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NGC 2442
NGC 2443, ESO059-G008
RA 07:36:22
Dec -69° 31.8'
Galaxy |
h: "A double nebula; very large; very
faint; position of centres = 40 degrees; diameter 4' and 3' running together,
and having a star 13th magnitude at their junction." He subsequently made
three further observations, after which he commented: "N.B. In these three
last observations the nature of the object appears to have been misapprehended.
In [the first sweep] it was evidently better seen and more satisfactorily made
out." These three observations were as follows: "Faint, very large,
much elongated, first gradually then pretty suddenly much brighter to the middle",
"extremely faint, very large, pretty much elongated, has a coarse double
star (13 and 16 mag dist = 12 arcsec) in middle." and "faint, very
large, much elongated, very suddenly a little brighter to the middle, to a star
13th mag, like a very faint atmosphere, about a nucleus 3.5' long, 1.5' broad;
pos of its extension = 39.8 . I think it has some sort of hooked appendage."
Hartung writes that Herschels 'hooked
appendage' "was in fact the brighter of two arms from opposite ends"
of the galaxy. He adds: "A 12-inch shows a diffuse rather faint elliptical
haze 3' x 1.5' in pa about 45 with an excentric nucleus, and from each end very
faint extensions may be seen, that from N.f. towards N.p. being somewhat
brighter. A four-inch shows a faint ellipse in a starry field."
Sanford notes it as an "face-on barred
spiral with low surface brightness, whose arms can begin to be glimpsed in a
12-inch."
Shobbrook (1966, Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc., Vol
131, p351-363) notes that this field galaxy to the Dorado Cluster has V = 11.64,
B-V = 1.00 and U-B = 0.32. It measures 5.1 by 4.4. He remarks: " .. the U-B
colours are evidently peculiar, and since there is a small bright nucleus, this
galaxy may be a Seyfert or other emission type."
ASV Journal Vol 24 No 3 June 1971: "faint,
barred spiral in 5-inch."
Included in the CCD-atlas of Ryder S.D. &
Dopita M.A. (1993) “An H-alpha Atlas of Nearby Southern Spiral Galaxies”
Astrophys.J.Suppl. 88, 415. They note: “Dust is the dominant feature in
this galaxy, in addition to its small bulge, short bar and asymmetric arms. A
lot of confusion is due to our viewing angle, but even that is not well
determined - is it nearly face-on, with the northern arm tightly wrapped; or
more edge-on with a warped southern arm? Based on the geometry of its bright
arms and dark dust lanes, de Vaucouleurs favors a lower inclination of about 30
degrees and argues that the southeastern side is nearest to us . . The object
NGC 2443 is listed as lying 1’ south of the nucleus of NGC 2442, although
Sulentic and Tifft consider it to be nonexistent. The amorphous patch tucked
just inside the southern arm, which has H II regions associated with it, may in
fact be the cause or perhaps the result of an interaction.” |
