NGC 1300 is a barred spiral galaxy located about 61 million light-years away in the constellation Eridanus. The galaxy is about 110,000 light-years across. It is a member of the Eridanus Cluster, a cluster of 200 galaxies.[3][4] It was discovered by John Herschel in 1835.[5]
NGC 1300 | |
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Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
Constellation | Eridanus |
Right ascension | 03h 19m 41.1s (49.9210)[1] |
Declination | −19° 24′ 41″ (-19.4112)[1] |
Redshift | 0.005260 (1577 ± 4 km/s)[1] |
Distance | 61.3 Mly (18.8 Mpc)[2] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 11.4[1] |
Characteristics | |
Type | (R')SB(s)bc[1] |
Size | 110,000 light years in diameter |
Apparent size (V) | 6.2′ × 4.1′[1] |
Notable features | Huge bar-shaped core and two spiral arms |
Other designations | |
MCG-03-09-018,[1] ESO 547 -G 31,[1] PGC 12412,[1] UGCA 066[1] |
In the core of the larger spiral structure of NGC 1300, the nucleus shows a "grand-design" spiral structure that is about 3,300 light-years long. Only galaxies with large-scale bars appear to have these grand-design inner disks — a spiral within a spiral. Models suggest that the gas in a bar can be funneled inwards, and then spiral into the center through the grand-design disk, where it can potentially fuel a central supermassive black hole (SMBH). NGC 1300 is not known to have an active nucleus, indicating that its central black hole is not accreting matter. The SMBH has a mass of 7.3+6.9
−3.5×107 M☉.[6][7]
At least one supernova has been observed in NGC 1300: SN 2022acko (type IIP, mag. 15.8).[8][9]