NGC 55
Template:Short description Template:Infobox galaxy
NGC 55, also known as the String of Pearls Galaxy,<ref name="interstellarum">Template:Cite book</ref> is a Magellanic type barred spiral galaxy located about 6.5 million light-years away in the constellation Sculptor. It was discovered on 7 July 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop.<ref name="cseligman" /> Along with its neighbor NGC 300, it is one of the closest galaxies to the Local Group, probably lying between the Milky Way and the Sculptor Group.<ref name="cseligman">Template:Cite web</ref> It has an estimated mass of (2.0 ± 0.4) × 1010 Template:Solar mass.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Nearby galaxies and group information
NGC 55 and the spiral galaxy NGC 300 have traditionally been identified as members of the Sculptor Group, a nearby group of galaxies in the constellation of the same name. However, recent distance measurements indicate that the two galaxies actually lie in the foreground.<ref name="karachentsevetal2003"> Template:Cite journal</ref>
It is likely that NGC 55 and NGC 300 form a gravitationally bound pair.<ref name = "vandesteeneetal2006"> Template:Cite journal</ref>
Visual appearance
The Webb Society Deep-Sky Observer's Handbook<ref name="Webb"> Template:Cite book</ref> writes the following about NGC 55: "Nearly edge-on and appears asymmetrical with some signs of dust near the bulge, which is diffuse, broad and somewhat elongated with the south edge sharp; southeast of the bulge it is strongly curved and lined with 4 or 5 faint knots; north edge of the curve is sharp." Burnham calls it "one of the outstanding galaxies of the southern heavens", somewhat resembling a smaller version of the Large Magellanic Cloud.<ref name="burnham"> Template:Cite book</ref> In September 1897, the famous New York comet hunter Lewis Swift observed the galaxy from Echo Mountain, California with a 16-inch refractor. He mistook the galaxy's faint eastern section as a new find (even though John Herschel had drawn it) and that is how it got cataloged as IC 1537.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
See also
Notes
- Template:Note labelaverage(6.9 ± 0.7,<ref name="Karachentsevetal2006"> Template:Cite journal</ref> 7.5 ± 1.1<ref name = "vandesteeneetal2006" />) = ((6.9 + 7.5) / 2) ± ((0.72 + 1.12)0.5 / 2) = 7.2 ± 0.7
References
External links
Template:Sculptor (constellation) Template:Ngc5 Template:Catalogs Template:Caldwell catalogue Template:Sky