NGC 7418

Summary

NGC 7418 is an intermediate spiral galaxy located in the constellation Grus. It is located at a distance of circa 60 million light-years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 7418 is about 60,000 light-years across.[1] It was discovered by John Herschel on August 30, 1834.[2]

NGC 7418
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationGrus
Right ascension22h 56m 36.2s[1]
Declination−37° 01′ 48.3″[1]
Redshift0.004837 ± 0.000017 [1]
Heliocentric radial velocity1,450 ± 5 km/s[1]
Distance59.1 ± 8.5 Mly (18.2 ± 2.6 Mpc)[1]
Apparent magnitude (V)11.0
Characteristics
TypeSAB(rs)cd [1]
Apparent size (V)3.5 × 2.6[1]
Other designations
ESO 406- G025, MCG -06-50-013, PGC 70069[1]

Characteristics edit

NGC 7418 has a bright nucleus incorporated into a bar. The bar appears strong in the infrared H-band while in the optical wavelengths it appears weaker or even unbarred. The spiral arms of the galaxy emanate from the end of the bar. The galaxy has four grand design spiral arms. Their inner parts have knots while the outermost are smooth.[3] The galaxy is seen with an inclination of 42 degrees.[4]

In the centre of NGC 7418 is believed to lie a supermassive black hole with an estimated mass between 1 and 15 million (106.58 ± 0.59) M, based on the spiral pitch angle.[5] The centre of the galaxy has also been found to host a massive stellar cluster, with an estimated mass of nearly 60 million (107.78 ± 0.19) M.[6] The existence of this nuclear star cluster doesn't rule out the existence of a supermassive black hole. Galaxies like the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy have been found to host both.[5] The stellar population at the nucleus of NGC 7418 has been found to be quite young, with mean age less than 100 million years, indicating recent star forming activity.[7]

One supernova has been observed in NGC 7418, SN 1983 Z. It was discovered by L. E. Gonzalez at Cerro El Roble 11" west and 52" south of the nucleus. On September 3, 1983 it had an apparent magnitude of 15.5.[8]

Nearby galaxies edit

NGC 7418 is a member of a galaxy group known as the IC 1459 group. It is a loose group centred at IC 1459 and contains a large number of spiral galaxies.[9] Other members include NGC 7418A, NGC 7421, IC 5264, IC 5269, IC 5269B, IC 5270, and IC 5273.[10] NGC 7421 lies 19.5 arcminutes away and NGC 7418A lies 16.5 arcminutes to the north as seen in the sky.[11] This group, along with the NGC 7582 group, form the Grus cloud, a region of elevated galaxy density.[9] The Grus cloud, along with the nearby Pavo-Indus cloud, lies between the Local Supercluster and Pavo–Indus Supercluster.[12]

The group features both diffuse X-ray emission from the intergalactic medium and HI emission. Based on the presence of both, it has been suggested that the group is in its early stages of assembling from different subgroups. Three HI clouds have been found to be associated with the group, two located near IC 5270 and one near NGC 7418, at its northwest edge, with total mass 6×108 M. These HI clouds are believed to have formed from gas stripped from the galaxies as a result of interactions.[9]

 
NGC 7418 (HST - Aladin software)

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 7418. Retrieved 2019-01-18.
  2. ^ Seligman, Courtney. "NGC 7418 (= PGC 70069)". Celestial Atlas. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  3. ^ 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. S2CID 15491635.
  4. ^ Munoz-Mateos, J. C.; Gil de Paz, A.; Boissier, S.; Zamorano, J.; Jarrett, T.; Gallego, J.; Madore, B. F. (April 2007). "Specific Star Formation Rate Profiles in Nearby Spiral Galaxies: Quantifying the Inside-Out Formation of Disks". The Astrophysical Journal. 658 (2): 1006–1026. arXiv:astro-ph/0612017. Bibcode:2007ApJ...658.1006M. doi:10.1086/511812. S2CID 41735449.
  5. ^ a b Davis, Benjamin L.; Berrier, Joel C.; Johns, Lucas; Shields, Douglas W.; Hartley, Matthew T.; Kennefick, Daniel; Kennefick, Julia; Seigar, Marc S.; Lacy, Claud H. S. (20 June 2014). "The Black Hole Mass Function Derived from Local Spiral Galaxies". The Astrophysical Journal. 789 (2): 124. arXiv:1405.5876. Bibcode:2014ApJ...789..124D. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/789/2/124. S2CID 119302157.
  6. ^ Walcher, C. J.; van der Marel, R. P.; McLaughlin, D.; Rix, H.-W.; Boker, T.; Haring, N.; Ho, L. C.; Sarzi, M.; Shields, J. C. (January 2005). "Masses of Star Clusters in the Nuclei of Bulgeless Spiral Galaxies". The Astrophysical Journal. 618 (1): 237–246. arXiv:astro-ph/0409216. Bibcode:2005ApJ...618..237W. doi:10.1086/425977. S2CID 14365007.
  7. ^ Walcher, C. J.; Boker, T.; Charlot, S.; Ho, L. C.; Rix, H.-W.; Rossa, J.; Shields, J. C.; van der Marel, R. P. (October 2006). "Stellar Populations in the Nuclei of Late-Type Spiral Galaxies". The Astrophysical Journal. 649 (2): 692–708. arXiv:astro-ph/0604138. Bibcode:2006ApJ...649..692W. doi:10.1086/505166. S2CID 18882700.
  8. ^ "Circular No. 3867". International Astronomical Union Circular. Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 23 September 1983.
  9. ^ a b c Serra, P.; et al. (25 July 2015). "ASKAP H i imaging of the galaxy group IC 1459". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 452 (3): 2680–2691. arXiv:1506.04399. Bibcode:2015MNRAS.452.2680S. doi:10.1093/mnras/stv1326.
  10. ^ Makarov, Dmitry; Karachentsev, Igor (21 April 2011). "Galaxy groups and clouds in the local (z~ 0.01) Universe". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 412 (4): 2498–2520. arXiv:1011.6277. Bibcode:2011MNRAS.412.2498M. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.18071.x. S2CID 119194025. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  11. ^ de Vaucouleurs, G.; de Vaucouleurs, A.; Corwin, J. R. (1976). "Second reference catalogue of bright galaxies". Second Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies. 1976. Bibcode:1976RC2...C......0D.
  12. ^ Fouque, P.; Proust, D.; Quintana, H.; Ramirez, A.; Proust, D.; Quintana, H.; Ramirez, A. (1993). "Dynamics of the Pavo-Indus and Grus Clouds of Galaxies" (PDF). Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series. 100 (3): 493–500. Bibcode:1993A&AS..100..493F.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links edit

  • NGC 7418 on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images
  • NGC 7418 on SIMBAD