NGC 2936, also known as the Penguin Galaxy or the Porpoise Galaxy, is an interacting spiral galaxy located at a distance of 326 million light years,[3] in the constellation Hydra. NGC 2936 is interacting with elliptical galaxy NGC 2937, located just beneath it. They were both discovered by Albert Marth on Mar 3, 1864.[4] To some astronomers, the galaxy looks like a penguin or a porpoise.[5] NGC 2936, NGC 2937, and PGC 1237172 are included in the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies as Arp 142 in the category "Galaxy triplet".
| NGC 2936 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Hydra |
| Right ascension | 09h 37m 44.148s[1] |
| Declination | +02° 45′ 38.95″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.02331±0.00013[1] |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 6989±38 km/s[1] |
| Galactocentric velocity | 6844±39 km/s[1] |
| Distance | 352 Mly (108 Mpc)[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.85[1] |
| Absolute magnitude (V) | −22.4[1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | Irr[1] |
| Size | 50.54 kpc[1] |
| Other designations | |
| NGC 2936, UGC 5130, MCG +01-25-006, PGC 27422[2] | |
On 20 June 2013, the Hubble Space Telescope examined and photographed NGC 2936.[5]
NGC 2936 once had a flat, spiral disk. The orbits of the galaxy's stars have been perturbed due to gravitational tidal interactions with NGC 2937. Gas from the center of NGC 2936 became compressed during the encounter with NGC 2937, which is shown as blue knots close to NGC 2937. The red dust that was inside the center of the galaxy has been mostly thrown out due to the collision. During the collision, gas coming from NGC 2936 triggered star formation.[6]
PGC 1237172, an unrelated bluish irregular galaxy or edge-on spiral galaxy, is located just off to the side of NGC 2936. It is located 230 million light years away, making it closer to the Earth than the NGC 2936 collision, and it happens to be located next to two unrelated stars from the Milky Way.[7]
In July 2024, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured a vivid image of Arp 142, revealing intricate details of the interacting galaxies NGC 2936 and NGC 2937.[8] The observations showcased new star formation regions within the Penguin galaxy, enhanced by Webb’s near- and mid-infrared capabilities,[9] offering deeper insights into galactic evolution processes.
The brightest star in this galaxy is USNOA2 0900-06460021.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Detailed information for object NGC 2936". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- ^ "NGC 2936". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
- ^ "Galaxy Crash Spawns Space Penguin in Hubble Telescope Photo". Space.com. 20 June 2013.
- ^ Seligman, Courtney. "New General Catalog Objects: NGC 2900–2949". New General Catalog Objects: NGC 2900–2949. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Hubble spots galaxies in close encounter". www.spacetelescope.org. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
- ^ Administrator, NASA (24 June 2013). "Colliding Galaxy Pair Takes Flight". NASA. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
- ^ "HubbleSite: Image – Colliding Galaxy Pair Arp 142". hubblesite.org. 20 June 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- ^ "James Webb Telescope captures The Cosmic Dance of the Egg and the Penguin". www.jameswebbdiscovery.com. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
- ^ "Vivid Portrait of Interacting Galaxies Marks Webb's Second Anniversary". Webb. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
External links
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Media related to NGC 2936 at Wikimedia Commons- NGC 2936 on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images
