Press Release
NGC4051
January 28, 1999
 Low Res. (69 KB) High Res. (399 KB) |
Object Name: NGC4051 Telescope: Subaru Telescope / Cassegrain Focus Instrument: Suprime-Cam (Wide field camera for visible light) Filter: R-band Color: Grayscale Date: UT 1999 Jan 13 Exposure: 2 min Field of View: 3 arcmin by 4 arcmin Orientation: North is right, east is up Position: RA(J2000.0)=12h3m9.6s, DEC(J2000.0)=+44d31m53s |
Explanation:
NGC4051 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major
at the distance of 35 million light years. This galaxy belongs
to a class called Seyfert 1 galaxies, because of its bright
non-stellar nucleus. NGC4051 is among the six classical
Seyfert galaxies studied by the astronomer Carl Seyfert
in 1943, though its nuclear activity is the lowest among
Seyfert 1 galaxies. NGC4051 is morphologically classified
as intermediate between barred and un-barred. Its galactic
plane is seen inclined to us at about 40 degrees. Three
grand-design spiral arms are seen emanating from the ends
of a weak bar. This picture taken with the Subaru Telescope
reveals numerous HII regions along the sprial arms. These
are hot ionized clouds of hydrogen gas formed around newly
born stars, and demonstrate the superb resolution of the
Subaru Telescope.
Narrow stripes seen in the picture are due to the gaps between the CCD chips in Suptime-Cam. At the center of the galaxy there is a bright non-stellar nucleus, which cannot be seen in this long-exposure picture as it is buried in the light of surrounding stars.
