| NGC 2188 | |
|---|---|
 Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of the galaxy | |
| Observation data (J2000epoch) | |
| Constellation | Columba |
| Right ascension | 06h 10m 09.5s[1] |
| Declination | −34° 06′ 22″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.002492 ± 0.000013 |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 747 ± 4 km/s[1] |
| Distance | 23.9 ± 10Mly (7.3 ± 3.1Mpc)[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 11.5[2] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SB(s)m[1] |
| Apparent size (V) | 4.4′ × 1.1′[1] |
| Other designations | |
| ESO 364-G037, AM 0608-340,MCG -06-14-008,PGC 18536[1] | |
NGC 2188 is abarred spiral galaxy in theconstellationColumba. It is located at a distance of circa 25 millionlight years from Earth, which means that the galaxy, given its apparent dimensions is about 50.000 light years long. It was discovered byJohn Herschel on January 9, 1836.[3]
NGC 2188 is a spiral galaxy seen edge-on from the viewpoint of Earth as the centre and spiral arms of the galaxy are tilted away from us, with only the very narrow outer edge of the galaxy's disc visible to us. The true shape of the galaxy was identified by studying the distribution of the stars in the inner central bulge and outer disc and by observing the stars' colours.[4] The galaxy is close enough that its stars can be resolved. The brightest of them have anapparent magnitude of about 21.[5]
When imaged inHI, the galaxy appears asymmetrical, maybe due to a recentinteraction.[6] The hydrogen gas is more abundant in one end of the galaxy and extends over 4 kpc away from the galactic plane. Other features visible are some filaments and asuperbubble with a diameter of 15 arcseconds.[7] The filaments have been associated with aHII region located in thegalactic halo.[8] The total hydrogen mass of the galaxy is estimated to be3×108 M☉,[7] while it is of lowmetallicity.[8]
NGC 2188 has been found to have three smaller companions, HIPASS J0607-34, ESO364-029, and KK 55.[9]
Media related toNGC 2188 at Wikimedia Commons