NGC 300

Picture of NGC 300 (high resolution)

NGC 300 (also known as Caldwell 70) is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor. It is one of the nearest galaxies to the Local Group. It probably lies between that and the Sculptor Group.

The galaxy is the brightest of the five main spirals in the direction of the Sculptor Group.^[1] It is at an angle of 42° when viewed from Earth, and looks rather like the Triangulum Galaxy.^[2] It is 94,000 light years in diameter, somewhat smaller than the Milky Way, and has an estimated mass of (2.9 ± 0.2) × 10¹⁰ M_☉.^[3][4]

The distance of NGC 300 from us is about six million light years.

Nearby galaxies and group information

NGC 300 and the irregular galaxy NGC 55 are members of the Sculptor Group. This is a nearby group of galaxies in the constellation of the Sculptor. Recent measurements of their distance suggest these two galaxies are in the foreground.^[5] NGC 300 and NGC 55 probably form a gravitationally bound pair.^[6]

References

1. Rizzi, Luca; Bresolin, Fabio; Kudritzki, Rolf-Peter; Gieren, Wolfgang; Pietrzynski, Grzegorz (2006-02-20). "The Araucaria Project: The Distance to NGC 300 from the Red Giant Branch Tip using HST/ACS imaging". The Astrophysical Journal. 638 (2): 766–771. arXiv:astro-ph/0510298. doi:10.1086/498705. ISSN 0004-637X. S2CID 15632452.
2. Vlajić, Marija; Bland-Hawthorn, Joss; Freeman, Ken C. (2009-05-20). "The Abundance Gradient in the Extremely Faint Outer Disk of NGC 300". The Astrophysical Journal. 697 (1): 361–372. arXiv:0903.1855. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/697/1/361. ISSN 0004-637X. S2CID 15805386.
3. Westmeier, T.; Braun, R.; Koribalski, B. S. (2011-02-01). "Gas and dark matter in the Sculptor group: NGC 300". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 410 (4): 2217–2236. arXiv:1009.0317. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.17596.x. S2CID 119264221.
4. "NGC 300, a spiral galaxy in Sculptor". Anne's Astronomy News (in Dutch). 2014-07-08. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
5. Karachentsev, I. D.; Grebel, E. K.; Sharina, M. E.; Dolphin, A. E.; Geisler, D.; Guhathakurta, P.; Hodge, P. W.; Karachentseva, V. E.; Sarajedini, A.; Seitzer, P. (2003). "Distances to Nearby Galaxies in Sculptor". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 404 (1): 93–111. arXiv:astro-ph/0302045. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20030170. ISSN 0004-6361. S2CID 54977869.
6. Steene, G. C. Van de; Jacoby, G. H.; Praet, C.; Ciardullo, R.; Dejonghe, H. (2006-09-01). "Distance determination to NGC 55 from the planetary nebula luminosity function". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 455 (3): 891–896. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20053475. ISSN 0004-6361. S2CID 124545598.