NGC 7020 is a
barred lenticular galaxy
A lenticular galaxy (denoted S0) is a type of galaxy intermediate between an elliptical (denoted E) and a spiral galaxy in galaxy morphological classification schemes. It contains a large-scale disc but does not have large-scale spiral arms. L ...
located about 140 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 ...
Pavo.
NGC 7020 was discovered by astronomer
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 August 31, 1836.
Physical characteristics
NGC 7020 has a large outer ring surrounding a bright inner hexagonal zone containing an inner ring and possibly a bar. The large outer ring is completely detached from the inner hexagonal zone of the galaxy and is dominated by numerous flocculent spiral features. The outer ring has an estimated diameter of . The ring is knotty and bluer than the rest of the galaxy and shows where recent star formation is occurring in NGC 7020. The possible inner ring shows protruding features at the ends of its major axis therefore classifying it as a bar. The galaxy appears to be fairly free of ionized gas, which is not surprising for an early-type galaxy.
Nearby galaxies
NGC 7020 is member of a sparse group of galaxies that contains
IC 5084,
IC 5092,
IC 5096,
NGC 6943,
NGC 7083,
NGC 7096,
NGC 7125,
NGC 7126 and ESO 107-14. However, NGC 7020 is not interacting with any other galaxy in the group.
See also
*
NGC 7098
NGC 7098 is a doubled barred spiral galaxy located about 95 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Octans. NGC 7098 has an estimated diameter of 152,400 light-years. NGC 7098 was discovered by astronomer John Herschel on Sep ...
*
NGC 7013
*
NGC 4429 galaxy in the
Virgo Cluster
The Virgo Cluster is a large cluster of galaxies whose center is 53.8 ± 0.3 Mly (16.5 ± 0.1 Mpc) away in the constellation Virgo. Comprising approximately 1,300 (and possibly up to 2,000) member galaxies, the cluster forms the heart of the lar ...
with a similar structure
*
List of NGC objects (7001–7840)
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:NGC 7020
Ring galaxies
Lenticular galaxies
Barred lenticular galaxies
Pavo (constellation)
7020
66291
Astronomical objects discovered in 1836