| NGC 5121 | |
|---|---|
 NGC 5121 imaged byHubble Space Telescope | |
| Observation data (J2000epoch) | |
| Constellation | Centaurus |
| Right ascension | 13h 24m 45.6245s[1] |
| Declination | −37° 40′ 55.852″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.004913 ± 0.000023[1] |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 1,473 ± 7 km/s[1] |
| Distance | 82 ± 6.7Mly (25.15 ± 2.1Mpc)[1] |
| Group orcluster | NGC 5121 Group |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 10.7[2] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SA(rs)a[1] |
| Size | ~55,000 ly (17 kpc) (estimated)[1] |
| Apparent size (V) | 1.9′ × 1.5′[1] |
| Other designations | |
| ESO 382- G 057, AM 1321-372,IRAS 13219-3725,MCG -06-29-035,PGC 46896[1] | |
NGC 5121 is anunbarred spiral galaxy in the constellationCentaurus. The galaxy lies about 80 millionlight years away from Earth, which means, given its apparent dimensions, that NGC 5121 is approximately 55,000 light years across.[1] It was discovered byJohn Herschel on June 26, 1834.[3]
The galaxy has a bright nucleus,[4] which isinactive.[5] The nuclear region appears elongated, maybe due to the presence of a bar.[6] Theisophotes of thebulge appear circular towards the centre but become elliptical at its outer regions. The galaxy is unbarred. The bulge is surrounded by a low surface brightness disk.[4] The disk features a spiral pattern with multiple tightly woundspiral arms. The spiral pattern is subtle and thus the galaxy had been classified in the past as alenticular galaxy.[7]
NGC 5121 is the foremost galaxy of the NGC 5121 Group, also known as LGG 349. Other members of the group include ESO 382- 45, ESO 324- 23, ESO 382- 31, NGC 5121A, and ESO 324- 26.[8]
