NGC 5861 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in constellation Libra. It is located at a distance of about 85 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 5861 is about 80,000 light years across.
NGC 5861 | |
---|---|
Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
Constellation | Libra |
Right ascension | 15h 09m 16.1s[1] |
Declination | −11° 19′ 18″[1] |
Redshift | 1851 ± 1 km/s[1] |
Distance | 84 Mly (25.9 Mpc)[1] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 11.6 |
Characteristics | |
Type | SAB(rs)c [1] |
Apparent size (V) | 3.0′ × 1.7′[1] |
Other designations | |
MCG -02-39-003, IRAS 15065-1107, PGC 54097[1] |
The galaxy features two long spiral arms that dominate the optical disk.[2] The one arm can be traced from its beginning at the center for nearly one and a half revolutions without branching, whereas the other starts to form fragments after one revolution, forming a moderately chaotic pattern.[3] The galaxy hosts a hydroxyl megamaser.[4]
Two supernovae have been observed in NGC 5861: SN 1971D and SN 2017erp. Observations by Hubble Space Telescope indicate that possibly there is a light echo created by SN 1971D.[5]
NGC 5861 is the foremost member of a small galaxy group that also includes NGC 5858, which lies 9.6 arcmin north, forming a non-interactive pair.[6] It is located within the same galaxy cloud with NGC 5878.[7]
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