barred spiral galaxy
A barred spiral galaxy is a spiral galaxy with a central bar-shaped structure composed of stars. Bars are found in about two thirds of all spiral galaxies in the local universe, and generally affect both the motions of stars and interstellar gas ...
in the constellation
Pisces
Pisces may refer to:
*Pisces (astrology), an astrological sign
Astronomy
*Pisces (constellation), a constellation
** Pisces Overdensity, an overdensity of stars in the Milky Way's halo that is situated in the Pisces constellation
** Pisces II, a ...
. NGC 266 is located at a distance of from the
Milky Way
The Milky Way or Milky Way Galaxy is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with the name describing the #Appearance, galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars in other arms of the galax ...
. It was discovered on September 12, 1784, by
William Herschel
Frederick William Herschel ( ; ; 15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a German-British astronomer and composer. He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer Caroline Herschel. Born in the Electorate of Hanover ...
. The form of this barred galaxy is described by its morphological classification of SB(rs)ab, which indicates a quasi-ring-like structure (rs) and moderate-to-tightly wound
spiral arm
Spiral arms are a defining feature of spiral galaxies. They manifest as spiral-shaped regions of enhanced brightness within the galactic disc. Typically, spiral galaxies exhibit two or more spiral arms. The collective configuration of these arms i ...
s (ab).
According to A.M. Garcia, NGC 266 is a member of the NGC 315 Group (also known as LGG 14). This group contains 42 galaxies, including NGC 226, NGC 243, NGC 262, NGC 311, NGC 315, NGC 338, IC 43, IC 66, AND IC 69, among others. Also, a 2013 paper lists NGC 266 as the dominant member of a small
group
A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together.
Groups of people
* Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity
* Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...
with six low-mass galaxies.
NGC 266 is an LINER-type
active galaxy
An active galactic nucleus (AGN) is a compact region at the center of a galaxy that emits a significant amount of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum, with characteristics indicating that this luminosity is not produced by the stars. Such e ...
. It has a moderate star formation rate estimated at ·yr−1. A diffuse X-ray emission from hot gas has been detected around this galaxy, extending out to a radius of at least 70,000 light years. This emission not being driven by winds from a
starburst region
A starburst region is a region of space that is undergoing a large amount of star formation. A starburst is an astrophysical process that involves star formation occurring at a rate that is large compared to the rate that is typically observed. Th ...
, so the root cause is unknown.
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 266. On 5 October 2005, Tim Puckett, Peter Ceravolo, and Yasuo Sano discovered
SN 2005gl
SN 2005gl was a supernova in the barred-spiral galaxy NGC 266. It was discovered using CCD frames taken October 5, 2005, from the 60 cm automated telescope at the Puckett Observatory in Georgia, US, and reported by Tim Puckett in collaborati ...
( typeIIn, mag. 18.2). It was positioned east and north of the galactic nucleus. An image of the galaxy taken on September 10 showed no supernova event, so this explosion occurred after that date. The progenitor was identified as a massive hypergiant star that was most likely a
luminous blue variable
Luminous blue variables (LBVs) are rare, massive, evolved stars that show unpredictable and sometimes dramatic variations in their spectra and brightness. They are also known as S Doradus variables after S Doradus, one of the brightest stars of th ...
List of NGC objects (1–1000)
This is a list of NGC objects 1–1000 from the New General Catalogue (NGC). The astronomical catalogue is composed mainly of star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. Other objects in the catalogue can be found in the other subpages of the list of NG ...