IC 2497 is a spiral galaxy close to the intergalactic cloud Hanny's Voorwerp. The galaxy is a former quasar, whose light lit up Hanny's Voorwerp, which is now a light echo of that extinct quasar. It is about 45,000–70,000 light-years (14,000–21,000 pc) away from Hanny's Voorwerp. The quasar shut down sometime in the last 70,000 years. This revises current theories of quasar operation, as the quasar is quiescent, shutting down much faster than was thought possible, and is much cooler than predicted. The galaxy is currently 100 to 10,000 times dimmer than it was when its quasar burned into Hanny's Voorwerp.
One supernova has been observed in IC 2497: SN 2020ilb (type Ia, mag. 19) was discovered on 29 April 2020.
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
References
Paul Rincon (5 August 2008). "Teacher finds new cosmic object". BBC News. Retrieved 2010-11-11. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7543776.stm ↩
"IC 2497". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2010-11-11. http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=IC+2497 ↩
"Cosmic Curiosity Reveals Ghostly Glow of Dead Quasar". ScienceDaily. 6 November 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-10. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101103171638.htm ↩
Tudor Vieru (3 November 2010). "Shut Down Quasar Found Close By". Softpedia. Retrieved 2010-10-11. http://news.softpedia.com/news/Shut-Down-Quasar-Found-Close-By-164389.shtml ↩
Jon Voisey (3 November 2010). "What Hanny's Voorwerp Reveals About Quasar Deaths". Universe Today. Retrieved 2010-11-11. http://www.universetoday.com/77280/what-hannys-voorwerp-reveals-about-quasar-deaths/ ↩
"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. https://web.archive.org/web/20110719115142/http://www.ecnmag.com/News/2010/11/Cosmic-Curiosity-Reveals-Ghostly-Glow-of-Dead-Quasar/ ↩
Tudor Vieru (3 November 2010). "Shut Down Quasar Found Close By". Softpedia. Retrieved 2010-10-11. http://news.softpedia.com/news/Shut-Down-Quasar-Found-Close-By-164389.shtml ↩
Lisa Grossman (2 November 2010). "Rare Dead Quasar Found in Nearby Galaxy". Wired. Retrieved 2010-11-11. https://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/11/quasar-shutdown/ ↩
2020ilb Transient Name Server entry for SN SN 2020ilb. Retrieved 26 March 2023. https://www.wis-tns.org/object/SN ↩