| NGC 7314 | |
|---|---|
 NGC 7314 taken fromHubble Space Telescope | |
| Observation data (J2000epoch) | |
| Constellation | Piscis Austrinus |
| Right ascension | 22h 35m 46.19699s[1] |
| Declination | −26° 03′ 01.5740″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.004743±0.000020[2] |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 1,427 km/s[3] |
| Distance | 54.6 Mly (16.75 Mpc)[3] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 11.9[4] |
| Apparent magnitude (B) | 11.6[3] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SAB(rs)bc[5] |
| Apparent size (V) | 4′.37 × 1′.86[6] |
| Other designations | |
| NGC 7314[7],Arp 14[8],PGC 69253[6] | |
NGC 7314 is aspiral galaxy located in the southernconstellation ofPiscis Austrinus. It was discovered by English astronomerJohn Herschel on July 29, 1834.[9] This is a nearbySeyfert (active) galaxy, located at a distance of approximately 54.6megalight-years from theMilky Way.[3] Since it appears to have detached spiral arm segments (either from dust lanes or bright star clusters), it was listed inHalton Arp'sAtlas of Peculiar Galaxies.[8]
Walter Scott Houston describes its appearance in small telescopes:[10]
Do not let its photographic magnitude of 11.6 scare you off, for it can be seen in a 6-inch telescope as a curiously fuzzy object. But it is small, appearing only 4' by 2'.
Themorphological classification of this galaxy is SAB(rs)bc,[5] indicating a spiral galaxy with a weak central bar (SAB), an incomplete ring structure around the bar (rs), and moderately–woundarms (bc). Theplane of the galactic disk is inclined by 64° to theline of sight from the Earth, with themajor axis aligned along aposition angle of 178°.[11] Within the galaxy's core is anactive galactic nucleus tentatively classified as a type ISeyfert. The centralsupermassive black hole has a relatively low mass, estimated as(0.87±0.45)×106 M☉. The core is a source forX-ray emission that is seen to vary dramatically on time scales as low as hours.[5]
Media related toNGC 7314 at Wikimedia Commons
