NGC 4567 and NGC 4568
Interacting galaxy pair in the constellation Virgo / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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NGC 4567 and NGC 4568 (nicknamed the Butterfly Galaxies[4] or Siamese Twins[NB 1][5]) are a set of unbarred spiral galaxies about 60 million light-years away[1] in the constellation Virgo. They were both discovered by William Herschel in 1784. They are part of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies.
NGC 4567 and NGC 4568 | |
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Observation data (J2000.0 epoch) | |
Constellation | Virgo |
Right ascension | 12h 36m 34.3s |
Declination | +11° 14′ 17″ |
Distance | 62 Mly (19.1 Mpc)[1] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | +10.9 |
Absolute magnitude (V) | -13.3 |
Characteristics | |
Type | SA(rs)bc / SA(rs)bc |
Apparent size (V) | 4.6′ × 2.1′ |
Notable features | colliding galaxies |
Other designations | |
NGC 4567/8, UGC 7776/7, PGC 42064/9, VV 219,[2] KPG 347,[3] Butterfly Galaxies,[4] Siamese Twin Galaxies, Siamese Twins Galaxies, Siamese Twins[5][NB 1] |
These galaxies are in the process of colliding and merging with each other, as studies of their distributions of neutral and molecular hydrogen show, with the highest star-formation activity in the part where they overlap. However, the system is still in an early phase of interaction.[6] In about 500 million years the galaxies will coalesce into a single elliptical galaxy.[7]
Four supernovae have been observed in the Butterfly Galaxies: SN 1990B (type Ib, mag. 16),[8] SN 2004cc (type Ic, mag. 17.5),[9] SN 2020fqv (type IIb, mag. 19),[10] and SN 2023ijd (type II, mag. 16.8).[11]