Circinus Galaxy

The Circinus Galaxy (ESO 97-G13) is a Seyfert galaxy[2] in the constellation of Circinus. It is located 4 degrees below the Galactic plane, and, at a distance of 4.0 Mpc (13 Mly), is one of the closest major galaxies to the Milky Way.[3] The galaxy is undergoing tumultuous changes, as rings of gas are likely being ejected from the galaxy. Its outermost ring is 1400 light-years across while the inner ring is 260 light-years across. Although the Circinus galaxy can be seen using a small telescope, it was not noticed until 1977[4] because it lies close to the plane of the Milky Way and is obscured by galactic dust. The Circinus Galaxy is a Type II Seyfert galaxy and is one of the closest known active galaxies to the Milky Way, though it is probably slightly farther away than Centaurus A.

Circinus Galaxy
A Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of the Circinus Galaxy.
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationCircinus
Right ascension14h 13m 9.9s[1]
Declination−65° 20′ 21″[1]
Redshift426 ± 25 km/s
Distance4.0 Mpc [ 13 Mly ]
Apparent magnitude (V)12.1[1]
Characteristics
TypeSA(s)b[1]
Apparent size (V)6′.9 × 3′.0[1]
Other designations
ESO 97-G13,[1] LEDA 50779

Circinus Galaxy produced supernova SN 1996cr, which was identified over a decade after it exploded. This supernova event was first observed during 2001 as a bright, variable object in a Chandra X-ray Observatory image, but it was not confirmed as a supernova until years later.

The Circinus Galaxy is one of twelve large galaxies in the "Council of Giants" surrounding the Local Group in the Local Sheet.[5]

References
  1. "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for ESO 97-13. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  2. "NAME Circinus Galaxy". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  3. Maiolino, R.; Krabbe, A.; Thatte, N.; Genzel, R. (1998). "Seyfert Activity and Nuclear Star Formation in the Circinus Galaxy". The Astrophysical Journal. 493 (2): 650–65. arXiv:astro-ph/9709091. Bibcode:1998ApJ...493..650M. doi:10.1086/305150.
  4. Inglis, Mike (2004). Astronomy of the Milky Way: Observer's Guide to the Southern Sky. New York, New York: Springer. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-85233-742-1.
  5. McCall, Marshall L. (29 April 2013). "A Council of Giants". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (published 10 March 2014). 440 (1): 405–426. arXiv:1403.3667. Bibcode:2014MNRAS.440..405M. doi:10.1093/mnras/stu199.


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