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NGC 1614

Galaxy in the constellation Eridanus

NGC 1614
Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 1614
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation	Eridanus
Right ascension	04h34m 00.027s
Declination	−08° 34′ 44.57″
Redshift	0.015938±0.000033[1]
Heliocentric radial velocity	4,778[2]
Distance	211.3 Mly (64.78 Mpc)[2]
Characteristics
Type	SB(s)c pec.[1]
Notable features	Starburst galaxy with an active galactic nucleus
Other designations
2MASX J04340002-0834445, APG 186, IRAS 04315-0840, Mrk 0617, II Zw 015, PGC 15538

NGC 1614 is the New General Catalogue identifier for a spiral galaxy in the equatorial constellationofEridanus. It was discovered on December 29, 1885 by American astronomer Lewis Swift, who described it in a shorthand notation as: pretty faint, small, round, a little brighter middle.^[3] The nebula was then catalogued by Danish-Irish astronomer J. L. E. Drayer in 1888.^[4] When direct photography became available, it was noted that this galaxy displayed some conspicuous peculiarities. American astronomer Halton Arp included it in his 1966 Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies.^[5] In 1971, Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky described it as a "blue post-eruptive galaxy, compact patchy core, spiral plumes, long blue jet SSW".^[6]

In the De Vaucouleurs system for classifying galaxies, NGC 1614 has a galaxy morphological classification of SB(s)c pec. The SB indicates this is a barred spiral galaxy, while the '(s)' means it lacks a ring-like structure around the nucleus. The trailing 'c' describes the spiral arm structure as being loosely wound. The peculiar nature of the galaxy is noted with the 'pec.' abbreviation.^[1] The galaxy is bright at the center, with two nearly symmetrical inner spiral arms.^[7] It is a luminous infrared source,^[8] with total infrared luminosity is 10^11.60 L_☉, ranking 55th in the 2003 IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample,^[9] and is the second most luminous galaxy within 75 Mpc.^[10]

This galaxy is undergoing a minor merger event with a gas-rich, low-mass companion galaxy, located in a tidal tail to the southwest of the nucleus. The main galaxy is estimated to be around 3−5 times as massive as the merging object. The interaction between the two galaxies is triggering a burst of star formation in NGC 1614,^[8] although not apparently an active galactic nucleus.^[11] It is described as "one of the most extreme nearby starbursts".^[10]

In the core region, a 230 pc radius ring feature has formed around the nucleus within the last 5−10 million years from an inflow of gas caused by the merger event, and this structure is the site of the intense star forming activity known as a starburst region.^[7] This activity is bright enough that it is masking whatever weak nuclear emission there is coming from the core.^[10] The nucleus itself displays evidence of an older starburst event.^[7] The starburst activity is presumed to be driving an observed outflow of cold molecular gas that has a combined mass of around 32 million times the mass of the Sun.^[11]

Two supernovae have been observed in NGC 1614: SN 1996D (type Ic, mag. 18.2),^[12] and SN 2020cuj (type II, mag. 20).^[13]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to NGC 1614.

• "NGC 1614", The Hubble Space Telescope, NASA/ESA, April 24, 2008, retrieved 2016-03-21.