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NGC 2442 and NGC 2443 are two parts of a single intermediate spiral galaxy, commonly known as the Meathook Galaxy or the Cobra and Mouse. It is about 50 million light-years away in the constellationVolans. It was discovered by Sir John Herschel on December 23, 1834 during his survey of southern skies with a 18.25 inch diameter reflecting telescope (his "20-foot telescope") from an observatory he set up in Cape Town, South Africa. Associated with this galaxy is HIPASS J0731-69, a cloud of gas devoid of any stars. It is likely that the cloud was torn loose from NGC 2442 by a companion.
When John Louis Emil Dreyer compiled the New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars he used William Herschel's earlier observations that described two objects in a "double nebula", giving the northern most the designation NGC 2443 and the southernmost most the designation NGC 2442. Herschel's later observations noted that the two objects were actually a single large nebula.
Supernovae
Two, or perhaps three, supernovae have been observed in NGC 2442:
SN 1999ga (type II, mag. 18) was discovered by the Perth Astronomical Research Group on 19 November 1999.
SN 2015F (type Ia, mag. 16.8) was discovered by Libert "Berto" Monard on 9 March 2015. It reached magnitude 12.9, making it the brightest supernova of 2015.
Gaia16cfr, also known as AT 2016jbu, was a supernova imposter that occurred in NGC 2442 on 1 December 2016. It reached a Gaia apparent magnitude of 19.3 and absolute magnitude of about −12. However, a paper published in August 2022 suggested that this was a genuine, but strange, supernova.
"SN 1999ga". Transient Name Server. IAU. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
Monard, L. A. G.; Fraser, M.; Smith, M.; Firth, R.; Dimitriadis, G.; Frohmaier, C.; Cartier, R.; Prajs, S.; Sullivan, M.; Anderson, J.; Maguire, K.; Inserra, C.; Smartt, S. J.; Smith, K. W.; Young, D.; Valenti, S.; Yaron, O.; Manulis, I. (2015). "Supernova 2015F in NGC 2442 = PSN J07361576-6930230". Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams. 4081: 1. Bibcode:2015CBET.4081....1M.
"SN 2015F". Transient Name Server. IAU. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
NGC 2442 (upper spiral structure) and NGC 2443 (lower horizontal spiral arm)
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