.; Valencias-S., M.; Combes, F.; Garcia-Burillo, S. (2013-05-08), The Central 3 kpc of NGC 5850, arXiv:1305.1802
^Eskridge, Paul B.; Frogel, Jay A.; Pogge, Richard W.; Quillen, Alice C.; Berlind, Andreas A.; Davies, Roger L.; DePoy, D. L.; Gilbert, Karoline M.; Houdashelt, Mark L.; Kuchinski, Leslie E.; Ramirez, Solange V.; Sellgren, K.; Stutz, Amelia; Terndrup, Donald M.; Tiede, Glenn P. (November 2002). "Near-Infrared and Optical Morphology of Spiral Galaxies". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 143 (1): 73–111. arXiv:astro-ph/0206320. Bibcode:2002ApJS..143...73E. doi:10.1086/342340.
^Evans, R.; Thompson, G.; McNaught, R. H. (1987). "Supernova 1987B in NGC 5850". International Astronomical Union Circular (4321): 1. Bibcode:1987IAUC.4321....1E.
^"SN1987B". Transient Name Server. IAU. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
Aguerri, J. A. L.; Hunter, J. H.; Prieto, M.; Varela, A. M.; Gottesman, S. T.; Muñoz-Tuñón, C. (July 2001). "An hydrodynamical model of the barred galaxy NGC 5850". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 373 (3): 786–795. Bibcode:2001A&A...373..786A. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20010557.
