NGC 1222 is an early-type

lenticular galaxy A lenticular galaxy (denoted S0) is a Galaxy morphological classification, type of galaxy intermediate between an elliptical galaxy, elliptical (denoted E) and a spiral galaxy in galaxy morphological classification schemes. It contains a large-s ...

located in the

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellati ...

of Eridanus. The galaxy was discovered on 5 December 1883 by the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

astronomer

Édouard Stephan Édouard Jean-Marie Stephan (31 August 1837 – 31 December 1923) was a French astronomer. His surname is sometimes spelled Stéphan in some literature, but this is apparently erroneous. He was born in Sainte Pezenne (today one of the districts o ...

John Louis Emil Dreyer John Louis Emil Dreyer (13 February 1852 – 14 September 1926), also Johan Ludvig Emil Dreyer, was a Danish astronomer who spent most of his career working in Ireland. He spent the last decade of his life in Oxford, England. Life Dreyer ...

, the compiler of the

New General Catalogue The ''New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars'' (abbreviated NGC) is an astronomical catalogue of deep-sky objects compiled by John Louis Emil Dreyer in 1888. The NGC contains 7,840 objects, including galaxy, galaxies, star cluste ...

, described it as a "pretty faint, small, round nebula" and noted the presence of a "very faint star" superposed on the galaxy. NGC 1222's morphological type of S0⁻ would suggest that it should have a mostly smooth profile and a very dull appearance. However, the galaxy was imaged by the

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the Orbiting Solar Observatory, first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most ...

in 2016, and the image showed that there were several bright blue

star forming region A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by self-gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night; their immense distances from Earth make them appear as fixed points of li ...

s, as well as dark reddish areas of

interstellar dust Cosmic dustalso called extraterrestrial dust, space dust, or star dustis dust that occurs in outer space or has fallen onto Earth. Most cosmic dust particles measure between a few molecules and , such as micrometeoroids (30 μm). Cosmic dust can ...

Interaction

NGC 1222 is currently interacting with and swallowing two

dwarf galaxies A dwarf galaxy is a small galaxy composed of about 1000 up to several billion stars, as compared to the Milky Way's 200–400 billion stars. The Large Magellanic Cloud, which closely orbits the Milky Way and contains over 30 billion stars, is so ...

that are supplying the gas and dust needed to become a

starburst galaxy A starburst galaxy is one undergoing an exceptionally high rate of star formation, as compared to the long-term average rate of star formation in the galaxy, or the star formation rate observed in most other galaxies. For example, the star format ...

. The shockwaves produced by theses mergers causes some regions of NGC 1222 to heat up. There is also gas inflow.

Supernova

One

supernova A supernova (: supernovae or supernovas) is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last stellar evolution, evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion ...

has been observed in NGC 1222: SN 2024any ( type Ia, mag. 17.59).Transient Name Server entry for SN 2024any.
Retrieved 21 January 2024.

References

External links

1222 Year 1222 ( MCCXXII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Asia * The Ghurid dynasty capital of Firozkoh (in modern-day Afghanistan) is destroyed, by Mongol Emperor Ögedei Khan. * After the in ...

011774 Lenticular galaxies Starburst galaxies Peculiar galaxies Eridanus (constellation) Discoveries by Édouard Stephan Markarian galaxies {{lenticular-galaxy-stub

Interaction

Supernova

See also

References

External links