NGC 3314

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Observation data (J2000 epoch)
NGC 3314
NGC 3314a (foreground) and NGC 3314b (background) taken by the Hubble Space Telescope
Constellation	Hydra
Right ascension	10^h 37^m 12.5^s
Declination	-27° 41' 05"
Redshift	+0.0095 (a) +0.01548 (b)
Distance	117 Mly (a) 140 million ly (b)
Type	SBbc/SAab
Apparent dimensions (V)	2′.6 × 1′.7
Apparent magnitude (V)	+12.5
Notable features	galaxy overlapping another
Other designations
ESO 501-46
See also: Galaxy, List of galaxies

NGC 3314 is a pair of overlapping spiral galaxies between 117-140 million light-years away in the constellation Hydra. The foreground galaxy (NGC 3314a) is seen almost directly face-on. This virtually unique arrangement gives astronomers a chance to measure the properties of interstellar dust that create the dark areas silhouetted against the background galaxy (NGC 3314b).

While searching for overlapping galaxies in April 1999, two astronomers from the University of Alabama were the first to image the deep sky object in enough detail to tell that it was in fact two galaxies. [1] In a March 2000 observation of the galaxies, a prominent green star-like object was seen in one of the arms. Astronomers theorized that it could have been a supernova, but the unique filtering properties of the foreground galaxy made it difficult to decide definitively. [2]