| NGC 5907 | |
|---|---|
 NGC 5907 | |
| Observation data (J2000epoch) | |
| Constellation | Draco |
| Right ascension | 15h 15m 53.2397s[1] |
| Declination | +56° 19′ 47.568″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.002218[1] |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 665 ± 1km/s[1] |
| Distance | 46.56 ± 1.77 Mly (14.275 ± 0.543 Mpc)[2] |
| Group orcluster | NGC 5907 group (LGG 396) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 11.1[1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SA(s)c? edge-on |
| Size | ~173,400 ly (53.15 kpc) (estimated)[1] |
| Apparent size (V) | 12.7′ × 1.4′[1] |
| Other designations | |
| Splinter Galaxy, HOLM 704A,IRAS 15146+5629,NGC 5906,UGC 9801,MCG +09-25-040,PGC 54470,CGCG 274-038[1] | |
NGC 5907 (also known asKnife Edge Galaxy orSplinter Galaxy) is aspiral galaxy located approximately 46.5 millionlight years fromEarth.[2] German-British astronomerWilliam Herschel discovered the galaxy on 5 May 1788.[3]
NGC 5907 has an anomalously lowmetallicity and few detectablegiant stars, being apparently composed almost entirely ofdwarf stars.[4] It is a member of theNGC 5866 Group.
NGC 5907 has long been considered a prototypical example of a warped spiral in relative isolation. In 2006, an international team of astronomers announced the presence of an extended tidal stream surrounding the galaxy that challenges this picture and suggests the gravitational perturbations induced by the stream progenitor may be the cause for the warp.The existence of part of these tidal streams has been recently challenged by some deeper surveys.
Anultraluminous X-ray source is located in the galaxy.[5]
NGC 5907 and the galaxyKUG 1513+566 are listed together asHolm 704 inErik Holmberg'sA Study of Double and Multiple Galaxies Together with Inquiries into some General Metagalactic Problems, published in 1937.[6]
NGC 5907 is part of a group of galaxies that bears its name. The NGC 5907 group (also known asLGG 396) has at least four members, includingMessier 102,NGC 5879, and UGC 9776.[7]
Onesupernova has been observed in NGC 5907: SN 1940A (type II-L, mag 14.3) was discovered by Josef J. Johnson on 16 February 1940.[8][9][10]
NGC 5907 is also known as NGC 5906.[3][11] This second NGC number refers to a fainter part of the galaxy[3] lying west of the dust lane[11] that was recorded by astronomer and physicistGeorge Johnstone Stoney on April 13, 1850.[3]
