| NGC 3597 | |
|---|---|
 Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 3597 | |
| Observation data (J2000epoch) | |
| Constellation | Crater |
| Right ascension | 11h 14m 41.97s[1] |
| Declination | −23° 43′ 39.58″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.011725[1] |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 3494 km/s[1] |
| Distance | 150,000,000 light-years (46,000,000 pc) |
| Apparent magnitude (B) | 13.62[1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | S0[1] |
| Notable features | Elliptical galaxy in making |
| Other designations | |
| FLASH J111441.93-234340, MCG-04-27-005, VVD 11, PGC 34266[1] | |
NGC 3597 is agalaxy located approximately 150 million light-years away in the constellation ofCrater.[2][3] It was discovered byJohn Herschel on March 21, 1835.[4]
NGC 3597 is thought to be the product of the collision of two large galaxies, and it appears to be slowly evolving to become anelliptical galaxy. Because of this, NGC 3597 is interesting to astronomers. Galaxies smashing together pool their available gas and dust, triggering new rounds of star birth. Some of this material ends up in dense pockets initially called proto-globular clusters, dozens of which festoon NGC 3597. These pockets will go on to collapse and form globular clusters, packed tightly full of millions of stars.[5][6]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
Media related toNGC 3597 at Wikimedia Commons