Spiral Galaxy M74
Posted by ungraspiness Thu, 29 Dec 2005 00:21:00 GMT
The Spiral Galaxy M74 – also known as Messier Object 74 or NGC 628 , is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Pisces. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780, who related his discovery to Charles Messier to be categorized. The galaxy is also listed by Lord Rosse as one of 14 “spiral or curvilinear nebulae” discovered before 1850.
M74 lies at a distance from Earth of about 35 million light years and has a radius of 95,000 light years. The galaxy is rich in H II regions, indicating the occurance of star formation at a relatively high rate compared to some galaxies. Two supernovae were seen in this galaxy during the 21st century, SN2002ap and SN2003gd. M74 is receding from the Milky Way at 793 km/sec.