NGC 5363 is alenticular galaxy located in the constellationVirgo. It is located at a distance of circa 65 millionlight years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 5363 is about 100,000 light years across. It was discovered byWilliam Herschel on January 19, 1784.[4] It is a member of theNGC 5364 Group of galaxies, itself one of theVirgo III Groups strung out to the east of theVirgo Supercluster of galaxies.[5]
NGC 5363 is characterised by the presence of adust lane along its minor axis, visible also inmid-infrared maps,[6] and a more extended one with an intermediate orientation.[7] The total mass of cold dust in the galaxy is estimated to be2×106M☉, extending for 52 arcseconds in the far-infrared.[8] The dust emission appears as a disk withspiral arms and a possible barlike structure, and extends at the outer parts of the galaxy as a fainter, armlike structure, along the major axis of the galaxy.[9] The galaxy also featuresHII emission that forms a spiral disk.[10]
The total dust mass is about a factor of 100 larger than the one predicted if it was created only by the mass lost byevolved stars.[7] The galaxy also has shells, which are evidence of a recentmerger, in which NGC 5363 accreted another galaxy, and thus it is strongly suggested that the interstellar dust is of external origin.[10] It is highly likely that this merger event causedstar formation activity in the galaxy, as is evident by the detection ofultraviolet radiation associated with young stars.[10]
Based on itsspectrum, the nucleus of NGC 5363 has been found to beactive and has been categorised as aLINER.[11] In the centre of NGC 5363 lies asupermassive black hole with an estimated mass of 375 millionM☉.[12] NGC 5363 has been found to emitradio waves. The radio source consists of a compact core with a diameter of less than 2 arcseconds and probably an extended component, stretching for about 20 arcseconds.[13]
NGC 5363 is the foremost galaxy in agalaxy group known as the NGC 5363 group. Other members of the group includeNGC 5300,NGC 5348,NGC 5356,NGC 5360, andNGC 5364.[14] NGC 5363 and NGC 5364 lie at a projected distance of 14.5 arcminutes, forming a non-interacting pair.[15] The group is part of the Virgo III Groups, a very obvious chain of galaxy groups on the left side of theVirgo Cluster, stretching across 40 million light years of space.[16]
^Ho, Luis C.; Filippenko, Alexei V.; Sargent, Wallace L. W. (October 1997). "A Search for "Dwarf" Seyfert Nuclei. III. Spectroscopic Parameters and Properties of the Host Galaxies".The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series.112 (2):315–390.arXiv:astro-ph/9704107.Bibcode:1997ApJS..112..315H.doi:10.1086/313041.S2CID17086638.
^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.
