Messier 59

Coordinates: Sky map 12h 42m 02.3s, +11° 38′ 49″
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Half-light radius (apparent)
46″[8]
Other designations
GC 3155, NGC 4621, PGC 42628, UGC 7858[9]

Messier 59 or M59, also known as NGC 4621, is an

Messier Catalogue about three days after Koehler's discovery.[11]

This is an elliptical galaxy of type E5[7] with a position angle of 163.3°,[8] indicating the overall shape shows a flattening of 50%.[12] However, isophotes for this galaxy deviate from a perfect ellipticity, showing pointed shapes instead. These can be decomposed mathematically into a three component model, with each part having a different eccentricity. The main elliptical component appears to be superimposed upon a flatter, disk-like feature, with the entirety embedded within a circular halo. The luminosity contribution of the components is 62% for the pure elliptical part, 22% for the halo, and the remainder coming from the disk. The light ratio of the disk to the main elliptical body is 0.25, whereas it is typically closer to 0.5 in a lenticular galaxy.[10][13]

The core contains a supermassive black hole (SMBH), with a mass that has been estimated to be 270 million times the mass of the Sun,[14] and counter-rotates with respect of the rest of the galaxy, being bluer.[15] The SMBH is quiescent, but is detectable as an X-ray and radio source that indicates an outflow.[14] The nucleus contains an embedded stellar disk that is bluer (younger) than the bulge region, with a blue component stretching along a position angle of around 150°. This extended disk feature may be the result of a galactic merger followed by a starburst event.[13]

Messier 59 is very rich in globular clusters, with a population of them that has been estimated to be around 2,200.[16] It has two satellites, the ultra compact dwarf galaxy M59-UCD3[17] and M59cO, which is a rare example of a galaxy in between compact ellipticals such as Messier 32 and ultra compact dwarfs.[18]

One supernova has been recorded in M59: SN 1939B. It reached a peak magnitude of 11.9.[19] The region where this supernova occurred shows no trace of star formation, which suggests this was a type Ia supernova.[20]

See also

  • List of Messier objects

References

  1. ^ "Bucking the trend". www.spacetelescope.org. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  2. ISBN 978-0-933346-51-2
    .
  3. ^
    S2CID 18913331
    .
  4. ^ a b "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 4621. Retrieved 2006-11-18.
  5. S2CID 250737862
    , 50.
  6. ^ "Messier 59". SEDS Messier Catalog. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  7. ^
    doi:10.1086/148580
    .
  8. ^
    S2CID 118553296
    .
  9. ^ "M 59". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
  10. ^
    doi:10.1093/pasj/48.4.591
    .
  11. ISBN 978-0-521-37079-0
    .
  12. ISBN 978-0521623353
  13. ^
    S2CID 5237432
    .
  14. ^
    S2CID 119208491
    .
  15. S2CID 18545003
    .
  16. doi:10.1146/annurev.aa.29.090191.002551
    . Retrieved 2012-07-21.
  17. S2CID 55254708
    .
  18. S2CID 119282741
    .
  19. ^ "List of Supernovae". IAU Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams.
  20. S2CID 118665635
    , 89.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Messier 59.
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