IC 2006

IC 2006 is an elliptical galaxy in the constellation Eridanus. The galaxy was discovered on 3 October 1897 by the American astronomer Lewis A. Swift.^[6] It is estimated to be around 60 to 70 million light years (20 megaparsecs) away,^[2] in the Fornax Cluster.^[3] The galaxy is one of the smaller in the Fornax cluster, with a diameter of only 35 000 light-years.

IC 2006
IC 2006, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation	Eridanus
Right ascension	03h 54m 28.427s[1]
Declination	−35° 58′ 01.75″[1]
Redshift	0.004610[2]
Heliocentric radial velocity	1382[2]
Distance	65.36 ± 0.46 Mly (20.04 ± 0.14 Mpc)[3]
Group or cluster	Fornax Cluster[3]
Apparent magnitude (B)	12.39[4]
Characteristics
Type	E1[5]
Size	35 000 light-years in diameter
Apparent size (V)	2.1′ × 1.8′[2]
Notable features	Early-type galaxy
Other designations
AM 0532-360, MGC-06-09-037, PGC 14077

IC 2006 is an early-type galaxy with a Hubble classification of E1,^[5] but has also been listed as a lenticular galaxy with a morphological type of SA0⁻.^[2] Despite their name, early-type galaxies are much older than spiral galaxies, and mostly comprise old, red-colored stars. Very little star formation occurs in these galaxies; the lack of star formation in elliptical galaxies appears to start at the center and then slowly propagates outward.^[7] Its age is estimated to be 8.1 ± 1.7 billion years.^[8]

An image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2015 shows a characteristically smooth profile, with no spiral arms.^[9] However, IC 2006 has a ring surrounding it. The ring appears to rotate in a direction opposite to the rest of the body, but this may be explained by a polar ring with an elliptical shape.^[10]