NGC 3607 is a small but fairly bright lenticular galaxy in the

equatorial Equatorial may refer to something related to: *Earth's equator **the tropics, the Earth's equatorial region **tropical climate *the Celestial equator ** equatorial orbit **equatorial coordinate system ** equatorial mount, of telescopes * equatorial ...

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 ...

Leo Leo or Léo may refer to: Acronyms * Law enforcement officer * Law enforcement organisation * ''Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky * Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Arts an ...

, about 2.5° south of the prominent star

Delta Leonis Delta Leonis (δ Leonis, abbreviated Delta Leo, δ Leo), also named Zosma , is a star in the zodiac constellation of Leo. Based upon parallax measurements, it lies at a distance of about from the Sun. Properties δ Leonis is a main-s ...

. The galaxy was discovered March 14, 1784 by William Herschel.

Dreyer Dreyer is a common German surname originating from Grübe in Holstein Germany. Notable people with the surname include: * Benjamin Dreyer (1958– ), American writer and copy editor * Benedikt Dreyer (1495–1555), German sculptor, carver and pai ...

described it as "very bright, large, round, very much brighter middle, 2nd of 3". It is located at a distance of 73 million

light year A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 trillion miles ().One trillion here is taken to be 1012 ...

s and is receding with a

radial velocity The radial velocity or line-of-sight velocity, also known as radial speed or range rate, of a target with respect to an observer is the temporal rate of change, rate of change of the distance or Slant range, range between the two points. It is e ...

of 930 km/s. The galaxy lies southwest of

NGC 3626 NGC 3632 (also known as Caldwell 40) and NGC 3626 is an unbarred lenticular galaxy and Caldwell object in the constellation Leo (constellation), Leo. It was discovered by William Herschel, on 14 March 1784. It shines at magnitude +10.6/+10.9. Its ...

at an

angular separation Angular distance \theta (also known as angular separation, apparent distance, or apparent separation) is the angle between the two sightlines, or between two point objects as viewed from an observer. Angular distance appears in mathematics (in pa ...

of . It occupies the center of the Leo II Group of galaxies, forming one of its two brightest members – the other being NGC 3608. It is a member of the

NGC 3607 Group The Leo II Groups, or Leo II Cloud, are a series of at least 110 galactic clusters and individual galaxies stretching approximately 30 Mly (9.2 Mpc) off the right edge of the Virgo Supercluster. It is located approximately 65 Mly (20 Mpc) to 95 M ...

of galaxies, which is a member of the Leo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the right edge of the Virgo Supercluster. The morphological class of NGC 3607 is SA(s)0*, matching a lenticular galaxy (SA0) with no inner ring structure (s). It is an intermediate mass galaxy that is being viewed at an inclination of 34°, showing an ellipticity of 0.13 with the major axis oriented along a position angle of 125°. The galaxy has an outer dusty disk with a second perpendicular disk that is falling inward toward the center of the galaxy.

X-ray emission Astrophysical X-ray sources are astronomical objects with physical properties which result in the emission of X-rays. Several types of astrophysical objects emit X-rays. They include galaxy clusters, black holes in active galactic nuclei (AGN), ...

from hot gas has been detected in the interior and from all around the galaxy. A system of 46 confirmed globular clusters have been identified around NGC 3607, which are orbiting within an effective radius of . In contrast, the stellar component of the galaxy has an effective radius of . Orbital motions of this cluster system imply an unusual poverty of dark matter: perhaps of the total mass within 5 effective radii. Its central black hole has a mass of M_• = The core region of the galaxy is kinematically distinct from the remainder of the galaxy and shows an enhancement of magnesium.

References

External links

* * {{Sky, 11, 16, 54.6, +, 18, 03, 07, 95000 Lenticular galaxies Leo (constellation)

3607 36 may refer to: * 36 (number), the natural number following 35 and preceding 37 * One of these years of Gregorian or Julian calendars: ** 36 BC, 1st century BCE ** AD 36, 1st century ** 1936, 20th century ** 2036, 21st century Arts and entertain ...

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