H-NGC5363
Galaxy in Virgo
About
A lenticular galaxy in Virgo, about 65 million light-years away and roughly 100,000 light-years across. A dust lane crosses it along the minor axis, and its dust mass is far more than its old stars could have produced, so the dust probably arrived from outside. William Herschel found it in 1784.
Imaging tips
- Only about 4′ across, so it is too small to frame: use a long focal length and a fine pixel scale.
- At 21.5 mag/arcsec² it needs broadband data; as a galaxy it gains nothing from narrowband filters.
- The face-on spiral NGC 5364 lies about 14.5′ away, nearby rather than in the same tight frame; a wider field takes in both, and the surrounding group spreads over about 1°.
- Best around April and May; it peaks near 45° altitude from 50°N.
Facts
- Size
- 4′ × 3′
- Magnitude
- 10.2
- Coordinates
- RA 13h 56.1m, Dec +5° 15′
- Framing, APS-C
- longer than 4000 mm
- Framing, full frame
- longer than 4000 mm
- Best months
- Apr, May
- Peak altitude
- 45° from 50°N, 60° from 35°N