NGC 1320
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NGC 1320 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Eridanus, classified as a Seyfert 2 active galaxy with a luminous class I core that emits ultraviolet light. It appears in the Markarian catalog as Mrk 607. Discovered by William Herschel in 1784, its speed relative to the cosmic microwave background is 2,620 ± 15 km/s, yielding a Hubble distance of about 38.6 ± 2.7 Mpc (roughly 126 million light-years). A non-redshift-based measurement gives a distance of approximately 37,700 Mpc (about 123 million light-years), consistent with the Hubble value.
The central supermassive black hole has been estimated at 1.51 × 10⁷ solar masses (2002 study), 15 × 10⁶ solar masses (2007 study of 90 Seyfert 2 galaxies), and 19.5 million solar masses (2012 study based on velocity dispersion in the central region). One supernova, SN1994aa (type Ia, magnitude 17), was observed on 11 September 1994 by Robert H. McNaught.
Background
NGC 1320 was discovered by the German-British astronomer William Herschel in 1784. It is a spiral galaxy with luminosity class I and is classified as an active Seyfert 2 galaxy, meaning its nucleus emits strongly in the ultraviolet. The galaxy is also cataloged as Mrk 607 in the Markarian catalog.
Multiple studies have estimated the mass of its central supermassive black hole. A 2002 paper gave a mass of 1.51 × 10⁷ M☉, while a 2007 study of 90 Seyfert 2 galaxies using velocity dispersion estimated 15 × 10⁶ M☉. A 2012 study based on velocity dispersion of the central region of NGC 3982 (likely a misattribution in the notes) gave 19.5 million M☉.
One supernova has been observed in NGC 1320: SN1994aa, a Type Ia supernova of magnitude 17, discovered by Scottish-Australian astronomer Robert H. McNaught on 11 September 1994.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: NGC 1320 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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