NGC 1373

NGC 1373 is a dwarf elliptical galaxy located 61 millon light years away in constellation of Fornax. The galaxy was discovered by astronomer John Herschel on November 29, 1837, and is a member of the Fornax Cluster. NGC 1373 is a host to a supermassive black hole with an estimated mass of 4.6 millon solar masses.

63 known globular clusters have been observed surrounding NGC 1373, along with 13 observed planetary nebulae.

Physical characteristics
NGC 1373 is one of the most compact and faint elliptical galaxies in the Fornax Cluster. As NGC 1373 is a compact ellpitical galaxy, in the Fornax Cluster, it is expected to have older and more metal-rich populations of stars than similar compact elliptical galaxies of lower masses. It is thought that NGC 1373 originated as a more extended galaxy that transformed into a compact dwarf as it fell falling through the cluster.

NGC 1373 appears to be interacting with the galaxy NGC 1374 and is separated from the galaxy by a distance of around 0.3 Mpc. This is evident as observations using the VLT Survey Telescope reveal the presence of a faint filament of matter connecting the two galaxies.