File:NGC_1232.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Q248762
Sign in to savespiral galaxy in the constellation Eridanus
Key facts
- Constellation
- Eridanus
- Right ascension
- 03 09 45.4322
- Declination
- −20 ° 34 ′ 44.443 ″
- Heliocentric radial velocity
- 1603 ± 1 km/s
- Distance
- 50.33 ± 2.84 Mly (15.432 ± 0.870 Mpc )
- Type
- SAB(rs)c
- Size
- 145,300 ly (44.57 kpc ) (estimated)
- Apparent size v
- 7′.4 × 6′.5
- Notable features
- Discrepant galaxy pair with NGC 1232 A
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Distance from Earth
- 23.4
- Image
- Spiral Galaxy NGC 1232.jpg
Show 9 more facts
- galaxy morphological type
- Sc
- Commons category
- NGC 1232
- catalog code
- LEDA 11819
- time of discovery or invention
- 1784-10-20
- apparent magnitude
- 7.381
- radial velocity
- 1684
- redshift
- 0.005347
- right ascension
- 47.4396417
- declination
- -20.5793000
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~6 min read
Article
NGC 1232, also known as the Eye of God Galaxy (not to be confused with the Helix Nebula, also known as Eye of God) is an intermediate spiral galaxy about 50 million light-years away in the constellation Eridanus. It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 20 October 1784.
It is dominated by millions of bright stars and dark dust, in spiral arms rotating about the center. Open clusters containing bright blue stars are sprinkled along these spiral arms, with dark lanes of dense interstellar dust between. Less visible are dimmer stars and interstellar gas, comprising such a high mass that they dominate the dynamics of the inner galaxy. Not visible is matter of unknown form called dark matter, needed to explain the motions of the visible material in the outer galaxy. The galaxy is approximately 150,000 light-years across. The galaxy's spiral arms are not smooth and perturbed, leading to some suggesting a collision with a dwarf galaxy. However, some studies doubt this suggestion.