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EntityQ1049810· pop 30· linked from 330 articles

Also known as Polarissima Australis

barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Octans

Key facts

Constellation
Octans
Right ascension
01 41 38.0019
Declination
−89 ° 20 ′ 04.2723 ″
Redshift
0.008102 ± 0.000017
Heliocentric radial velocity
2,429 ± 5 km/s
Distance
25.8 megaparsecs (84 Mly)
Apparent magnitude v
13.25 ± 0.09
Apparent magnitude b
14.15 ± 0.09
Absolute magnitude v
−19.30 ± 0.67
Type
SAB(s)cd:
Mass
3.229 × 10 M ☉
Size
23,860 parsecs (77,800 ly)
Apparent size v
0.85′ × 0.34′
Notable features
Closest NGC object to the south celestial pole .

via Wikipedia infobox

~1 min read

Encyclopedic overview

NGC 2573, also known as Polarissima Australis, is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Octans. It has an apparent magnitude of 13.25, making it readily visible in medium-sized telescopes, but not to the naked eye. The object is located relatively far at a distance of 84 million light years and it is currently receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 2495 km/s. Using a redshift of z = 0.08102 yields a greater distance of 109 million light years.

The galaxy was discovered on March 29th, 1837 by English astronomer John Herschel. It is the closest NGC object to the south celestial pole, hence the nickname "Polarissima Australis".

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “NGC 2573” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.