NGC 5866 is a beautiful lenticular galaxy in Northern constellation Draco, which is seen edge-on, showing a prominent dust lane along its equatorial plane. It is prominent for being a good candidate for Messier Object 102, i.e., Messier 102 (M102).
NGC 5866 was probably first seen by Pierre Méchain in March 1781, or by Charles Messier shortly after that time. Therefore, NGC 5866 is possibly M102, although Pierre Méchain disclaimed the discovery two years later. Pierre Méchain's first observing report caused Messier to include it as entry No. 102 in his catalog, without giving a position or further verification. Soon after, Messier added a position measurement for this object (or entry) to his personal copy of the catalog, probably shortly after publication, and still in 1781. There is evidence that Charles Messier has probably observed NGC 5866 when measuring this position, as this is almost exactly 5 degrees preceding (west) of the actual position of the object: Very probably a data reduction error of some kind. Nevertheless, this subject is still somewhat dubious and therefore controversial. If, despite this evidence, it should be true that neither Méchain nor Messier have observed NGC 5866, it was probably first seen by William Herschel when independently discovering it in 1788; William Herschel determined its position on May 5, 1788. As the possible earlier sightings by Méchain and Messier did not result in a published position for this object, this galaxy bears Herschel's number H I.215.
Admiral Smyth, probably following an error by John Herschel in his 1833 catalog, confuses its number with H I.219 (which is NGC 3665, a galaxy in Ursa Major), and thus erroneously gives that object's discovery date, March 1789.
NGC 5866 is a beautiful lenticular galaxy of visual magnitude 9.9, according to newer references; the older Sky Catalogue 2000.0 gives mag 10.0, while Don Machholz has estimated it at 9.6. It is seen almost exactly edge-on. The fine dark dust lane shows up nicely in our image; it is tilted by about 2 degrees against the galaxy's symmetry plane, for which John Herschel and the NGC give the position angle 146 deg, and the Deep Sky Field Guide to Uranometria 2000.0 gives 128 deg. Longer exposures overexpose the dust lane so that this galaxy was often misclassified as elliptical of type E6 instead of the correct type S0_3 (some sources have even classified it as Sa), see e.g. the comparison of 2 images in Sandage's Hubble Atlas of Galaxies, plate 6. They show however an extended system of globular clusters. See also the Digital Sky Survey image.
The distance of NGC 5866 is estimated 45 million light-years distant (an earlier estimate by Burbidge and Burbidge (1960) was 40 million light-years, while R. Brent Tully's Nearby Galaxies Catalog has the slightly larger value of about 50 million light-years). At this distance, its diameter of 5.3' corresponds to a linear extension of about 69,000 light-years.
This galaxy is the brightest member of a remarkable group of galaxies, the NGC 5866 group or M102 group of galaxies. This group also contains the big and bright edge-on spiral NGC 5907 (type Sb+, 10.4 mag vis), the fainter galaxy NGC 5879 (Sb, 11.5), and more very faint galaxies including NGC 5870, NGC 5866A (=Turn 121A), NGCs 5866B (= UGC 9769), UGC 9776 and M+10-22-10 (PGC 54577). NGCs 5862, 5867, 5874 and 5876 as well as IC 1099 are faint background galaxies within the field of this group, similar to the nearby background galaxy pair NGC 5905 and NGC 5908. From the dynamics of that group, E.M. and G.R. Burbidge (1960) have estimated NGC 5866's mass to be about 1 trillion solar masses, so it is a considerably massive galaxy. No supernovae have been discovered in this galaxy yet.
NGC 5866 was probably first seen by Pierre Méchain in March 1781, or by Charles Messier shortly after that time. Therefore, NGC 5866 is possibly M102, although Pierre Méchain disclaimed the discovery two years later. Pierre Méchain's first observing report caused Messier to include it as entry No. 102 in his catalog, without giving a position or further verification. Soon after, Messier added a position measurement for this object (or entry) to his personal copy of the catalog, probably shortly after publication, and still in 1781. There is evidence that Charles Messier has probably observed NGC 5866 when measuring this position, as this is almost exactly 5 degrees preceding (west) of the actual position of the object: Very probably a data reduction error of some kind. Nevertheless, this subject is still somewhat dubious and therefore controversial. If, despite this evidence, it should be true that neither Méchain nor Messier have observed NGC 5866, it was probably first seen by William Herschel when independently discovering it in 1788; William Herschel determined its position on May 5, 1788. As the possible earlier sightings by Méchain and Messier did not result in a published position for this object, this galaxy bears Herschel's number H I.215.
Admiral Smyth, probably following an error by John Herschel in his 1833 catalog, confuses its number with H I.219 (which is NGC 3665, a galaxy in Ursa Major), and thus erroneously gives that object's discovery date, March 1789.
NGC 5866 is a beautiful lenticular galaxy of visual magnitude 9.9, according to newer references; the older Sky Catalogue 2000.0 gives mag 10.0, while Don Machholz has estimated it at 9.6. It is seen almost exactly edge-on. The fine dark dust lane shows up nicely in our image; it is tilted by about 2 degrees against the galaxy's symmetry plane, for which John Herschel and the NGC give the position angle 146 deg, and the Deep Sky Field Guide to Uranometria 2000.0 gives 128 deg. Longer exposures overexpose the dust lane so that this galaxy was often misclassified as elliptical of type E6 instead of the correct type S0_3 (some sources have even classified it as Sa), see e.g. the comparison of 2 images in Sandage's Hubble Atlas of Galaxies, plate 6. They show however an extended system of globular clusters. See also the Digital Sky Survey image.
The distance of NGC 5866 is estimated 45 million light-years distant (an earlier estimate by Burbidge and Burbidge (1960) was 40 million light-years, while R. Brent Tully's Nearby Galaxies Catalog has the slightly larger value of about 50 million light-years). At this distance, its diameter of 5.3' corresponds to a linear extension of about 69,000 light-years.
This galaxy is the brightest member of a remarkable group of galaxies, the NGC 5866 group or M102 group of galaxies. This group also contains the big and bright edge-on spiral NGC 5907 (type Sb+, 10.4 mag vis), the fainter galaxy NGC 5879 (Sb, 11.5), and more very faint galaxies including NGC 5870, NGC 5866A (=Turn 121A), NGCs 5866B (= UGC 9769), UGC 9776 and M+10-22-10 (PGC 54577). NGCs 5862, 5867, 5874 and 5876 as well as IC 1099 are faint background galaxies within the field of this group, similar to the nearby background galaxy pair NGC 5905 and NGC 5908. From the dynamics of that group, E.M. and G.R. Burbidge (1960) have estimated NGC 5866's mass to be about 1 trillion solar masses, so it is a considerably massive galaxy. No supernovae have been discovered in this galaxy yet.
Today's Jumble (7/23/08)
IMPER = PRIME; FARCT = CRAFT; SPICET = SEPTIC; TUITOW = OUTWIT
CIRCLED LETTERS = RMERTSEITWI
She married the novelist because he was - - -
MISTER "WRITE"
Today is National Hot Dog Day, National Vanilla Ice Cream Day, Hot Enough For Ya? Day, and Mosquito Day. Sounds like we should be having a cookout or picnic. One account has it that the ice cream cone was invented by Charles E. Menches on this day in 1904.
Other things on this day in history:
1632 - 300 colonists bound for New France depart Dieppe, France.
1793 - The Prussians conquer Mayence.
1829 - In the United States, William Austin Burt patents the Typographer, a precursor to the typewriter.
1833 - Cornerstones laid for construction of the Kirtland Temple in Ohio.
1840 - The Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union.
1862 - American Civil War: Henry W. Halleck takes command of the Union Army.
1874 - Aires de Ornelas e Vasconcelos is appointed the Archbishop of the Portuguese colonial enclave of Goa.
1881 - The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, the world's oldest international sport federation, is founded.
1903 - Ford Motor Company sells its first car.
1914 - Austria-Hungary issues an ultimatum to Serbia demanding they allow the Austrians to determine who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand. When Serbia denies Austria-Hungarian demands, mobilization for World War I begins on July 28.
1926 - Fox Film buys the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film.
1929 - Fascist government in Italy bans the use of foreign words.
1936 - In Catalonia, Spain, the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia is founded through the merger of socialist and communist parties.
1940 - US Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles`s declaration on the US non-recognition policy of the Soviet annexation and incorporation of three Baltic States - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
1942 - The Holocaust: The Treblinka extermination camp is opened
1942 - World War II: Hitler orders Operation Edelweiss to begin.
1945 - Post war legal processes against Philippe Pétain begin.
1952 - Establishment of the European Coal and Steel community.
1952 - General Muhammad Naguib leads the Free Officers Movement (formed by Gamal Abdel Nasser - the real power behind the coup) in the overthrow of King Farouk of Egypt.
1956 - The Loi Cadre is passed by the French Republic in order to order French overseas territory affairs.
1961 - Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) founded in Nicaragua.
1962 - Telstar relays the first live trans-Atlantic television signal.
1962 - The International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos was signed.
1967 - 12th Street Riot: In Detroit, Michigan, one of the worst riots in United States history begins on 12th Street in the predominantly African American inner city (43 killed, 342 injured and 1,400 buildings burned).
1968 - Glenville Shootout: In Cleveland, Ohio, a violent shootout between a Black Militant organization led by Ahmed Evans and the Cleveland Police Department occurred. During the shootout, a riot began that lasted for five days.
1968 - The first and only successful hijacking of an El Al aircraft took place when a 707 carrying 10 crew and 38 passengers was taken over by three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The aircraft was en route from Rome, Italy, to Lod, Israel.
1970 - Qaboos ibn Sa’id, becomes Sultan of Oman after overthrowing his father, Sa’id ibn Taimur.
1972 - The United States launches Landsat 1, first Earth-resources satellite.
1982 - The International Whaling Commission decides to end commercial whaling by 1985-86.
1983 - Beginning of Sri Lankan Civil War, with the killing of 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. In the subsequent government-organised pogrom of Black July, about 1,000 Tamils were slaughtered, some 400,000 Tamils fled to neighbouring Tamil Nadu, India and many found refuge in Europe and Canada.
1983 - Gimli Glider: Air Canada Flight 143 runs out of fuel and makes a deadstick landing at Gimli, Manitoba.
1984 - Vanessa Williams becomes the first Miss America to resign when she surrenders her crown after nude photos of her appeared in Penthouse magazine.
1986 - In London, Prince Andrew, Duke of York marries Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey.
1988 - General Ne Win, effective ruler of Myanmar since 1962 resigns after pro-democracy protests.
1992 - A Vatican commission, led by Joseph Ratzinger, establishes it is necessary to limit rights of homosexual people and non-married couples.
1995 - Comet Hale-Bopp is discovered and is visibly seen with a naked eye nearly a year later.
1997 - Digital Equipment Company files antitrust charges against chipmaker Intel.
1999 - Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Al-Hassan, is crowned King Mohammed VI of Morroco at the death of his father.
1999 - ANA Flight 61 is hijacked in Tokyo.
2005 - Three bombs hit the Naama Bay area of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, killing 88 people.
2008 - Cape Verde joins the WTO, becoming its 153rd member.
1793 - The Prussians conquer Mayence.
1829 - In the United States, William Austin Burt patents the Typographer, a precursor to the typewriter.
1833 - Cornerstones laid for construction of the Kirtland Temple in Ohio.
1840 - The Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union.
1862 - American Civil War: Henry W. Halleck takes command of the Union Army.
1874 - Aires de Ornelas e Vasconcelos is appointed the Archbishop of the Portuguese colonial enclave of Goa.
1881 - The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, the world's oldest international sport federation, is founded.
1903 - Ford Motor Company sells its first car.
1914 - Austria-Hungary issues an ultimatum to Serbia demanding they allow the Austrians to determine who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand. When Serbia denies Austria-Hungarian demands, mobilization for World War I begins on July 28.
1926 - Fox Film buys the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film.
1929 - Fascist government in Italy bans the use of foreign words.
1936 - In Catalonia, Spain, the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia is founded through the merger of socialist and communist parties.
1940 - US Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles`s declaration on the US non-recognition policy of the Soviet annexation and incorporation of three Baltic States - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
1942 - The Holocaust: The Treblinka extermination camp is opened
1942 - World War II: Hitler orders Operation Edelweiss to begin.
1945 - Post war legal processes against Philippe Pétain begin.
1952 - Establishment of the European Coal and Steel community.
1952 - General Muhammad Naguib leads the Free Officers Movement (formed by Gamal Abdel Nasser - the real power behind the coup) in the overthrow of King Farouk of Egypt.
1956 - The Loi Cadre is passed by the French Republic in order to order French overseas territory affairs.
1961 - Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) founded in Nicaragua.
1962 - Telstar relays the first live trans-Atlantic television signal.
1962 - The International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos was signed.
1967 - 12th Street Riot: In Detroit, Michigan, one of the worst riots in United States history begins on 12th Street in the predominantly African American inner city (43 killed, 342 injured and 1,400 buildings burned).
1968 - Glenville Shootout: In Cleveland, Ohio, a violent shootout between a Black Militant organization led by Ahmed Evans and the Cleveland Police Department occurred. During the shootout, a riot began that lasted for five days.
1968 - The first and only successful hijacking of an El Al aircraft took place when a 707 carrying 10 crew and 38 passengers was taken over by three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The aircraft was en route from Rome, Italy, to Lod, Israel.
1970 - Qaboos ibn Sa’id, becomes Sultan of Oman after overthrowing his father, Sa’id ibn Taimur.
1972 - The United States launches Landsat 1, first Earth-resources satellite.
1982 - The International Whaling Commission decides to end commercial whaling by 1985-86.
1983 - Beginning of Sri Lankan Civil War, with the killing of 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. In the subsequent government-organised pogrom of Black July, about 1,000 Tamils were slaughtered, some 400,000 Tamils fled to neighbouring Tamil Nadu, India and many found refuge in Europe and Canada.
1983 - Gimli Glider: Air Canada Flight 143 runs out of fuel and makes a deadstick landing at Gimli, Manitoba.
1984 - Vanessa Williams becomes the first Miss America to resign when she surrenders her crown after nude photos of her appeared in Penthouse magazine.
1986 - In London, Prince Andrew, Duke of York marries Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey.
1988 - General Ne Win, effective ruler of Myanmar since 1962 resigns after pro-democracy protests.
1992 - A Vatican commission, led by Joseph Ratzinger, establishes it is necessary to limit rights of homosexual people and non-married couples.
1995 - Comet Hale-Bopp is discovered and is visibly seen with a naked eye nearly a year later.
1997 - Digital Equipment Company files antitrust charges against chipmaker Intel.
1999 - Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Al-Hassan, is crowned King Mohammed VI of Morroco at the death of his father.
1999 - ANA Flight 61 is hijacked in Tokyo.
2005 - Three bombs hit the Naama Bay area of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, killing 88 people.
2008 - Cape Verde joins the WTO, becoming its 153rd member.
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