NGC 5866

NGC 5866 (also called the Spindle Galaxy) is a lenticular galaxy in the constellation Draco. NGC 5866 was most likely discovered by Pierre Méchain or Charles Messier in 1781, and independently found by William Herschel in 1788. Measured orbital velocities of its globular cluster system imply that dark matter makes up only 34±45% of the mass within 5 effective radii, a notable paucity.

NGC 5866
NGC 5866, as observed by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationDraco
Right ascension15h 06m 29.5s
Declination+55° 45 48
Redshift0.002518±0.000017
Heliocentric radial velocity755±5 km/s
Galactocentric velocity901±8 km/s
Distance50 ± 3 Mly (15.3 ± 0.7 Mpc)
Apparent magnitude (V)9.9
Characteristics
TypeS0
Size~60,000 ly
(18,400 pc)
Apparent size (V)4.7 x 1.9
Notable featuresThe galaxy is viewed edge on
Other designations
Spindle Galaxy, UGC 9723, PGC 53933
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