| NGC 1052 | |
|---|---|
 NGC 1052 (center left) andNGC 1042 (center right) as imaged by Schulman Telescope. Credit: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona | |
| Observation data (J2000epoch) | |
| Right ascension | 02h 41m 04.79851s[1] |
| Declination | −08° 15′ 20.7517″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.004930[1] |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 1474 ± 26 km/s[1] |
| Distance | 62.0 Mly (19.00 Mpc)[2] |
| Group orcluster | NGC 1052 Group[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 10.47[2] |
| Apparent magnitude (B) | 11.41[2] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | E4[2] |
| Apparent size (V) | 3.0′ × 2.1′[2] |
| Other designations | |
| MCG -01-07-034,PGC 10175[1] | |
NGC 1052 is anellipticalgalaxy in theconstellationCetus. It was discovered on January 10, 1785 by the astronomerWilliam Herschel.[3] It is a member of the eponymous NGC 1052 Group.[1]
NGC 1052 is located at a distance of around 63 millionlight years from theMilky Way,[4] and has aLINER-typeactive galactic nucleus which signals the intensestarburst activity in the galaxy's center[5] that were confirmed with observations with better resolution showing a number ofstar-forming regions and youngstar clusters.[6]
NGC 1052 shows also two smalljets emerging from its nucleus as well as a very extended disc ofneutral hydrogen, far larger than the galaxy itself.[7] Additionally, the stars and the ionized gas rotate along different axes.[8] All these features suggesting a gas-rich galaxycollided and merged with it 1 billion years ago producing all the above features.[6]
The shape of NGC 1052 is thought to be atriaxial ellipsoid. The longest axis of the ellipsoid is probably aligned at a position angle of −41°, which is the axis around which the ionized gas would be rotating.[8]
A scale image of NGC 1052 and its satellite galaxies is available at the reference.[9]
NGC 1052 hosts a rapidly rotatingsupermassive black hole with a mass of 154 millionM☉[10] with a large magnetic field of 2.6Tesla,[11] which, according to astronomer Anne-Kathrin Baczko, the leader of the team that made this discovery, provides enough magnetic energy to power the previously mentioned twin relativistic jets.[12]
This black hole is a promising target for imaging by theEvent Horizon Telescope.[11] The location of the black hole in NGC 1052 was by 2016 the most precisely known in the universe, with the exception ofSagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole found at the heart of our own galaxy.[12][11]
Media related toNGC 1052 at Wikimedia Commons
