Also Known as: UGC 12554, LEDA 71220
Object Type: Barred Spiral Galaxy
Constellation: Andromeda
Distance from Earth: 38.8 million light years
Apparent Magnitude: 11.1
Coordinates: RRA 23H 22M 06.58S DEC 40 deg 50 min 43.5 sec
Actual Size: 59,240 light years in diameter.
Apparent Dimensions: 10.5 arc-minutes x 2.0 arc-minutes
Discovered by: NGC 7640 was discovered on October 17, 1786 by the English astronomer William Herschel.
Description: NGC 7640 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Andromeda. Galaxies of this type are recognizable by their spiral arms, which fan out not from a circular core, but from an elongated bar cutting through the galaxy’s center.
NGC 7640 might not look much like a spiral, but this is due to the orientation of the galaxy with respect to an observer on Earth.
There is evidence that NGC 7640 has experienced some kind of interaction in its past. Galaxies contain vast amounts of mass, and therefore affect one another via gravity.
Sometimes these interactions can be mild, and sometimes hugely dramatic, with two or more colliding and merging into a new, bigger galaxy.
It is not immediately obvious this is a spiral galaxy because it is edge on.
Click Below Image(s) for Full Size:
NGC 7640 is situated north of the celestial equator and, as such, it is more easily visible from the northern hemisphere.
The best time to observe NGC 7640 is October - December.
Platesolve
NGC 7640 Galaxy