250521 - NGC 5033 "Waterbug" galaxy
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click image to enlarge
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ASTRO:
type=Spiral Seyfert galaxy const=Canes Venatici mag=12.03 dist=40 M ly size=~125 k ly IMAGE: location=Emerald Bay community, Texas BrtlCls=4 moon=38% WnCr exposure=CMOS OSC: 101x180s (5.1h), G100 EQUIPMENT: camera=ZWO ASI2600MC-Pro optics=ES102 w24mmEP 1.7x (afoc prjctn), F=1238mm, f/12.1 filter=Optolong L-Pro LPS mount=Celestron AVX guiding=Orion 60x240mm, ZWO ASi224MC SOFTWARE: acquisition=Stellarium, NINA, PHD2 processing=PixInsight (RCAstro), Photoshop (APF-R), LrC |
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What's happening in the center of spiral NGC 5033? Many things -- some circular, some energetic, and some not well understood. Commonly referred to as the 'Waterbug' galaxy, it receives its name from the appearance of its arms somewhat resembling the legs of a common water strider insect.
NGC 5033 is known as a Seyfert galaxy because of a great amount of activity seen in its nucleus. It contains bright stars, dark dust, and interstellar gas that all swirl quickly around a galactic center appearing to be slightly offset from a supermassive black hole. This offset is thought to be the result of a merger with another galaxy sometime in the past billion years or so. The bright emission seen in visible light (as well as other wavelengths) is partially produced by hot gas in the environment around this black hole. NGC 5033 spans about 125,000 light years and is so far away that we see it only as it existed about 40 million years ago. It is classified as an inclined spiral galaxy located in the constellation Canes Venatici.
Distance estimates vary; but the consensus seems to be that this 'bug' resides appx 40 million light years from our home Milky Way. The galaxy has a very bright nucleus and a relatively faint disk. Significant warping is visible in the northern half of the disk (...to the left; ...this view is looking east).
Integral field spectroscopic observations of the center of NGC 5033 indicate that the Seyfert nucleus is not located at the kinematic center of the galaxy (the point around which all the stars and cloud matter in galaxies rotate). This has been interpreted as evidence why this galaxy has undergone a merger. The displacement of the Seyfert nucleus from the kinematic center may destabilize the rotation of gas in the center, which causes gas to fall more readily into the nucleus. The gas is thus compressed by enormous gravitational forces in the center of the nucleus, and becomes hot, making the nucleus appear bright or "active".
NGC 5033's relatively large angular size and relatively high surface brightness make it an object that can be viewed and imaged easily by amateur astronomers. Its location relatively near Earth and its active galactic nucleus make it an often studied object by professional astronomers.
NGC 5033 is known as a Seyfert galaxy because of a great amount of activity seen in its nucleus. It contains bright stars, dark dust, and interstellar gas that all swirl quickly around a galactic center appearing to be slightly offset from a supermassive black hole. This offset is thought to be the result of a merger with another galaxy sometime in the past billion years or so. The bright emission seen in visible light (as well as other wavelengths) is partially produced by hot gas in the environment around this black hole. NGC 5033 spans about 125,000 light years and is so far away that we see it only as it existed about 40 million years ago. It is classified as an inclined spiral galaxy located in the constellation Canes Venatici.
Distance estimates vary; but the consensus seems to be that this 'bug' resides appx 40 million light years from our home Milky Way. The galaxy has a very bright nucleus and a relatively faint disk. Significant warping is visible in the northern half of the disk (...to the left; ...this view is looking east).
Integral field spectroscopic observations of the center of NGC 5033 indicate that the Seyfert nucleus is not located at the kinematic center of the galaxy (the point around which all the stars and cloud matter in galaxies rotate). This has been interpreted as evidence why this galaxy has undergone a merger. The displacement of the Seyfert nucleus from the kinematic center may destabilize the rotation of gas in the center, which causes gas to fall more readily into the nucleus. The gas is thus compressed by enormous gravitational forces in the center of the nucleus, and becomes hot, making the nucleus appear bright or "active".
NGC 5033's relatively large angular size and relatively high surface brightness make it an object that can be viewed and imaged easily by amateur astronomers. Its location relatively near Earth and its active galactic nucleus make it an often studied object by professional astronomers.