NGC 1222 is an early-type lenticular galaxy located in the

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...

of Eridanus. The galaxy was discovered on 5 December 1883 by the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

astronomer

Édouard Stephan Édouard Jean-Marie Stephan (31 August 1837 – 31 December 1923) was a French astronomer. His surname is sometimes spelled Stéphan in some literature, but this is apparently erroneous. He was born in Sainte Pezenne (today one of the districts ...

. John Louis Emil Dreyer, the compiler of the

New General Catalogue The ''New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars'' (abbreviated NGC) is an astronomical catalogue of deep-sky objects compiled by John Louis Emil Dreyer in 1888. The NGC contains 7,840 objects, including galaxies, star clusters and ...

, described it as a "pretty faint, small, round nebula" and noted the presence of a "very faint star" superposed on the galaxy. NGC 1222's morphological type of S0⁻ would suggest that it should have a mostly smooth profile and a very dull appearance. However, the galaxy was imaged by the

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most versa ...

in 2016, and the image showed that there were several bright blue

star forming region Star formation is the process by which dense regions within molecular clouds in The "medium" is present further soon.-->interstellar space

s, as well as dark reddish areas of

interstellar dust Cosmic dust, also called extraterrestrial dust, star dust or space dust, is dust which exists in outer space, or has fallen on Earth. Most cosmic dust particles measure between a few molecules and 0.1 mm (100 micrometers). Larger particles are c ...

. NGC 1222 is currently

interacting Interaction is action that occurs between two or more objects, with broad use in philosophy and the sciences. It may refer to: Science * Interaction hypothesis, a theory of second language acquisition * Interaction (statistics) * Interactions o ...

with and swallowing two dwarf galaxies that are supplying the gas and dust needed to become a starburst galaxy.

References

External links

1222 Year 1222 ( MCCXXII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Asia * The Ghurid dynasty capital of Firozkoh (in modern-day Afghanistan) is destroyed, by Mongol ...

011774 Lenticular galaxies Starburst galaxies Peculiar galaxies Eridanus (constellation) Discoveries by Édouard Stephan Markarian galaxies {{lenticular-galaxy-stub

See also

References

External links