Howard B
December 2nd, 2018, 07:07 AM
Ring galaxy (IC 298) with collider (IC 298A)
3264
Cetus
RA 03 11 18.4
DEC +01 18 57
Magnitude 14.3(v)
Size: 0.5’ x 0.4’
3265
Discovered by French astronomer Stéphane Javelle in 1893, these two small and faint interacting galaxies are certainly photogenic, and are relatively well-known as a result.
IC 298 is the face-on ring galaxy on the right (west) side of the HST image, and IC 298A is the nearly edge on ring galaxy on the left. Evidently, IC 298 was a spiral galaxy that collided with elliptical galaxy IC 298A, and the resulting gravitational interactions made ring galaxies out them both. You can practically sense their relative motion by looking at the blue tendrils of stars trailing from IC 298 back toward 298A.
IC 298 is also a starburst galaxy as evidenced by it mostly blue-ish white color, and although is creating about 4.6 solar masses of stars now, its star forming rate peaked about 15 million years ago. The most massive stars quickly blew up as supernovae and left behind 9 black holes in the 10 to 20 solar mass range, along with less massive neutron stars.
The darker yellow-red area on its south-eastern border is probably the original central bulge of the galaxy as it contains 30 to 50 percent of its total mass. IC 298 is a relatively small galaxy at only about 30 thousand light years in diameter and is a mere 21 thousand light years from IC 298A.
But they’re located about 435 million light years away, so we can barely see any of this great stuff in our amateur-sized telescopes.
My best view so far was in 2005 and even so I could not see the entire ring of IC 298, and IC 298A was seen only as a faint edge-on galaxy. I had heard them called the “number 10 galaxies” but really this view made them look more like the “IC galaxies”.
3266 3267
My brief notes from a dark and transparent night in 2005 using my 28-inch scope:
“Faint but unmistakable – the number “10”. Or maybe “IC” is better! 654x”
It’s time for another look – I’d love to see the entire ring of IC 298 – but that will take an exceptionally dark, transparent and steady night. What have you seen?
As always, give them a go!
3264
Cetus
RA 03 11 18.4
DEC +01 18 57
Magnitude 14.3(v)
Size: 0.5’ x 0.4’
3265
Discovered by French astronomer Stéphane Javelle in 1893, these two small and faint interacting galaxies are certainly photogenic, and are relatively well-known as a result.
IC 298 is the face-on ring galaxy on the right (west) side of the HST image, and IC 298A is the nearly edge on ring galaxy on the left. Evidently, IC 298 was a spiral galaxy that collided with elliptical galaxy IC 298A, and the resulting gravitational interactions made ring galaxies out them both. You can practically sense their relative motion by looking at the blue tendrils of stars trailing from IC 298 back toward 298A.
IC 298 is also a starburst galaxy as evidenced by it mostly blue-ish white color, and although is creating about 4.6 solar masses of stars now, its star forming rate peaked about 15 million years ago. The most massive stars quickly blew up as supernovae and left behind 9 black holes in the 10 to 20 solar mass range, along with less massive neutron stars.
The darker yellow-red area on its south-eastern border is probably the original central bulge of the galaxy as it contains 30 to 50 percent of its total mass. IC 298 is a relatively small galaxy at only about 30 thousand light years in diameter and is a mere 21 thousand light years from IC 298A.
But they’re located about 435 million light years away, so we can barely see any of this great stuff in our amateur-sized telescopes.
My best view so far was in 2005 and even so I could not see the entire ring of IC 298, and IC 298A was seen only as a faint edge-on galaxy. I had heard them called the “number 10 galaxies” but really this view made them look more like the “IC galaxies”.
3266 3267
My brief notes from a dark and transparent night in 2005 using my 28-inch scope:
“Faint but unmistakable – the number “10”. Or maybe “IC” is better! 654x”
It’s time for another look – I’d love to see the entire ring of IC 298 – but that will take an exceptionally dark, transparent and steady night. What have you seen?
As always, give them a go!