Astronomy:NGC 986

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Short description: Barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Fornax
NGC 986
File:NGC 986 - ESOs Potw1605a.tif
NGC 986 taken by the FORS instrument on ESO’s VLT.[1]
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationFornax
Right ascension 02h 33m 34.349s[2]
Declination−39° 02′ 42.21″[2]
Redshift0.006606[3]
Helio radial velocity1,942±10 km/s[4]
Distance76 Mly (23.2 Mpc)[4][5]
56 million ly[1]
Group or clusterFornax Cluster[6]
Apparent magnitude (V)10.9[6]
Apparent magnitude (B)11.74[3]
Characteristics
Type(R′1)SB(rs)b[4]
Apparent size (V)3′.8 × 1′.9[6]
Other designations
IRAS 02315-3915, NGC 986, MCG-07-06-015

NGC 986 is a barred spiral galaxy in the southern constellation of Fornax, located about 76 million light-years away.[4][5] It was discovered on August 5, 1826 by the Scottish astronomer James Dunlop, who described it as a "faint nebula, of an irregular round figure". The galaxy has an angular size of 3′.8 × 1′.9 with a visual magnitude of 10.9. It belongs to the Fornax Cluster of galaxies.[6] This galaxy has a nearby companion, NGC 986A, at an angular separation of 17′, corresponding to a projected separation of 110 kpc. The two appear unconnected.[5]

The morphological class of NGC 986 is (R′1)SB(rs)b,[4] indicating this is a barred spiral (SB) with an outer pseudo-ring (R′1), an incomplete inner ring (rs), and moderately wound spiral arms (b). The galactic plane is inclined at an angle of 37° to the line of sight from the Earth. The resulting ellipsoidal profile has its major axis aligned along a position angle of 127°.[4]

The nucleus of NGC 986 is undergoing intense star formation[5] and there is an H II region at the core. The large central bar extends ~14 kpc and is rich in dense gas.[4] The galaxy contains two large, extended and slightly warped arms that begin at each end of the central bar, forming an S-shape. There may be a tidally-disrupted dwarf galaxy at the end of its northern arm.[5]

One supernova has been observed in NGC 986: SN 2018lei (type Ic, mag. 16.8).[7]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "An Often Ignored Beauty". 1 February 2016. http://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1605a/. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 Skrutskie, Michael F. et al. (1 February 2006). "The Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS)". The Astronomical Journal 131 (2): 1163–1183. doi:10.1086/498708. ISSN 0004-6256. Bibcode2006AJ....131.1163S. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 "NGC 986". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=NGC+986. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Kohno, Kotaro et al. (June 2008). "ASTE CO(3-2) Observations of the Southern Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 986: a Large Gaseous Bar Filled with a Dense Molecular Medium". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan 60 (3): 457–464. doi:10.1093/pasj/60.3.457. Bibcode2008PASJ...60..457K. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Hameed, Salman; Young, Lisa M. (June 2003). "The Role of Interactions in the Evolution of Highly Star-forming Early-Type (Sa-Sab) Spiral Galaxies". The Astronomical Journal 125 (6): 3005–3024. doi:10.1086/375325. Bibcode2003AJ....125.3005H. 
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 O'Meara, Stephen James (2013). Deep-Sky Companions: Southern Gems. Cambridge University Press. p. 44. ISBN 9781139851541. https://books.google.com/books?id=BoIsCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA44. 
  7. Transient Name Server entry for SN 2018lei. Retrieved 24 March 2023.

External links

Coordinates: Sky map 02h 33m 34.349s, −39° 02′ 42.21″