NGC 6261 is a lenticular galaxy in the constellation of Hercules.[1][2] It is located 470 million light-years away from the Solar System and has an approximate diameter of 200,000 light-years.[3]
| NGC 6261 | |
|---|---|
 Sloan Digital Sky Survey image of NGC 6261 | |
| Observation data | |
| Constellation | Hercules |
| Right ascension | 254.127 degrees |
| Declination | 27.97 degrees |
| Redshift | 0.035184 |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 10,601 km/s |
| Distance | 471.4 Mly (144.53 Mpc) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 14.5 |
| Surface brightness | 28.5 mag/arcsec |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | S0/a |
| Size | 200,000 ly |
| Other designations | |
| PGC 59286, UGC 10617, MCG +05-40-006, CGCG 169-013, 2MASX J16563054+2758392, SDSS J165630.51+275839.0, UZC J165630.6+275839, NSA 070084, NVSS J165630+275838, LEDA 59286 | |
NGC 6261 was discovered on July 13, 1880, by French astronomer Edouard Stephan. The galaxy is described as LINER according to SIMBAD database[4] and presents emission spectrum in its nucleus which is categorized by broad lines of weak ionized atoms.
Supernovae
Two supernovae have been discovered in NGC 6261 so far: SN 2007hu and SN 2008dt.
SN 2007hu
SN 2007hu[5] was discovered on September 9, 2007, by astronomers Ernesto Guido, A. Sehgal and Tim Puckett.[6] It had a magnitude of 17.7 and was located 1".3 west and 1".4 north of the nucleus. The supernova was Type la.[5]
SN 2008dt
SN 2008dt[7] was discovered on 30 June, 2008,[8] by astronomers D. Madison, W. Li and A.V. Filippenko at the University of California, Berkeley.[9] It had a magnitude of 17.2 and was located 1".0 east and 5.5" south of the nucleus.[10] The supernova was Type la.[7]