NGC 5010 is a

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 about 140 million light years away 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 ...

Virgo Virgo may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Virgo (film), a 1970 Egyptian film * Virgo (character), several Marvel Comics characters * Virgo Asmita, a character in the manga ''Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas'' * ''Virgo'' (album), by Virgo Four, ...

. It was discovered by

John Herschel Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet (; 7 March 1792 – 11 May 1871) was an English polymath active as a mathematician, astronomer, chemist, inventor and experimental photographer who invented the blueprint and did botanical work. ...

on May 9, 1831. It is considered a

Luminous Infrared Galaxy Luminous infrared galaxies or LIRGs are galaxies with luminosities, the measurement of brightness, above . They are also referred to as submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) through their normal method of detection. LIRGs are more abundant than starburst ...

(LIRG). As the galaxy has few young blue stars and mostly red old stars and dust, it is transitioning from being a

spiral galaxy Spiral galaxies form a galaxy morphological classification, class of galaxy originally described by Edwin Hubble in his 1936 work ''The Realm of the Nebulae''

to being an

elliptical galaxy An elliptical galaxy is a type of galaxy with an approximately ellipsoidal shape and a smooth, nearly featureless image. They are one of the three main galaxy morphological classification, classes of galaxy described by Edwin Hubble in his Hub ...

, with its spiral arms having burned out and become dusty arms. From the perspective of Earth, the galaxy is facing nearly edge-on.

References

External links

* * Virgo (constellation) Lenticular galaxies Peculiar galaxies Luminous infrared galaxies 5010 45868 {{lenticular-galaxy-stub

See also

References

External links