NGC 5005
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NGC 5005, also known as Caldwell 29, is an inclined spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. It has a relatively bright nucleus and a bright disk containing multiple dust lanes, and its high surface brightness makes it visible to amateur astronomers using large telescopes. Distance measurements vary, averaging about 20 megaparsecs (65 million light-years).
Quick Facts
- Constellation
- Canes Venatici
Facts from the source article.
Background
NGC 5005 was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 1 May 1785. The galaxy contains a low ionization nuclear emission region (LINER) nucleus, which features weakly ionized gas. The power source for the LINER emission has been debated extensively: some researchers suggest it is powered by an active galactic nucleus containing a supermassive black hole, while others attribute it to star formation activity. X-ray observations have revealed a variable, point-like hard X-ray source in its nucleus, implying the presence of a supermassive black hole; the strong, variable X-ray emission is characteristic of hot, compressed gas outside a black hole in an active galactic nucleus.
One supernova has been observed in NGC 5005: SN 1996ai, a Type Ia supernova of magnitude 14.5, discovered by Claudio Bottari on 16 June 1996. NGC 5005 and the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 5033 form a physical galaxy pair, weakly influencing each other gravitationally but not yet close enough to be distorted by tidal forces.
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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 5005 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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