NGC 3314

NGC 3314
NGC 3314a (foreground) and NGC 3314b (background) taken by the Hubble Space Telescope
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation	Hydra
Right ascension	10h 37m 12.5s
Declination	-27° 41' 05"
Redshift	+0.0095 (a) +0.01548 (b)
Distance	117 Mly (a) 140 million ly (b)
Type	SBbc/SAab
Apparent dimensions (V)	2′.6 × 1′.7
Apparent magnitude (V)	+12.5
Notable features	galaxy overlapping another
Other designations
(NGC 3314): ESO 501-46 , AM 1034-272 , MCG-04-25-041 (NGC 3314A): LEDA 31531 (NGC 3314B): LEDA 31532
See also: Galaxy, List of galaxies

NGC 3314 is a pair of overlapping spiral galaxies between 117-140 million light-years away in the constellation Hydra. This unique alignment gives astronomers the opportunity to measure the properties of interstellar dust in the face-on foreground galaxy (NGC3314a), which appear dark against the background galaxy (NGC 3314b). Unlike interacting galaxies, the two components of NGC3314 are physically unrelated.

While searching for overlapping galaxies in April 1999, two astronomers from the University of Alabama were the first to image the deep sky object in enough detail to tell that it was in fact two galaxies. [1] In a March 2000 observation of the galaxies, a prominent green star-like object was seen in one of the arms. Astronomers theorized that it could have been a supernova, but the unique filtering properties of the foreground galaxy made it difficult to decide definitively. [2]

External links

• APOD: When Galaxies Overlap (May 7, 2005)
• SPACE.com: Hubble Spies Galactic Dust Silhouette
• Simbad: NGC 3314 -- Interacting Galaxies
• NGC 3314 on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images