| NGC 3309 | |
|---|---|
 Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 3309. | |
| Observation data (J2000epoch) | |
| Constellation | Hydra |
| Right ascension | 10h 36m 35.6766s[1] |
| Declination | −27° 31′ 05.788″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.013593[1] |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 4075 ± 4 km/s[1] |
| Distance | 197 Mly (60.3 Mpc)[1] |
| Group orcluster | Hydra Cluster |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.60[1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | E3[1] |
| Size | ~146,400 ly (44.88 kpc) (estimated)[1] |
| Apparent size (V) | 1.9 x 1.6[1] |
| Notable features | Radio Jet |
| Other designations | |
| ESO 501-036, AM 1034-271,MCG -04-25-034,PGC 31466[1] | |
NGC 3309 is a giantelliptical galaxy[2] located about 200 millionlight-years away[3] in the constellationHydra.[4] NGC 3309 was discovered by astronomerJohn Herschel on March 24, 1835.[5][6] The galaxy forms a pair withNGC 3311[7] which lies about 72,000 ly (22 kpc) away.[8] Both galaxies dominate the center[7] of theHydra Cluster.[9]
NGC 3309 has aradio jet emerging out of its center. The jet is two-sided and the northeastern part of the jet appears to end in a spur. The southwestern part of the jet lies along a straight line. At a projected distance of about ~3,300 ly (1 kpc) from the nucleus, the jet appears to narrow into a nozzle-like structure before it expands into a lobe extending away from the galaxy.
The predominant part of the radio emission in theHydra Cluster comes from NGC 3309.[10] The radio emission in NGC 3309 may have been triggered by a recent perturbation with the giantspiral galaxyNGC 3312.[7]
NGC 3309 has an estimated population of about364 ± 210globular clusters.[2] Due to the influence of the nearby galaxy NGC 3311, NGC 3309 may have been stripped of part of its original globular cluster system with some of the galaxy's globular clusters becoming members of NGC 3311's population.[11]
