NGC 247

{{Infobox galaxy

| name = NGC 247

| image = Wide Field Imager view of the spiral galaxy NGC 247.jpg

| caption = NGC 247 imaged by the Wide Field Imager (WFI) at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile

| epoch = J2000

| type = SAB(s)d

{{cite web

| title=NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database

| work=Results for NGC 247

| url=http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/

| access-date=2006-12-19

}}

| ra = {{RA|00|47|08.2851}}

| dec = {{DEC|-20|45|37.645}}

| dist_ly = 11.1 ± 1.2 Mly

| appmag_v = 9.9

| size_v = 21.4{{prime}} × 6.9{{prime}}

| size=~{{convert|28.52|kpc|ly|abbr=on|lk=on|order=flip}} (estimated)

| constellation name = Cetus

| notes =

| names = HIPASS J0047-20, LEDA 2758, ESO-LV 540-0220, IRAS F00446-2101, 2MASX J00470855-2045374, ESO 540-22, IRAS 00446-2101, MCG-04-03-005, GLXY G113.8-83.5+144, KUG 0044-210, UGCA 11, PGC 2758, Caldwell 62

}}

NGC 247 (also known as Caldwell 62 and commonly known as the Claw Galaxy{{cite book |last1=Chadwick |first1=Stephen |last2=Cooper |first2=Ian |title=Imaging the Southern Sky |date=11 December 2012 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1461447498 |page=328}}) is an intermediate spiral galaxy about 11.1 Mly away in the constellation Cetus. This distance was confirmed in late February 2011. Previous measurements showed that the galaxy was about 12.2 Mly away, but this was proved to be wrong.{{cite web|title="eso1107 — Photo Release: The Dusty Disc of NGC 247"|url=http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1107/|website=www.eso.org|access-date=24 Jul 2022}}[http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1107/ ] NGC 247 is a member of the Sculptor Group, and is 70 000 light years in diameter. {{Cite web | url=http://annesastronomynews.com/photo-gallery-ii/galaxies-clusters/ngc-247/| title=NGC 247, an intermediate spiral galaxy in Cetus| date=2013-12-05| website=Anne's Astronomy News | language=nl-NL| access-date=2020-04-16}}

NGC 247 has an unusually large void on one side of its spiral disk. This void contains some older, redder stars but no younger, bluer stars.

{{cite journal

|last1=Wagner-Kaiser |first1=R.

|last2=Demaio |first2=T.

|last3=Sarajedini |first3=A.

|last4=Chakrabarti |first4=S.

|year=2014

|title=The Void in the Sculptor Group Spiral Galaxy NGC 247

|arxiv=1407.0584

|doi-access=free

|bibcode = 2014MNRAS.443.3260W }}

Nearby galaxies and galaxy group information

NGC 247 is one of several galaxies that is gravitationally bound to the Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253). These galaxies form a small core in the center of the Sculptor Group, which is one of the nearest groups of galaxies to the Milky Way.

{{cite journal

|last1=Karachentsev |first1=I. D.

|title=The Local Group and Other Neighboring Galaxy Groups

|year=2005

|journal=Astronomical Journal

|volume=129 |issue=1 |pages=178–188

|arxiv=astro-ph/0410065

|bibcode=2005AJ....129..178K

|doi=10.1086/426368

|s2cid=119385141

}} Most other galaxies associated with the Sculptor Group are only weakly gravitationally bound to this core.

{{cite journal

|last1=Karachentsev |first1=I. D.

|last2=Grebel |first2=E. K.

|last3=Sharina |first3=M. E.

|last4=Dolphin |first4=A. E.

|last5=Geisler |first5=D.

|last6=Guhathakrta |first6=P.

|last7=Hodge |first7=P. W.

|last8=Karachentseva |first8=V. E.

|last9=Sarajedini |first9=A.

|last10=Seitzer |first10=P.

|year=2003

|title=Distances to nearby galaxies in Sculptor

|journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics

|volume=404 |issue=1 |pages=93–111

|arxiv=astro-ph/0302045

|bibcode=2003A&A...404...93K

|doi=10.1051/0004-6361:20030170

|s2cid=54977869

}}

Burbidge's Chain

In 1963, Geoffrey Burbidge and Margaret Burbidge identified a group of five background galaxies located northeast of NGC{{nbsp}}247.{{cite journal | bibcode=1963ApJ...138..873B| title=Condensations in the Intergalactic Medium| last1=Burbidge| first1=E. M.| last2=Burbidge| first2=G. R.| last3=Hoyle| first3=F.| journal=The Astrophysical Journal| date=1963| volume=138| page=873| doi=10.1086/147692 | doi-access=free}} This grouping came to be known as Burbidge's Chain, and in 1977 it was listed in the VV catalog as VV{{nbsp}}518.{{cite journal | bibcode=1977A&AS...28....1V| title=Atlas of interacting galaxies, Part II and the concept of fragmentation of galaxies| last1=Vorontsov-Velyaminov| first1=B. A.| journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series| date=1977| volume=28| page=1}} Individually, the 5 galaxies are also identified as NGC{{nbsp}}247A, NGC{{nbsp}}247B, NGC{{nbsp}}247C, NGC{{nbsp}}247D, and ESO{{nbsp}}540-025.

Image Gallery

File:The centre of NGC 247.jpg|Center of NGC 247 imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope.{{cite web|title=The centre of NGC 247|url=https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1640a/|website=www.spacetelescope.org|access-date=6 October 2016}}

File:Burbidge's Chain - Legacy Survey.jpg|Burbidge's Chain imaged by the Legacy Surveys DR10