NGC 5866 (also called the Spindle Galaxy or possibly
Messier 102) is a
lenticular galaxy 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 ...
Draco. NGC 5866 was most likely discovered by
Pierre Méchain
Pierre François André Méchain (; 16 August 1744 – 20 September 1804) was a French astronomer and surveyor who, with Charles Messier, was a major contributor to the early study of deep-sky objects and comets.
Life
Pierre Méchain was bo ...
or
Charles Messier
Charles Messier (; 26 June 1730 – 12 April 1817) was a French astronomer. He published an astronomical catalogue consisting of 110 nebulae and star clusters, which came to be known as the ''Messier objects'', referred to with th ...
in 1781, and independently found 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 ...
in 1788.
Measured orbital velocities of its
globular cluster
A globular cluster is a spheroidal conglomeration of stars that is bound together by gravity, with a higher concentration of stars towards its center. It can contain anywhere from tens of thousands to many millions of member stars, all orbiting ...
system
imply that
dark matter
In astronomy, dark matter is an invisible and hypothetical form of matter that does not interact with light or other electromagnetic radiation. Dark matter is implied by gravity, gravitational effects that cannot be explained by general relat ...
makes up only of the mass within 5
effective radii,
a notable paucity.
Dust lane
One of the most outstanding features of NGC 5866 is the extended dust disk, which is seen almost exactly edge-on.
This
dust lane
A dust lane consists of relatively dense, obscuring clouds of interstellar dust, observed as a dark swath against the background of brighter object(s), especially a galaxy. These dust lanes can usually be seen in spiral galaxies, such as the M ...
is highly unusual for 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 ...
. The dust in most lenticular galaxies is generally found only near the nucleus and generally follows the light profile of the galaxies' bulges.
This dust disk may contain a ring-like structure, although the shape of this structure is difficult to determine given the edge-on orientation of the galaxy.
It is also possible that the galaxy is 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'' that was misclassified as a lenticular galaxy because of its edge-on orientation, in which case the dust lane would not be too unusual.
Galaxy group information
NGC 5866 is one of the brightest galaxies in the
NGC 5866 Group, a small
galaxy group
A galaxy group or group of galaxies (GrG) is an aggregation of galaxies comprising about 50 or fewer gravitationally bound members, each at least as luminous as the Milky Way (about 1010 times the luminosity of the Sun); collections of galaxi ...
that also includes the
spiral galaxies
Spiral galaxies form a class of galaxy originally described by Edwin Hubble in his 1936 work ''The Realm of the Nebulae'' NGC 5879 and
NGC 5907.
This group may actually be a subclump at the northwest end of a large, elongated structure that comprises the
M51 Group and the
M101 Group, although most sources distinguish the three groups as separate entities.
See also
*
List of Messier objects
The Messier objects are a set of 110 astronomical objects catalogued by the French astronomer Charles Messier in his ' (''Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters''). Because Messier was interested only in finding comets, he created a list of th ...
*
NGC 3115
NGC 3115 (also called the Spindle Galaxy or Caldwell 53) is a field lenticular (S0) galaxy in the constellation Sextans. The galaxy was discovered by William Herschel on February 22, 1787. At about 32 million light-years away from Earth, it ...
– ''another lenticular galaxy referred to as the Spindle Galaxy''
*
NGC 4710 – ''another lenticular galaxy viewed edge-on''
References
External links
SEDS Messier pages: NGC 5866NGC 5866 at ESA/Hubble
{{DEFAULTSORT:NGC 5866
Lenticular galaxies
NGC 5866 Group
Draco (constellation)
Messier objects
5866
09728
58933
Astronomical objects discovered in 1781
Astronomical objects discovered in 1788