| NGC 2444 | |
|---|---|
 NGC 2444 (left) and NGC 2445 byHubble Space Telescope | |
| Observation data (J2000epoch) | |
| Constellation | Lynx |
| Right ascension | 07h 46m 53.0s[1] |
| Declination | 39° 01′ 55″[1] |
| Redshift | 4048 ± 17km/s[1] |
| Distance | 135 ± 35Mly (45.4 ± 10.9Mpc)[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.9 |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | S0 pec[1] |
| Apparent size (V) | 1.2′ × 0.8′[1] |
| Notable features | interacting galaxy |
| Other designations | |
| UGC 4016,Arp 143, VV 117a,MCG +07-16-016,PGC 21774[1] | |
NGC 2444 is apeculiarlenticular galaxy in the constellationLynx. The galaxy lies about 135 millionlight years away from Earth, which means, given its apparent dimensions, that NGC 2444 is approximately 50,000 light years across.[1] It was discovered byÉdouard Stephan on January 18, 1877.[2] The galaxyinteracts with another galaxy,NGC 2445, whose shape is distorted and has large star formation regions.[3]
NGC 2444 has collided with another galaxy, NGC 2445. As a result of the collision, a bridge of young blue stars has formed between the two galaxies, and while the galaxy itself has been stretched, NGC 2444 contains old stars and no new starbirth because it lost its gas long ago, well before this galactic encounter.[3]
Onesupernova has been observed in NGC 2444/5, SN 2016bam. The supernova occurred between the two galaxies, about 3.5 arcseconds away from aHII region of NGC 2445.[4] It was atype II supernova which had magnitude 16.1 at discovery.[5]
NGC 2445 and NGC 2444 (which lies about one arcminute away) form a pair, known as Arp 143. The pair is part of agalaxy group known as LGG 148. Other members of the group include the galaxiesNGC 2476,NGC 2493,NGC 2524,NGC 2415, UGC 3937, and UGC 3944.[6]
This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under theCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license.
