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| NGC 5905 | |
|---|---|
| Name | NGC 5905 |
| Type | SB(rs)b? or SAB(rs)bc? |
| Epoch | J2000 |
| Ra | 15h 15m 23.8s |
| Dec | +55° 32′ 12″ |
| Z | 0.0113 |
| Dist | ~47 Mly |
| Appmag v | 12.9 |
| Size v | 2.6′ × 2.0′ |
| Constellation | Boötes |
NGC 5905 is a barred spiral galaxy in the northern constellation of Boötes notable for a luminous nuclear flare interpreted as a tidal disruption event. It has been the subject of multiwavelength studies by facilities such as the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the ROSAT satellite and ground-based observatories. The galaxy's barred morphology and circumnuclear structure place it among intermediate-type spirals studied in surveys by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Two Micron All Sky Survey.
Discovered in the 19th century during photographic surveys of the northern skies by observers associated with institutions like the Royal Greenwich Observatory and cataloged in the New General Catalogue compiled by John Louis Emil Dreyer, the galaxy entered systematic study in the 20th century through programs at the Palomar Observatory and the Mount Wilson Observatory. Later inclusion in digital sky surveys such as Digitized Sky Survey and spectroscopic campaigns by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey led to redshift measurements and spectral classification used by teams at institutions including the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy. X-ray brightening detected by the ROentgen SATellite (ROSAT) in the 1990s prompted follow-up with the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the XMM-Newton mission, engaging researchers from the European Space Agency and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
NGC 5905 is generally classified as an intermediate barred spiral (notations such as SB(rs)b or SAB(rs)bc appear in catalog literature) in morphological compilations by the Third Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies and studies by Allan Sandage-influenced taxonomies. Photometric decompositions using data from the Two Micron All Sky Survey and optical imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope reveal a central bar, a ring-like inner structure, and loosely wound spiral arms, features compared with prototypes in works by Gérard de Vaucouleurs and the de Vaucouleurs Atlas of Galaxies. Surface brightness profiles and bulge–disk decompositions referenced by groups at the European Southern Observatory and the Kitt Peak National Observatory inform comparisons with barred spirals such as NGC 1300 and NGC 1672.
Redshift-based distance estimates place NGC 5905 at approximately 40–55 million light-years, depending on adopted cosmological parameters used by research teams at the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris and the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics. Environmental studies employing catalogs from the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database and group-finding algorithms used by the Two Micron All Sky Survey and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey explore its association with galaxy groups in the Boötes region; analyses by the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian and the University of California Observatories examine whether NGC 5905 is isolated or a member of a loose group alongside nearby systems such as NGC 5888 and other local field galaxies cataloged in the Nearby Galaxies Catalog. Tidal interactions and satellite populations have been considered in dynamical studies influenced by methods from the SAURON and ATLAS3D projects.
Observations in optical, infrared, and radio bands by teams at the Spitzer Space Telescope project, the Very Large Array, and the Infrared Astronomical Satellite show ongoing star formation in the disk and circumnuclear regions, with H II region complexes similar to those cataloged in surveys by the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey and the ANGST project. Far-infrared luminosity and mid-infrared spectral diagnostics used by investigators from the California Institute of Technology and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory indicate moderate star formation rates, while CO and HI mapping efforts at the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique and the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope constrain molecular and atomic gas reservoirs. Comparisons with spiral galaxies studied in the SINGS and HERACLES surveys contextualize its interstellar medium properties amid trends explored by the European Southern Observatory and the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy.
NGC 5905 is best known for a dramatic soft X-ray outburst detected in the 1990s by ROSAT and interpreted by several research groups as a possible tidal disruption event (TDE) resulting from a star being accreted by a dormant supermassive black hole. This interpretation was advanced in studies published by investigators affiliated with the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, and other teams comparing the flare to theoretical predictions by researchers such as Nicholas C. Stone and investigations rooted in models by Martin Rees. Subsequent X-ray and optical follow-up with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, XMM-Newton, and ground-based spectrographs at the Keck Observatory and the European Southern Observatory probed decay timescales, electromagnetic signatures, and the possibility of transient accretion episodes analogous to events seen in galaxies like NGC 4552 and SDSS J095209.56+214313.3.
Multiwavelength campaigns have combined data from facilities including the Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, XMM-Newton, ROSAT, Very Large Array, and large optical telescopes such as Keck Observatory and the Calar Alto Observatory. Notable analyses by collaborative teams published in journals associated with the American Astronomical Society and the European Astronomical Society address the flare's spectral energy distribution, star formation context, and central black hole mass constraints using methods developed in works by Scott Tremaine and other theorists. NGC 5905 continues to serve as a reference point in TDE catalogs compiled by researchers working with the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and in comparative studies of barred spirals in surveys like Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Two Micron All Sky Survey.
Category:Barred spiral galaxies Category:Boötes (constellation)