NGC 1097

Alt. Designations: ARP 77
Object Type: barred spiral galaxy
Constellation: Fornax
Distance: 45 mly
Right Ascension: 02h 46m 19.5s
Declination: -30° 16´ 32"
Visual Magnitude: 9.5
Apparent Dimension: 9.4´ X 6.6´
Best Month To View: Nov

NGC 1097 is a barred spiral galaxy about 45 million light-years away in the constellation Fornax. Three supernovae (SN 1992bd, SN 1999eu, and SN 2003B) have been observed in NGC 1097. Like most massive galaxies, NGC 1097 has a supermassive black hole at its center. Around the central black hole is a ring of star-forming regions with a network of gas and dust that spirals from the ring to the black hole. NGC 1097 has two satellite galaxies.