IC 2006

{{Short description|Elliptical galaxy in the Fornax Cluster}}

{{Infobox galaxy

| name = IC 2006

| image = Elliptical galaxy IC 2006.jpg

| image_size = 260px

| caption = IC 2006, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope

| epoch = J2000

| constellation name = Eridanus

| ra = {{RA|03|54|28.427}}{{cite journal |doi=10.1086/498708 |last1=Skrutskie |first1=Michael F. |last2=Cutri |first2=Roc M. |last3=Stiening |first3=Rae |last4=Weinberg |first4=Martin D. |last5=Schneider |first5=Stephen E. |last6=Carpenter |first6=John M. |last7=Beichman |first7=Charles A. |last8=Capps |first8=Richard W. |last9=Chester |first9=Thomas |last10=Elias |first10=Jonathan H. |last11=Huchra |first11=John P. |last12=Liebert |first12=James W. |last13=Lonsdale |first13=Carol J. |last14=Monet |first14=David G. |last15=Price |first15=Stephan |last16=Seitzer |first16=Patrick |last17=Jarrett |first17=Thomas H. |last18=Kirkpatrick |first18=J. Davy |last19=Gizis |first19=John E. |last20=Howard |first20=Elizabeth V. |last21=Evans |first21=Tracey E. |last22=Fowler |first22=John W. |last23=Fullmer |first23=Linda |last24=Hurt |first24=Robert L. |last25=Light |first25=Robert M. |last26=Kopan |first26=Eugene L. |last27=Marsh |first27=Kenneth A. |last28=McCallon |first28=Howard L. |last29=Tam |first29=Robert |last30=Van Dyk |first30=Schuyler D. |last31=Wheelock |first31=Sherry L. |title=The Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) |journal=The Astronomical Journal |date=1 February 2006 |volume=131 |issue=2 |pages=1163–1183 |bibcode=2006AJ....131.1163S |s2cid=18913331 |issn=0004-6256 |doi-access=free }}

| dec = {{DEC|-35|58|01.75}}

| z = 0.004610{{cite web|url=http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/nph-objsearch?objname=IC+2006&extend=no&out_csys=Equatorial&out_equinox=J2000.0&obj_sort=RA+or+Longitude&of=pre_text&zv_breaker=30000.0&list_limit=5&img_stamp=YES|title=NED results for object IC 2006|publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration / Infrared Processing and Analysis Center|access-date=5 March 2017}}

| h_radial_v = 1382

| dist_ly = {{convert|20.04|+/-|0.14|Mpc|Mly|abbr=on|lk=on|order=flip}}{{cite journal|title=Cosmicflows-2: The Data|author1=Tully, R. Brent|display-authors=etal|journal=The Astronomical Journal|volume=146|issue=4|date=2013|page=86|bibcode=2013AJ....146...86T|doi=10.1088/0004-6256/146/4/86|arxiv=1307.7213|s2cid=118494842}} Distances accessed using SIMBAD.

| group_cluster = Fornax Cluster

| type = E1{{cite journal|title=Investigating early-type galaxy evolution with a multiwavelength approach - I. X-ray properties of 12 galaxies observed with Swift and XMM-Newton|author1=Trinchieri, G.|author2=Rampazzo, R.|author3=Mazzei, P.|author4=Marino, A.|author5=Wolter, A.|journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society|volume=449|issue=3|pages=3021–3042|date=2015|bibcode=2015MNRAS.449.3021T|doi=10.1093/mnras/stv466|doi-access=free}}

| size = 35 000 light-years in diameter

| appmag_v =

| appmag_b = 12.39{{cite simbad|title=IC 2006|access-date=5 March 2017}}

| absmag_v =

| size_v = 2.1{{prime}} × 1.8{{prime}}

| notes = Early-type galaxy

| names = AM 0532-360, MGC-06-09-037, PGC 14077

}}

IC 2006 is an elliptical galaxy in the constellation Eridanus. The galaxy was discovered on 3 October 1897 by the American astronomer Lewis A. Swift.{{cite web|url=http://cseligman.com/text/atlas/ic20.htm#2006|title=Index Catalog objects: IC 2000 - 2049|author=Seligman, Courtney|website=cseligman.com|access-date=5 March 2017}} It is estimated to be around 60 to 70 million light years (20 megaparsecs) away, in the Fornax Cluster. The galaxy is one of the smaller in the Fornax cluster, with a diameter of only 35 000 light-years.

IC 2006 is an early-type galaxy with a Hubble classification of E1, but has also been listed as a lenticular galaxy with a morphological type of SA0⁻. Despite their name, early-type galaxies are much older than spiral galaxies, and mostly comprise old, red-colored stars. Very little star formation occurs in these galaxies; the lack of star formation in elliptical galaxies appears to start at the center and then slowly propagates outward.{{cite web|url=http://www.space.com/29123-ancient-galaxies-die-inside-out.html|website=space.com|title=Colossal Ancient Galaxies Die from the Inside Out|author1=Howell, Elizabeth|date=2015|access-date=5 March 2017}} Its age is estimated to be 8.1 ± 1.7 billion years.{{cite journal|title=Nearby early-type galaxies with ionized gas. VI. The Spitzer-IRS view. Basic data set analysis and empirical spectral classification|author1=Panuzzo, P.|author2=Rampazzo, R.|author3=Bressan, A.|author4=Vega, O.|author5=Annibali, F.|author6=Buson, L. M.|author7=Clemens, M. S.|author8=Zeilinger, W. W.|journal=Astronomy & Astrophysics|volume=528|date=2011|pages=A10|bibcode=2011A&A...528A..10P|doi=10.1051/0004-6361/201015908|arxiv=1010.2323|s2cid=117915425}}

An image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2015 shows a characteristically smooth profile, with no spiral arms.{{cite web|url=https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic1508a/|title=Elliptical galaxy IC 2006 | ESA/Hubble|website=www.spacetelescope.org|date=2015|access-date=5 March 2017|archive-date=21 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150421202745/https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic1508a/|url-status=dead}} However, IC 2006 has a ring surrounding it. The ring appears to rotate in a direction opposite to the rest of the body, but this may be explained by a polar ring with an elliptical shape.{{cite journal|title=IC 2006 - an elliptical galaxy with a polar ring|author1=Bertsik, P. P.|author2=Kolesnik, I. G.|journal=Kinematika I Fizika Nebesnykh Tel|volume=8|number=4|pages=92–96|bibcode=1992KFNT....8...92B|date=1992}}