NGC 5253

{{Infobox Galaxy

| name = NGC 5253

| image = A Peculiar Compact Blue Dwarf Galaxy.jpg

| caption = NGC 5253 is one of the nearest of the known Blue Compact Dwarf (BCD) galaxies{{cite news|title=A Peculiar Compact Blue Dwarf Galaxy|url=http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1248a/|access-date=26 November 2012|newspaper=ESA/Hubble Picture of the Week}}

| type = Im pec{{cite web

| title=NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database

| work=Results for NGC 5253

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

| access-date=2006-11-10}}

| epoch = J2000

| ra = {{RA|13|39|55.9561}}

| size = 27,300 ly (8.37 kpc) (estimated)

| dec = {{DEC|-31|38|24.364}}

| dist_ly = 10.9 ± 0.6 Mly (3.33 ± 0.17 Mpc){{cite journal

| author=Ferrarese, Laura

| display-authors=4

| author2=Ford, Holland C.

| author3=Huchra, John

| author4=Kennicutt, Robert C. Jr.

| author5=Mould, Jeremy R.

| author6=Sakai, Shoko

| author7=Freedman, Wendy L.

| author8=Stetson, Peter B.

| author9=Madore, Barry F.

| author10=Gibson, Brad K.

| author11=Graham, John A.

| author12=Hughes, Shaun M.

| author13=Illingworth, Garth D.

| author14=Kelson, Daniel D.

| author15=Macri, Lucas

| author16=Sebo, Kim

| author17=Silbermann, N. A.

| title=A Database of Cepheid Distance Moduli and Tip of the Red Giant Branch, Globular Cluster Luminosity Function, Planetary Nebula Luminosity Function, and Surface Brightness Fluctuation Data Useful for Distance Determinations

| journal=The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series

| date=2000

| volume=128

| issue=2

| pages=431–459

| bibcode=2000ApJS..128..431F

| doi=10.1086/313391 |arxiv = astro-ph/9910501

| s2cid=121612286

}}

| z = 407 ± 3 km/s

| appmag_v = 10.9

| size_v = 5.0{{prime}} × 1.9{{prime}}

| constellation name = Centaurus

| names = {{odlist | UGCA= 369 | PGC= 48334 | name = Haro 10 | name2 = ESO 445- G 004 | MCG= -05-32-060 | IRAS= 13370-3123}}

}}

NGC 5253 is an irregular galaxy in the constellation Centaurus. It was discovered by William Herschel on 15 March 1787.The scientific papers of Sir William Herschel by J. L. E. Dreyer. Royal Astronomical Society London 1912.{{cite web | url = https://cseligman.com/text/atlas/ngc52a.htm#5253 | title = New General Catalogue Objects: NGC{{nbsp}}5253 | last = Seligman | first = Courtney | website = Celestial Atlas | access-date = 10 November 2024 }}

Properties

NGC 5253 is located within the M83 Subgroup of the Centaurus A/M83 Group, a relatively nearby galaxy group that includes the radio galaxy Centaurus A and the spiral galaxy M83 (the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy). NGC 5253 is considered a dwarf starburst galaxy{{Cite journal |author= Jordan Zastrow |author2= M.S. Oey |author3= Sylvain Veilleux |author4= Michael McDonald |author5=Crystal L. Martin |title= An Ionization Cone in the Dwarf Starburst Galaxy NGC 5253 |journal= The Astrophysical Journal |volume= 741 |issue= 1 |date=2011 |page= (page needed) |arxiv= 1109.6360 |bibcode= 2011ApJ...741L..17Z |doi= 10.1088/2041-8205/741/1/L17 |s2cid= 17071524 }} and also a blue compact galaxy.{{cite web |title=Hubble Spots a Peculiar Compact Blue Dwarf Galaxy |publisher=NASA |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/ngc5253.html |date=30 November 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140911070157/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/ngc5253.html |archive-date= 11 September 2014 }}

Supernovae

Two supernovae have been observed in NGC 5253:

SN 1895B (type unknown, mag. 8) was discovered by Williamina Fleming on 7 July 1895.{{cite journal |title=A New Star in Centaurus. The new Algol Variable in Delphinus |last=Pickering | first=E. C. |journal=Astronomische Nachrichten |volume=139 |pages=249–250 |year=1896 |bibcode=1896AN....139..249P | doi=10.1002/asna.18961391604}}{{cite journal | title=Supernovae discovered since 1885 | last1=Kowal | first1=C. T. |last2=Sargent | first2=W. L. W. | journal=Astronomical Journal | volume=76 | pages=756–764 | bibcode=1971AJ.....76..756K | date=Nov 1971 | doi = 10.1086/111193 | doi-access=free }}{{cite web | website=Transient Name Server | title=SN{{nbsp}}1895B | url=https://www.wis-tns.org/object/1895B | publisher = IAU | access-date=25 November 2024}}
SN 1972E (type Ia, mag. 8.5),{{cite web | website=Transient Name Server | title=SN{{nbsp}}1972E | url=https://www.wis-tns.org/object/1972E | publisher = IAU | access-date=2 December 2024}} the second-brightest recent supernova visible from Earth, was discovered by Charles Kowal on 6 May 1972. With a peak apparent magnitude of 8.5, the only brighter supernova observed in the 20th century was SN 1987A.{{cite journal

| author=I. D. Karachentsev

| display-authors=4

| author2=M. E. Sharina

| author3=A. E. Dolphin

| author4=E. K. Grebel

| author5=D. Geisler

| author6=P. Guhathakurta

| author7=P. W. Hodge

| author8=V. E. Karachetseva

| author9=A. Sarajedini

| author10=P. Seitzer

| title=New distances to galaxies in the Centaurus A group

| journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics

| date=2002

| volume=385

| issue=1

| pages=21–31

| bibcode=2002A&A...385...21K

| doi=10.1051/0004-6361:20020042| doi-access=free

}}{{cite journal

| author=I. D. Karachentsev

| title=The Local Group and Other Neighboring Galaxy Groups

| journal=Astronomical Journal

| date=2005

| volume=129

| issue=1

| pages=178–188

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

| doi=10.1086/426368|arxiv = astro-ph/0410065 | s2cid=119385141

}}

NGC 5253 contains a giant dust cloud hiding a cluster (believed to be a super star cluster) of more than one million stars, among them up to 7,000 O-type stars. The cluster is 3 million years old and has a total luminosity of more than one billion suns. It is the site of efficient star formation, with a rate at least 10 times higher than comparable regions in the Milky Way.{{cite press release |author=Stuart Wolpert |title=More than a million stars are forming in a mysterious dusty gas cloud in a nearby galaxy |publisher=UCLA |url=http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/more-than-a-million-stars-are-forming-in-a-mysterious-dusty-gas-cloud-in-a-nearby-galaxy |date=March 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319171217/http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/more-than-a-million-stars-are-forming-in-a-mysterious-dusty-gas-cloud-in-a-nearby-galaxy |archive-date=March 19, 2015 }}{{cite journal |display-authors=4 |author=J. L. Turner |author2=S. C. Beck |author3=D. J. Benford|author4=S. M. Consiglio |author5=P. T. P. Ho|author6=A. Kovács |author7=D. S. Meier |author8=J.-H. Zhao. |title=Highly efficient star formation in NGC 5253 possibly from stream-fed accretion. |journal=Nature |date=2015 |volume=519 |issue=7543 |pages=331–333 |doi=10.1038/nature14218 |arxiv=1503.05254 |pmid=25788096|bibcode = 2015Natur.519..331T |s2cid=4396346 }}