IC 2497

IC 2497 is a spiral galaxy^[3] close to the intergalactic cloud Hanny's Voorwerp.^[1] The galaxy is a former quasar, whose light lit up Hanny's Voorwerp, which is now a light echo of that extinct quasar.^[4] It is about 45,000–70,000 light-years (14,000–21,000 pc) away from Hanny's Voorwerp.^[5] The quasar shut down sometime in the last 70,000 years.^[6] This revises current theories of quasar operation, as the quasar is quiescent, shutting down much faster than was thought possible,^[7] and is much cooler than predicted.^[5] The galaxy is currently 100 to 10,000 times dimmer than it was when its quasar burned into Hanny's Voorwerp.^[8]

IC 2497
IC 2497 with Hanny's Voorwerp by HST Credit: NASA, ESA, W. Keel (University of Alabama), and the Galaxy Zoo Team
Observation data (J2000.0[1] epoch)
Constellation	Leo Minor [2]
Right ascension	09h 41m 04.076s [1]
Declination	+34° 43′ 58.57″ [1]
Redshift	0.051633 [1]
Distance	650 Mly (199.29 Mpc)
Characteristics
Apparent size (V)	0.390' × 0.320' [1]
Other designations
IRAS 09380+3457, 2MASX J09410407+3443585, IC 2497, LEDA 165538, PGC 165538

One supernova has been observed in IC 2497: SN 2020ilb (type Ia, mag. 19) was discovered on 29 April 2020.^[9]

References

1. "IC 2497". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
2. Davide De Martin (2007). "IC 2497". Sky Factory. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
3. Paul Rincon (5 August 2008). "Teacher finds new cosmic object". BBC News. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
4. "Cosmic Curiosity Reveals Ghostly Glow of Dead Quasar". ScienceDaily. 6 November 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
5. Tudor Vieru (3 November 2010). "Shut Down Quasar Found Close By". Softpedia. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
6. Jon Voisey (3 November 2010). "What Hanny's Voorwerp Reveals About Quasar Deaths". Universe Today. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
7. "Cosmic Curiosity Reveals Ghostly Glow of Dead Quasar". ECN Magazine. Yale University. 3 November 2010. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
8. Lisa Grossman (2 November 2010). "Rare Dead Quasar Found in Nearby Galaxy". Wired. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
9. 2020ilb Transient Name Server entry for SN SN 2020ilb. Retrieved 26 March 2023.

Further reading

• Schawinski, K.; et al. (2010). "The Sudden Death of the Nearest Quasar". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 724 (1): L30–L33. arXiv:1011.0427. Bibcode:2010ApJ...724L..30S. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/724/1/L30.
• Rampadarath, H.; et al. (2010). "Hanny's Voorwerp". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 517: L8. arXiv:1006.4096. Bibcode:2010A&A...517L...8R. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201014782.
• Józsa, G. I. G.; et al. (2009). "Revealing Hanny's Voorwerp: Radio observations of IC 2497". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 500 (2): L33–L36. arXiv:0905.1851. Bibcode:2009A&A...500L..33J. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200912402.

External links

• Media related to IC 2497 at Wikimedia Commons