White Rose Galaxy
Petal-like shells of the giant early-type galaxy PGC 6240
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationHydrus
Right ascension01h 41m 30.906s[1]
Declination−65° 36′ 56.4″[1]
Distance345 Mly (106 Mpc)
Characteristics
TypeS0d
Other designations
6dFGS gJ014131.0-653656, AM 0139-655

PGC 6240, also known as AM 0139-655 or the White Rose Galaxy, is a very large and old galaxy in the southern constellation of Hydrus,[2] about 345 million light years away from Earth.

Appearing like a white rose in the sky, the galaxy has foggy shells of stars that rotate around a luminous center with few shells lying close to it while others at a distance. Those distant from the center appear disconnected from the white rose.[3]

The age of globular clusters in this galaxy is variable.[4] They include a population of relatively young globular clusters around 400 million years old, another group of older ones around 1 billion years old, and other ones even older than that. The ages of the younger two align with the ages of the shells around the galaxy proper. This suggests that the younger clusters and shells formed in bouts of starburst star formation following the merger of the galaxy with another.[2] Also, there are thousands of distant galaxies in the background of PGC 6240.

Notes and references

References

Bibliography

  • Malin, DF; Carter, D. (1983). "A catalog of elliptical galaxies with shells". Astrophysical Journal. 274. 1: 534–540. Bibcode:1983ApJ...274..534M. doi:10.1086/161467. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  • Maybhate, Aparna (2007). "Evidence for Three Subpopulations of Globular Clusters in the Early-Type Poststarburst Shell Galaxy AM". Astronomical Journal. 1729. 134 (5): 139–655. arXiv:0707.3133. Bibcode:2007AJ....134.1729M. doi:10.1086/521817. S2CID 12557470.
  • Lazaro, Enrico de (Oct 11, 2013). "PGC 6240: Astronomers Spot Distant 'White Rose' Galaxy". sci-news.com. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  • Media related to PGC 6240 at Wikimedia Commons


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