Minkowski's Object
| Minkowski's Object | |
|---|---|
 Minkowski's Object (lower left bluish object) and NGC 541 imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Cetus |
| Right ascension | 01h 25m 47s |
| Declination | −01° 22′ 20″ |
| Group or cluster | Abell 194 |
| Other designations | |
| LEDA 73957, PGC 73957 | |
Minkowski's Object (also known as LEDA 73957 or PGC 73957) is a dwarf irregular galaxy located in the constellation Cetus.[1]
Characteristics
[edit]It is located in the path of the radio jet of NGC 541 and is also located 45 arcseconds northeast of it. There is strong evidence that the jet has caused a starburst in Minkowski's Object. There is a H I region downstream from Minkowski's Object with a mass of 4.9×108 M☉ that straddles the jet at the point where the jet changes direction. At least 20 regions with star clusters and associated H II regions have been detected in Minkowski's Object. The stellar population in Minkowski's Object is dominated by stars formed in a single event 7.5 million years ago. The current starbirth rate is 0.52 M☉ per year.[2]
Origin
[edit]Although it has been proposed that Minkowski's Object was a dwarf galaxy that happened to pass through the radio jet of NGC 541, it is more probable that the H I region was warm intergalactic gas that was cooled by the jet, resulting in star formation,[2][3] a model that has been reproduced by computer simulations.[4]
References
[edit]- ↑ Verdoes Kleijn, Gijs A.; Baum, Stefi A.; de Zeeuw, P. Tim; O'Dea, Chris P. (December 1999). "Hubble Space Telescope Observations of Nearby Radio-Loud Early-Type Galaxies". The Astronomical Journal. 118 (6): 2592–2617. arXiv:astro-ph/9909256. Bibcode:1999AJ....118.2592V. doi:10.1086/301135.
- 1 2 Croft, Steve; van Breugel, Wil; de Vries, Wim; Dopita, Mike; Martin, Chris; Morganti, Raffaella; Neff, Susan; Oosterloo, Tom; Schiminovich, David; Stanford, S. A.; van Gorkom, Jacqueline (20 August 2006). "Minkowski's Object: A Starburst Triggered by a Radio Jet, Revisited". The Astrophysical Journal. 647 (2): 1040–1055. arXiv:astro-ph/0604557. Bibcode:2006ApJ...647.1040C. doi:10.1086/505526. S2CID 119331218.
- ↑ Lacy, Mark; Croft, Steve; Fragile, Chris; Wood, Sarah; Nyland, Kristina (4 April 2017). "ALMA Observations of the Interaction of a Radio Jet with Molecular Gas in Minkowski's Object". The Astrophysical Journal. 838 (2): 146. arXiv:1703.03006. Bibcode:2017ApJ...838..146L. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aa65d7. S2CID 119525917.
- ↑ Fragile, P. Chris; Anninos, Peter; Croft, Steve; Lacy, Mark; Witry, Jason W. L. (30 November 2017). "Numerical Simulations of a Jet–Cloud Collision and Starburst: Application to Minkowski's Object". The Astrophysical Journal. 850 (2): 171. arXiv:1701.00024. Bibcode:2017ApJ...850..171F. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aa95c6. S2CID 118932503.
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