NGC 5907

NGC 5907
NGC 5907 and its looping stellar stream. Image courtesy of R. Jay GaBany
Observation data
Constellation	Draco
Right ascension	15h 15m 53.8s[1]
Declination	+56° 19′ 44″[1]
Redshift	0.002225[1]
Helio Radial velocity	667 ± 3 km/s[1]
Distance	53.5 ± 8.1 Mly (16.4 ± 2.5 Mpc)[2]
Type	Sb+
Apparent dimensions (V)	12.7' x 1.4'[1]
Apparent magnitude (V)	11.1[1]
Other designations
H II.759, GC 4087, h 1917, Splinter Galaxy
See also: Galaxy, List of galaxies

NGC 5907 is a spiral galaxy located approximately 50 million light years from Earth.^[2] It has an anomalously low metallicity and few detectable giant stars, being apparently composed almost entirely of dwarf stars.^[3]It is a member of the NGC 5866 Group.

NGC 5907 has long been considered a prototypical example of a warped spiral in relative isolation. Then in 2006, an international team of astronomers announced the presence of an extended tidal stream surrounding the galaxy that challenges this picture and suggests the gravitational perturbations induced by the stream progenitor may be the cause for the warp.

NGC 5907 is also known at the Knife Edge or Splinter galaxy.

The galaxy was discovered in 1788 by William Herschel. Supernova 1940A was in this galaxy.^[4]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 5907. http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/nph-objsearch?objname=NGC+5907&img_stamp=yes&extend=no. Retrieved 2010-07-11. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Distance Results for NGC 5907". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/nDistance?name=NGC+5907. Retrieved 2010-07-11. 
3. ^ Liu, M. C.; Marleau, F. R.; Graham, J. R.; Charlot, S.; Sackett, P.; Zepf, S. E. (12 1998). "Weighing the Stellar Content of NGC 5907's Dark Matter Halo". Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society 30: 1258. Bibcode 1998AAS...193.0807L. 
4. ^ "List of Supernovae". Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (IAU). http://cbat.eps.harvard.edu/lists/Supernovae.html#1940A. Retrieved 2010-07-11. 

External links

• NGC 5907 on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images
• Ghost of a Dwarf Galaxy (Fossils of the Hierarchical Formation of the Nearby Spiral Galaxy NGC 5907)
• Astronomy Picture of the Day: NGC 5907 (2008 June 19 )
• Fossils of the Hierarchical Formation of the Nearby Spiral Galaxy NGC5907 (arXiv:0805.1137)

NGC 5907, 24 inch telescope on Mt. Lemmon. Courtesy of Joseph D. Schulman

Coordinates: 15^h 15^m 53.8^s, +56° 19′ 44″