File:NGC_3115.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Key facts
- Constellation
- Sextans
- Right ascension
- 10 05 14.0
- Declination
- −7 ° 43 ′ 07 ″
- Redshift
- 663 ± 4 km/ s
- Distance
- 31.6 ± 1.3 Mly (9.7 ± 0.4 Mpc )
- Type
- S0
- Apparent size v
- 7.2 ′ × 2.5 ′
via Wikipedia infobox
~2 min read
Encyclopedic overview
NGC 3115 (also called the Spindle Galaxy or Caldwell 53) is a field lenticular (S0) galaxy in the constellation Sextans. The galaxy was discovered by William Herschel on February 22, 1787. At about 32 million light-years away from Earth, it is several times bigger than the Milky Way. It is a lenticular (S0) galaxy because it contains a disk and a central bulge of stars, but without a detectable spiral pattern. NGC 3115 is seen almost exactly edge-on, but was nevertheless mis-classified as elliptical. There is some speculation that NGC 3115, in its youth, was a quasar.
One supernova has been observed in NGC 3115: SN 1935B (type and mag. unknown).
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Q671468” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.