NGC 5364 is a

grand design spiral galaxy A grand design spiral galaxy is a type of spiral galaxy with prominent and well-defined spiral arms, as opposed to multi-arm and flocculent spirals which have subtler structural features. The spiral arms of a grand design galaxy extend clearly ar ...

located 54.5 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 away 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 ...

Virgo Virgo may refer to: *Virgo (astrology), the sixth astrological sign of the zodiac *Virgo (constellation), a constellation *Virgo Cluster, a cluster of galaxies in the constellation Virgo *Virgo Stellar Stream, remains of a dwarf galaxy *Virgo Supe ...

. It is

inclined Incline, inclined, inclining, or inclination may refer to: *Grade (slope), the tilt, steepness, or angle from horizontal of a topographic feature (hillside, meadow, etc.) or constructed element (road, railway, field, etc.) *Slope, the tilt, steepn ...

to the

line of sight The line of sight, also known as visual axis or sightline (also sight line), is an imaginary line between a viewer/observer/spectator's eye(s) and a subject of interest, or their relative direction. The subject may be any definable object taken ...

from the Earth at an angle of 47° along a

position angle In astronomy, position angle (usually abbreviated PA) is the convention for measuring angles on the sky. The International Astronomical Union defines it as the angle measured relative to the north celestial pole (NCP), turning positive into the d ...

of 25°. It is a member of the

NGC 5364 Group The Virgo III Groups, or Virgo III Cloud, are a series of at least 75 galactic clusters and individual galaxies stretching approximately off the eastern edge of the Virgo Supercluster. Parts of it are in the constellations Virgo, Libra, and Serp ...

of galaxies, itself one of the

Virgo III Groups The Virgo III Groups, or Virgo III Cloud, are a series of at least 75 galactic clusters and individual galaxies stretching approximately off the eastern edge of the Virgo Supercluster. Parts of it are in the constellations Virgo, Libra, and Serp ...

strung out to the east of the

Virgo Supercluster The Virgo Supercluster (Virgo SC) or the Local Supercluster (LSC or LS) is a mass concentration of galaxies containing the Virgo Cluster and Local Group, which itself contains the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies, as well as others. At least ...

of galaxies.

Structure

The morphological classification of NGC 5364 in the De Vaucouleurs system is SA(rs)bc pec, which indicates it has an incomplete ring structure (rs) in the inner part of the galaxy with moderate to loosely wound arms (bc) and has a peculiar aspect (pec). In particular, the appearance of the spiral arms is amorphous and asymmetrical compared to other galaxies with a similar classification. A companion galaxy,

NGC 5363 NGC 5363 is a lenticular galaxy located in the constellation Virgo. It is located at a distance of circa 65 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 5363 is about 100,000 light years across. It was disc ...

, is located to the north of NGC 5364 and their gravitational interaction may be influencing the peculiar morphology of the latter. The mid-infrared emission in the nucleus appears weak compared to the spiral arms, suggesting a low rate of star formation in the core region. The inner ring of this galaxy spans a diameter of and is located slightly off center with the northern side showing a stronger emission in the

hydrogen alpha H-alpha (Hα) is a specific deep-red visible spectral line in the Balmer series with a wavelength of 656.28 nm in air and 656.46 nm in vacuum; it occurs when a hydrogen electron falls from its third to second lowest energy level. H-alpha ...

band compared to the southern half. Multiple

H II region An H II region or HII region is a region of interstellar atomic hydrogen that is ionized. It is typically in a molecular cloud of partially ionized gas in which star formation has recently taken place, with a size ranging from one to hundreds ...

s lie along the spiral arms, tracing out their extent. Each of the two main arms wrap all the way around the galaxy, although they display patchiness along much of their length.

NGC designation

This object was discovered by

William Herschel Frederick William Herschel (; german: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel; 15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a German-born British astronomer and composer. He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer Caroline H ...

on February 2, 1786, and later listed as NGC 5364. It was subsequently rediscovered by

John Herschel Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet (; 7 March 1792 – 11 May 1871) was an English polymath active as a mathematician, astronomer, chemist, inventor, experimental photographer who invented the blueprint and did botanical wor ...

on April 7, 1828, and later listed as NGC 5317.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:NGC 5364 Unbarred spiral galaxies Virgo (constellation) 5364 49555 08853